Indonesia Uses ASEAN Conference to Strengthen Religious Moderation

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia is sharing its experience in religious moderation at an ASEAN conference in Cambodia, offering a regional approach that could help strengthen tolerance, social harmony and responsible religious education across Southeast Asia.

Director of Islamic Religious Affairs at Indonesia's Ministry of Religious Affairs Muchlis M. Hanafi emphasized the importance of translating wasathiyah, or religious moderation, into balanced religious understanding, good character, as well as fair and harmonious social relations.

Muchlis delivered the message while chairing the second session of the Fourth ASEAN Conference of "Khair Ummah" in Cambodia on Monday, October 5, 2026.

The session, titled Ma'ālim al-Manhaj al-Wasaṭī (Characteristics of the Wasathi Methodology), focused on two main topics: moderation in ethics and behavior, and moderation in religious methodology.

The session featured four speakers: Asad Ismail from Myanmar, Ibrahim Abdullah Ibrahim from the Philippines, Abdulhalim bin Muhammad Ali from Cambodia, and Muhammad bin Ali Al-Abdullatif from Saudi Arabia.

Muchlis attended with Bunyamin Yafid, an expert adviser to the Minister of Religious Affairs, representing Minister Nasaruddin Umar, who was unable to attend.

The conference was organized by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Da'wah and Guidance in cooperation with the Cambodian Government. Indonesia previously hosted the second conference in Bali in 2022.

Muchlis conveyed Minister Nasaruddin's message on the importance of strengthening wasathiyah approach in Muslim communities. The approach is intended to promote deep and balanced religious understanding, cultivate good character and strengthen religious harmony.

"Correct and balanced religious understanding must produce good character. Deep knowledge should be reflected in fairness when judging, politeness when speaking, and wisdom when dealing with differences. Wasathiyah guides both understanding and character," Muchlis said on Monday, as quoted on the Indonesian Religious Affairs Ministry official website.

He connected the session's theme with the name of the conference. The Quran describes Muslims as an ummatan wasathan in Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 143, and as a khaira ummah in Surah Ali Imran, verse 110.

According to him, being described as the best community carries a responsibility to promote goodness and uphold justice. Wasathiyah, he said, should be reflected in character, positive examples and benefits felt by society.

He said the discussion was increasingly relevant amid interconnected challenges, including extremism and excessive religious attitudes, disregard for religious guidance, sectarian tensions, hate speech and Islamophobia.

The spread of unverified information and statements taken out of context on digital platforms can also deepen misunderstandings and conflict, he concluded. ***