Greetings from the Head of Abdul Djalil Sibaweh Foundation

Bismillaahirrahmaanirrahiim

Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

 

All gratitude and praise to Allah the Almighty. Peace, blessings and mercy be upon to our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW, his family, companions, and all those who have been following his way till the Day of Judgment.

 

During my appointment as the head of Abdul Djalil Sibaweh Foundation I have received inquiries, questioning what an “international madrasa” really is. What is meant by “international curriculum”? Why do we need to commit to “going international”? How are those relevant to Afkaaruna Islamic School?

 

To answer these questions, let me propose two premises:

 

First, “international” is a neutral term that refers to a mutual relationship between two or more countries. The “international curriculum” refers to a curriculum that includes an international perspective, recognizes that relationships among countries are increasingly interdependent and encourages students to interact with people from different cultural backgrounds by which they can build mutual understanding and respect (Hill, 2000)

 

Second, referring to the Afkaaruna’s three pillars; Islam, local culture and international-mindedness, we put Islam and local culture before the international-mindedness. This means that we are committed to developing the classical heritage and practices of Islamic education by way of transplanting those aspects into our learning process. At the same time, we also constantly find local values manifested in cultures relevant to character building for the students.

 

Departing from these two premises, I would like to emphasize that “international madrasa” here means a madrasa that strongly holds Islamic and local values. Instead of tempting to become “westernized”, our madrasa leans deeply on Islamic and local values that should be presented to the global community. We hope that this kind of Indonesian-rooted Islamic education contributes in enriching the existing Islamic education and, in the long term, can spread the beauty of Islam (rahmatan li al-alamiin) to people around the world.

 

Finally, we know that to achieve these big goals, we need to “think big and act small”. We need your support, to make this a reality. We all know that educational success is not only created by a school, but also through family and the broader community.

 

Wallahul muwaafiq ilaaaqwaamith-thariiq

Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh

 

Warm Regards,

 

 

 

Samsul Ma’arif Mujiharto

Head of Abdul Djalil Sibaweh Foundation