The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

Snapshot

Country: Indonesia
Type of Organization: Interfaith
Constructive Practices:
Intergovernmental and NGO Networking
Information Dissemination

Mission

Their website states: "ICIP's main mission is to disseminate the ideas of Indonesia's moderate and progressive Muslims to audiences in both Indonesia and around the world. It will also disseminate the ideas of international moderate and progressive Muslim thinkers to the Indonesian people."

Description

On its website, ICIP describes its chief activities as centered in four major areas:

"1. The search for and dissemination of, authoritative Muslim texts supporting pluralism, tolerance, human rights, and democracy;
2. The promotion of gender equality and women's political participation within Islamic discourse;
3. Support for Muslim NGOs, activists and intellectuals engaged in efforts to promote justice, democratic participation, and religious tolerance within the Muslim world; and
4. Critical exploration of the relationship and interchange of thought between the Muslim world and the 'West'."

History

ICIP was established in Jakarta in July 2003, after a year of discussions and preparations by the founding participants, who are described on the website as "intellectuals and specialists on Islam and pluralism, from Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Thailand and the Philippines." ICIP was principally founded in order to "build a network of Islamic Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and progressive-moderate Muslim activists and intellectuals, in South-East Asia..," although ICIP also states a desire to eventually extend its networking capabilities globally. Towards this end, among events sponsored by ICIP last year were talks by American scholars of Islam.

Membership

Central to ICIP's mission is the networking of a number of NGOs working across Indonesia, from ranging from the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace (ICRP) in Jakarta, to the Lembaga Studi Agama dan Demokrasi (eLSAD) in Surabaya. Other groups in their network are based in Yogyarkarta, Lombok and Banda Aceh. A full list of these NGOs is available on their website.

Programs and Events

Recent events held by ICIP have included Roundtables on Islam and Democracy, and visits and talks by American Islamic scholars Dr. Asma Barlas (Ithaca) and Dr. Abdulaziz Sachedina (University of Virginia). A full listing of present and past events is available on their website under seminars and news.