EDUCATION AS AN ATTEMPT TO WARD OFF ISLAMOPHOBIA VIRUS IN STRENGTHENING NATIONALISM AND INDONESIAN SPIRITUALITY

Abstract

Islamophobia is one of the most contemporary issues in Indonesia; it is an attitude that shows intolerance to religion in general and an excessive fear of Islam. There needs to be an attempt to ward off Islamophobia viruses that can weaken the image of a friendly Islam. Through careful education, Islamic teachings were developed to reinforce a nation’s nationalism and spirituality. Education of Sufism is an alternative solution to produce a human figure conscious of its status as ‘Abdun, his role as a caliphate, and the purpose of his life to worship God. Through this realization, human beings will always establish harmonious communication with the people of God to create a peaceful, safe and prosperous life. Thus, it is free from various understand-like racism, radicalism, secularism, liberalism, anarchist action, and excessive discrimination, which is the cause of Islamophobia. The wholehearted education teaches us to love, respect, and sustain each other to create a peaceful world. It is based on the principle of ukhuwah Islamiyyah, ukhuwah wathaniyyah and ukhuwah basyariyyah. Nationalist attitudes will be able to be manifested in daily life as the government to the country to create a country that “Baldatun thaiyyibatun wa Rabbun ghafur.” The nationalist attitude is one of the recommended in Islamic teachings, as a result of the perduring spiritual value in man to obey God’s order. The proliferation of Islamophobia worldwide, including Indonesia, can cause the erosion of the friendly image of Islam in the world. It needs an effort to ward off Islamophobia viruses in creating the peace and integrity of a nation. This article aims to present a variety of educational efforts to ward off Islamophobia viruses to strengthen the nationalism and spiritualization of the Indonesian. The study employed a qualitative approach through descriptive analysis methods. The results showed that one of the causes of Islamophobia emergence was the lack of Islamic creed. Through excellent education, Islamic teachings were developed to reinforce a nation’s nationalism and spirituality. Education of the wholeheartedly or known as Sufism is an alternative solution to produce a human figure conscious of its status as ‘Abd – as caliph. Also, the purpose of his/her life to worship God. Thus, human beings should establish unified communication to create a peaceful, safe and prosperous life in the principle.