This innovation in the KUA's work procedures aims to ensure that all religions receive religious services according to their needs.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Religious Affairs is planning to make Religious Affairs Offices (KUAs) inclusive, meaning they will not just serve Muslims, but people from all religions in Indonesia.

"We will make KUA to provide interfaith services," director of KUA and family development at the ministry, Zainal Mustamin, informed in a statement released by his office on Thursday.

Currently, his party is listing the types of interfaith services that will be provided at KUAs.

Article 2 of the Minister of Religious Affairs' Regulation (PMA) Number 34 of 2016 on the organization and work procedures of the sub-district KUAs states that the sub-district KUAs will be responsible for providing services and guidance to the Islamic community in their working area.

Thus, the functions of the sub-district KUAs include providing marriage registration and reconciliation services, family guidance, mosque guidance, sharia guidance, Islamic religious information, zakat and endowment guidance, as well as ritual guidance for regular Hajj pilgrims.

"We are waiting for approval from the Ministry of State Apparatus and Bureaucratic Reform on the revision of PMA Number 34 of 2016," Mustamin said.

He confirmed that in the future, public access to religious services at KUA will be expanded, and not be reserved for Muslims alone.

"This innovation in the KUA's work procedures aims to ensure that all religions receive religious services according to their needs. This is also the government's commitment to realize an inclusive and tolerant environment for religious services in society," he said.

Currently, a KUA in Kintamani, Bali, has become a pilot project for inclusive services. The KUA is providing marriage guidance to all religious communities in the area.

"KUA Kintamani is a model that provides service for every religious community to take part in marriage guidance," Mustamin said.

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Translator: Asep Firmansyah, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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