Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Religious Affairs targets to develop model religious moderation villages (KMB) in 34 provinces nationwide this year, Director of Islamic Information of the ministry's Directorate General of Islamic Community Guidance, Ahmad Zayadi, stated.

He affirmed that the KMB program launched last July will not merely be symbolic but will help to develop community understanding about a moderate religious outlook and practice.

"One of the strategies we are carrying out is to strengthen the synergy between government ministry or agencies and the civil society," Zayadi stated here, on Wednesday.

Zayadi noted that Presidential Regulation No. 58 of 2023 on Enhancing Religious Moderation mandates the Religious Affairs Ministry to play a leading role in promoting moderation in the framework of national diversity.

The official said the ministry had organized a focus group discussion about the development with government ministries and agencies on Tuesday (February 27).

After strengthening inter-agency synergy, the next strategy is to bolster the capacity of members of the working units, assistants, volunteers, and other relevant parties involved in the development, he remarked.

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Collaboration will also be forged with regional authorities in promoting religious moderation in villages, he revealed.

"We hope the KMB program could be implemented to our expectation since KMB is one of our efforts in developing an expansive and implementable religious moderation ecosystem, an authoritative religion service, and to reaffirm our national politics to achieve the 2045 Golden Indonesia vision," Zayadi stated.

Meanwhile, Deputy Religious Affairs Minister Saiful Rahmat Dasuki expressed hope that the KMB would proffer vast benefits to residents.

"Its success can be seen through population survey or direct observation of the interfaith interaction, including by calculating the participation of religious moderation activities, interfaith activities, and the resolution of religious conflicts," he explained.

The deputy minister highlighted increasing social harmony as an indicator of the positive effect of KMB.

Reduction of social conflict, resolution of conflicts among residents, and harmonious interaction among residents in villages are also other parameters to examine social harmony in villages, he remarked.

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Translator: Asep Firmansyah, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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