STI Course: Indonesia, Islam, and Islam in Indonesia

May 2009. Scarsdale Schools, District room 172. Coordinators: Gwen Johnson & Iwan Syahril.

“If you want to know if Islam, democracy, modernity, and women’s rights can coexist, go to Indonesia.” (Hillary Clinton, 2009)

In a more globalized and interdependent world, it is a great necessity to understand the diverse elements in the planet we all inhabit. There have been too many times that our failure to grasp the holistic understanding of a certain community has led us to a number of horrible episodes in human history. 

In the era of war against terrorism, the Muslim communities have been portrayed as the “them” side by many people in the Western world. There is a danger when we lose or ignore the complexities within Muslim communities in different parts of the world.  Simplifying it into one single picture based on images and messages from biased and prejudiced sources, particularly mainstream Western media, can foster a greater misunderstanding between Islam and non-Islamic communities around the world.  In this unique STI course Scarsdale teachers and administrators were engaged in various texts and interactive activities to look into the myths, stereotypes, and prejudices around Islam, the second largest world religion. For this purpose, we looked into the case study of Indonesia. 

Indonesia, a childhome of President Barack Obama, is a land of multiculturalism that offers many interesting lessons about the intricate socio-cultural elements within Muslim communities. It is the home of approximately 240 million people scattered in its 17,508 islands that lie around the equator in the Southeast Asian region. 

Consisting of more than 300 ethnic groups, each with their own traditions, cultures, and languages. Indonesia adopts the philosophy of a tossed salad in a way of acknowledging its diversity. It is captured in the national motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, which means Unity in Diversity.  

Participants used movies, books, academic journal and newspaper articles, to explore, discuss, and reflect on their understandings about Indonesia and Islam, and thought about strategies to use their learning in this course into their own classroom teaching.