The rise of religious conservatism following the 1998 reformasi has altered the face of Indonesian Islam, which has historically been regarded as peaceful and inclusive, which is why the Indonesian government has advocated for moderate Islam on a regional, national and even a global scale. Using West Java as a case study, this article presents the 2019 ‘English for Ulama’ (EFU) initiative, which intends to train ulama in West Java about the concept of moderate Islam before sending them to the United Kingdom to promote moderate Islamic discourse in a global setting. This study demonstrates that the EFU programme is a strategic project that not only benefits West Javanese ulama regionally, where they may develop networks with other Muslims on a worldwide scale, but also benefits from the national development of moderate Islamic discourse. On a global scale, this programme is one of the best examples of moderate Islamic discourse diplomacy as the nature of Indonesian Islam. Furthermore, supporting moderate Islam on a worldwide scale is likely to influence Western society’s view of Islamophobia.Contribution: Although the EFU programme is a local government initiative, it has contributed to the promotion of moderate Islam at the world level and is framed as global diplomacy.

Empirically, Islamic society in Indonesia -as the majority of the populationhasnot been able to compete with the various advantages possessed by Islamic societies in other countries, particularly in the developed ones. Academically, the conceptual references on the development of Islamic society are relatively hard to find. These facts warrant both empirical and academic efforts to develop the concepts and formulas of Islamic society development, especially regarding its economical aspect. This report will further describe the importance of a formula for developing Islamic society, based on celestial business (al-mubāya'ah alsamāwiyyah), and how it can be a solution to the problem of economical disadvantages in Islamic societies. This research used literary method that conducted by analyzing various literatures relevant with the topic of the research. The findings show that conceptually, the celestial business (business with God) formula is relevant for the development of the economic aspect of Islamic societies. This formula offers equilibrium between the satisfaction of material and spiritual needs, or the physical and spiritual needs. On the higher level, it can be an alternative formula to develop the economic aspect of any Islamic society. *** Secara empirik, masyarakat Islam Indonesia -sebagai penduduk mayoritas-masih jauh dari berbagai keunggulan dibandingkan dengan sesama umat dari negaranegara lain, terutama negara-negara maju. Secara akademik, referensi terkait dengan rujukan konseptual tentang pengembangan masyarakat Islam juga relatif sulit ditemukan. Fakta ini menuntut adanya ikhtiar empirik dan akademik untuk melahirkan berbagai formula pengembangan masyarakat Islam, khususnya pada aspek ekonomi. Tulisan ini memaparkan pentingnya formula pengembangan masyarakat Islam yang bertumpu pada "bisnis langitan" (al-mubāya'ah al-samāwiyyah). Pada level yang lebih luas formula ini dapat menjadi solusi atas problem ketertinggalan ekonomi masyarakat Islam. Penelitian ini menggunakan studi kepustakaan dengan berbagai bentuk literatur yang diposisikan setara terkait dengan topik utama penelitian. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa secara konseptual, formula "celestial business" (berbisnis bersama Tuhan) relevan untuk diterapkan dalam pengembangan masyarakat Islam pada aspek ekonomi. Formula ini menawarkan keseimbangan antara pemenuhan kebutuhan aspek material dan spiritual, jasmani dan ruhani. Lebih lanjut, formula ini dapat menjadi formula alternatif dalam upaya pengembangan ekoomi masyarakat Islam.

Abstrak Pergantian kepemimpinan di Kota Bandung dari A. PendahuluanMenampilkan fungsi agama sebagai berkah bagi umat manusia, salah satunya, dapat diekspresikan melalui penghadiran kesadaran toleransi beragama. Toleransi beragama merupakan salah satu parameter yang dapat dipakai untuk mengukur level kemajuan, keadaban dan peradaban sebuah bangsa. Dengan demikian, semakin toleran sebuah bangsa, tingkat kemajuan, keadaban publik dan peradabannya akan maksimal pula. Dalam pandangan Michael Walzer, 1 toleransi merupakan keniscayaan dalam ruang individu dan ruang publik karena muara akhir dari toleransi beragama adalah membangun hidup damai (peaceful co-exsistance) di antara pelbagai kelompok masyarakat yang berbeda keyakinan, latar belakang sejarah, kebudayaan, bahasa, dan identitas.Dengan begitu, toleransi harus mampu membentuk kemungkinan-kemungkinan sikap, antara lain sikap untuk menerima perbedaan, mengubah penyeragaman menjadi keragaman, mengakui hak orang lain, menghargai eksistensi pihak lain, dan mendukung secara antusias terhadap perbedaan budaya dan keragaman ciptaan Tuhan. Sampai saat ini, upaya membangun kehidupan beragama yang toleran dan damai masih menjadi persoalan yang belum sepenuhnya selesai. Sebuah laporan yang dikeluarkan oleh Moderate Muslim Society, 2 menunjukkan, bahwa

As a religious institution that has focused on the propagation of Islam (tabligh), the Majelis Ta'lim, particularly the branches in West Java, faces no small challenge. First, the Majelis Ta'lim is charged with implementing breakthroughs to preserve organizational existence as well as undertaking self-development to achieve a better state. Second, the Majelis Ta'lim is faced with the challenge of contributing to the quality of various aspects of the life of the Islamic community. This research studies the phenomenon of the shifting role of the Majelis Ta'lim, which is no longer solely a religious institution that propagates Islam but is beginning to actively respond to issues categorized as "worldly" (muamalah). This shift in the role of the Majelis Ta'lim is interesting: Why and in what aspects has this shift (or, more accurately, enrichment) in its role occurred? This study uses an analytic descriptive approach to examine this phenomenon. The research results show that in the context of a developing Islamic society, the Majelis Ta'lim institution, which exists throughout the region of West Java, can become a development actor in the midst of its routine religious study activities. Although its scope to date has been in the religious area (diniyah), its representatives are becoming involved as actors and spokesmen for the development of Islamic society in social and economic fields.

The fields of zakat-based microfinance and community development are not often placed under the same theoretical lens that both aim to empower disadvantaged people. This study investigates the experiences of borrowers in the implementation of zakat-based microfinance and analyses the different driving factors they applied in their choice of the zakat-based microfinance of Daarut Tauhid Peduli in Bandung, Indonesia. It applies a community development framework, based on the five characteristics, to explore this Islamic microfinance approach as an effective community development program, which has a religious dimension. Primary data were obtained from semi-structured interviews with the borrowers along with participant observation at a weekly majelis meeting, and these were triangulated with information cross-checked with the management staff of the institution. The findings demonstrate three out of five characteristics of the zakat-based microfinance approach as an effective community development program. They include characteristics in constantly maintaining power relations between borrowers and the institution, increasing capability and ability of borrowers to be more independent and empowered, and long-term duration of the program and sustainability. The findings showed that spiritual factors appear to have been an additional driving force on top of economic and non-economic factors for most borrowers choosing this particular program.