Understanding the Teaching of Religious Moderation from a Sufistic Perspective and Its Implications for Student Performance

Abstract

This study set out with the aim of understanding the teaching of religious moderation from a Sufistic perspective and its implications for increasing student competencies. The participants for the study comprised 100 students and 40 lecturers involved in Al-Quran and Tafsir science at the Ushuluddin Faculty at IAIN Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. The research adopted a qualitative approach, with data being collected through observation, interviews, and documentary studies that focused on the research themes of religious moderation, the Sufistic perspective, and student competencies. The findings revealed that according to some Sufistic commentators, religious moderation comprises the moderate values of 1) maintaining brotherly relations with other people, 2) appreciating people’s differences, 3) showing tolerance and dismissing fanaticism, and 4) thinking ahead. This has implications for students’ competencies, because teaching religious moderation encourages them to gain a better-quality interpretation of the Quran, so they can develop better reasoning, understanding, and professional skills. Students are therefore guided to become superior Muslim scholars who are professional and qualified to respond to the challenges of the times. These findings are expected to reinforce the importance of the Quranic values in moderate Islamic education, especially those related to the role of religious moderation in increasing student competence in terms their morality and religious spirituality. Islamic universities therefore need to consider various studies of interpretative science as a reference for transforming Islamic religious education in an era of technological disruption and radicalism.