Firstly, Mrs. Maryia Kelly told us about Indonesia's Contribution in the Efforts of Religious Freedom in the Soviet Union. (Saint Petersburg Mosque).
When it was opened in 1913, this mosque was the largest in Europe outside of Turkey, the tower was 49 meters high and the dome was 39 meters high. This mosque is located in the center of the city of St. Petersburg. It can accommodate up to five thousand worshipers. In 1940, Soviet authorities banned worship services in this mosque and began using it as a warehouse for medical equipment. In 1956, at the request of the first Indonesian President, Sukarno, ten days after his visit to the city, the mosque was returned to the Muslim religious community of St. Petersburg.
Indonesia and America are the largest democracy countries in the world number two and three, if in Indonesia upholds the principle of "Unity in Diversity", so in America that uses the motto "E Pluribus Unum" where both have the same meaning and meaning namely Unity in Diversity said Maryia Kelly.Â
The United States and Indonesia are two countries with many similarities. These similarities include adopting the principle of democracy, and providing freedom in matters of religion. In addition, the United States and Indonesia also collaborate in various fields, one of these is in the field of education. Seeing this, the American and Indonesian governments agreed to build a United States Consulate (KONJEN) in Indonesia called EducationUSA.
Universal rights are preserved in the US's constitution and Indonesia's Pancasila. Religion is one of important things to American citizens. According to Mrs. Maryia Kelly (consulate general of America in Surabaya) explanation, 76% of American citizen join religious groups. And there are about 3000 religion groups in the United States.
Religion occupies a central position in the lives of US citizens and the diversity of religions embraced is a recognition of the value embedded in freedom of religion. The concept of thinking that humans must be able to follow their conscience in worship has been part of the identity of American citizens from the beginning.
Religious freedom, perpetuated in the US Constitution, collates the United States where believer of various religions live, work and worship side by side with mutual respect.
The founding fathers of the United States had long ago created a state that separated religion from the state. This is a guarantee of freedom to practice one's beliefs without torture and ill-treatment. This guarantee is stated in the First Amendment of the US Constitution, "Congress shall make no law respect an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ...".
There are several agendas implemented by student alumni in the United States relating to Islam. Some of these agendas such as creating a Muslim Student Association (MSA) community formed by Muslim students at the University of Pittsburgh. In addition, there are also Georgetown University Muslim students who hold an iftar together. This was done to build ukhuwah Islamiyyah and increase faith.
Now in the United States there is also an Islamic Boarding School, Pondok Nusantara Madani USA in Connecticut, which was founded by Imam Shamsi Ali. Shamsi Ali is an Indonesian Muslim student based in the United States. There are also thousands of mosques in the United States, one of which is the largest in Dearborn, Michigan.Â
Some Islamic Cultural Centers also exist in the US such as the Islamic Cultural Center in Washington D.C, and the Islamic Cultural Center in New York City. It is estimated that by the Pew Research Center Project in 2040 Islam will become the second largest majority religion after Christianity in the United States.
In addition to explaining the development of Islam in America, Mrs. Maryia also explained about education in the US and scholarships offered by the US to the international public. After expounding broadly on the topic. The next session was a question and answer session with participants who attended and closed with a prayer and a group photo.
