Inclusivity In Islamic Education: The Perspective Of K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid; Efforts To Bridge The Dualism In The National Education System

Abstract

A fundamental dualism still looms over Indonesia’s current national education system. The sharp division between the general education sector managed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, on the one hand, and Islamic education, which falls under the purview of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, on the other, is not merely a matter of administrative differentiation. More than that, this structural institutional dichotomy creates an epistemological divide between religious and general academic disciplines, which in turn diminishes the quality of the nation’s human capital. It is within this context that the concept of religious inclusivism developed by Gus Dur emerges as a paradigmatic alternative worthy of examination. To achieve this objective, a qualitative approach was adopted using a literature review design. The data analysis method employed content analysis adapted from the data processing framework of Miles, Huberman, and Saldana, enabling the researcher not only to describe the text literally but also to interpret the reflective patterns underlying the narratives of Gus Dur’s inclusivism. The findings indicate that Gus Dur’s Islamic educational inclusivism rests upon five pillars: Islam as a mercy to all creation, the indigenisation of Islam, universal humanism, substantive democracy, and national brotherhood. These five pillars are integrative in nature and directly address the three levels of dualism: paradigmatic, institutional, and curricular. Gus Dur’s thought offers not merely theological discourse, but an operational and relevant educational paradigm to address the fragmentation of the national education system.