The Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Muhammadiyah Purwokerto (UMP) held the 10th medical oath-taking ceremony last Wednesday (04/01). The oath-taking was held at the Syamsuhadi Ersyad Hall, UMP, Banyumas, Central Java. Forty-seven new doctors followed this oath-taking procession.

UMP Chancellor, Assoc Prof Dr Jebul Suroso; UMP Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dr. dr. Muhammad Mansyur Romi SU PA(K); UMP Daily Advisory Board, Drs H Achmad Kifni; and the Chairperson of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) for Banyumas Regency, Dr M Zaenuri S Hidayat Sp KF MSi Med attended the procession.

Also attending the ceremony, the representative of the Head of Banyumas Health Office, Joko Saryanto SSos; the Director of various hospitals such as Salatiga Public Hospital, Tegal Public Hospital, PKU Muhammadiyah Gombong Hospital, Purwokerto Islamic Hospital; and all lecturers of the Faculty of Medicine.

Furthermore, the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dr. dr. Muhammad Mansyur Romi SU PA (K) mentioned that receiving a doctor’s degree required a long process. It means that there has to be aware of the student that after becoming a doctor, the responsibilities were getting bigger. “In the near future, you will also have to do an internship program,” he said.

In addition, UMP Chancellor, Assoc. Prof. Dr Jebul Suroso expressed his gratitude to IDI, the UMP network hospital, the Center for Research and Development of Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicine (B2P2TOOT) and all the educational institutions that have participated. “Hopefully, the guidance, support, and cooperation will continue in the following years,” he said.

The Islamic and Muhammadiyah Studies Institute (LAIK) of the Institute of Islamic Studies Muhammadiyah (IAIM) Sinjai held a Tarjih Studies by raising the theme “Guidelines for the Dead Bodies Management” at the Darul Ilmi Mosque, IAIM Sinjai. Tuesday (10/01).

This Tarjih (outweighing between evidence) program invited the IAIM Sinjai Lecturer of Islamic and Muhammadiyah Studies, Ust. Dr. Zulkarnain Mubhar, S.Th.I., M.Th.I. as a resource person, accompanied by the Secretary of LAIK, Eril, S.Pd., M.H. as the moderator and attended by dozens of students and several IAIM Sinjai leaders.

“We can make a similar program as this training to remind all of us, Kullu Nafsin Dzaikatul Maut, which means that every soul will surely taste death and the question now is how do we prepare for it,” said Ust. Zul at the beginning opened his material.

This recitation activity was also attended by students in the IAIM Sinjai Al-Islam and Kemuhammadiyahan (AIK) Course. “So we also require students to take part in LAIK Recitation as a compulsory AIK subject for students,” said the Head of LAIK IAIM, Imam Zarkasyi Mubhar, M.Ag.

“This program related to the guidance on organizing the funeral is also important because it is Fardu Kifayah, which means that we are all obliged to understand the management of the funeral,” added the Head of LAIK. Also present at this occasion, the Vice Chancellor III for Student Affairs, Alumni and AIK, Dr. Muh. Anis, M. Hum.

The participants of the Muhammadiyah Scholarship Preparation Program (MSPP) Batch V from the Muhammadiyah Council for Higher Education Research and Development (Diktilitbang) were invited to have a city tour in Solo. One of the destinations was Kotabarat Middle School (Special Program), Sunday, (08/01). It is a series of MSPP activities after they did the UMS Campus Tour last month. The activity began with the participants departing from the KH Mas Mansur International Student Islamic Boarding School (Pesma) UMS where the participants were staying during the MSPP activity heading to the first Car Free Day (CFD) location which is located on the Jalan Slamet Riyadi section.

The participants then moved to one of the educational Muhammadiyah Services (AUM), Kotabarat Middle School (Special Program). The Head of Sub-department for Pesma Cadres KH Mas Mansur UMS, Dodi Afianto, M.Pd.I., mentioned the objectives for visiting the school. “Previously, we would like to thank Kotabarat Middle School for providing the opportunity to MSPP participants to visit this school. We hope that this activity will be able to provide an overview regarding the strategy for developing schools in their respective regions because the participants come from various regions in Indonesia,” said Dodi Alfianto.

MSPP Batch V Coordinator, Phisca Aditya conveyed that the other purpose was to build good relationships, then continued with a discussion about the programs and excellences of  Kotabarat School. “We aim to demonstrate a role model of schools in Surakarta, as an encouragement for all of us when going back to our respective regions,” said Phisca.

On this occasion, the Principal of the Kotabarat Middle School, Muhdiyatmoko, M.Pd., conveyed the development of Muhammadiyah educational institutions in Kotabarat from the pioneering to the developing process until now. “Kotabarat education institutions have Special Programs from Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle School, to High School. The first establishment was the Muhammadiyah Elementary School for the Special Program in 2000, which was then followed by the Middle School, High School and Kindergarten,” said the Principal.

According to him, Muhammadiyah’s education is in great demand by the public because of the achievements and quality of education. The different qualities should be elevated by Muhammadiyah education institutions as a holistic system of education. “Especially in managing finances, we manage it dynamically, so that kindergarten to high school support each other when we need facilities and infrastructure to support the learning process,” he said. He also mentioned that in order to succeed in managing a special program school, all parties should be solid. In addition, it has to be remembered that education serves noble values, so the service should be prioritized. After visiting Kotabarat School, they continued to visit the Sheikh Zayed Solo Mosque and had lunch together.

If we talk about Progressive Islam, surely, our direction is Islam that is Rahmatan Lil’alamin (the mercy to all creation). That was a statement from Prof. Dr Sofyan Anif, M.Sc, at the Islamic sermon on “The Power of Knowledge is a Pillar of Progressive Islam”, at the Islamic Center Madiun, Sunday (08/01).

The Chancellor of UM Surakarta, recently inaugurated as UM Madiun Rector, also told a story in a hadith narrated by Abu Jafar and Abdullah bin Masud. The hadith was told that when the Prophet was about to enter the mosque, he was visited by a young man. He asked “Rasulullah, should I join this gathering (assembly of knowledge) or that (assembly of dhikr)? Then the Prophet replied by pointing to the gathering of knowledge.

Then, he explained Rasulullah’s answer that there is a teaching and learning process in the scientific assembly. “The dhikr assembly is also good, they hope to get a reward from Allah, but whether it is accepted or not is not certain. It depends on the sincerity of the people who pray. But here, there is a process of teaching and learning, from those who know to those who don’t know, from those who already have the knowledge to those who do not have the knowledge,” he explained. He continued, in the history of the hadith, Rasulullah was sent by Allah only to be a teacher (mualliman).

Muhammadiyah is very committed to science, such as by establishing schools or scientific assemblies. He explained that the conversation between the Prophet Muhammad and the young man formed a foundation that Islam should prioritize scientific assembly, by remembering to not forget its contents and implementing the contents of the Koran.

By quoting An-Nisa verse 9, according to Anif, it becomes a warning to not leave generations who are weak in faith, physical, or knowledge. “It is our duty (as parents), which cannot be separated from our responsibilities. Building a generation means building the power of Islam in the future, a strong generation. Not what Allah insinuated in Surah An-Nisa verse 9 earlier, leaving a weak generation,” he explained.

The power of knowledge would provide a strong foundation for the formation of progressive Islam, as implemented by Muhammadiyah.

In front of the audience that gathered in the Madiun Islamic Center, Sofyan Anif also highlighted that knowledge will become light and guidance, both in religious values and scientific knowledge. Not only to recite it but also to understand the content and practice it.

Wa Ode Al Zarliani was again inaugurated as the Rector of Universitas Muhammadiyah Buton (UM Buton) for 2022-2026 at the UM Buton Convention Center, Thursday (29/12). She was inaugurated directly by the Chairman of the Muhammadiyah Council for Higher Education Research, and Development (CHERD), Prof. Lincolin Arsyad PhD, while the Decree on the Appointment was read by Mohammad Adam Jerussalem, PhD. The procession then continued with the signing of the inaugural oaths, the contract and integrity pact which was witnessed directly by the Muhammadiyah Province Board of Southeast Sulawesi, Nur Alim.

The procession was also attended by the Mayor of Baubau, La Ode Ahmad Monianse; Muhammadiyah Province Board of Southeast Sulawesi, Nur Alim; Representative of Higher Education Service Institute (LLDIKTI) IX SULTAN BATARA, Syahruddin, along with guests who gathered in the UM Buton Convention Center. In her remarks, Al Zarliani expressed her gratitude for the trust given to lead UM Buton for the second time. “Today is a historic day for me and my family because today I was inaugurated again as the Chancellor of UM Buton for 2022-2026,” said Al Zarliani.

Al Zarliani also expressed her gratitude for the trust and support during her first term as the Chancellor. In the future, she said that UM Buton would face tougher challenges ahead. For this second period, Unmuh Buton launched a vision to be reached in 2034-2038 by becoming a world centre of excellence. “Several achievements in national and international have been achieved by our students and lecturers in academic and non-academic,” she said. In addition, she also conveyed the planning for the construction of the Faculty of Engineering and the Drinking Water Company of Unmuh Buton. In the next period, Unmuh Buton will continue to build and improve facilities and academic affairs, as well as strengthen Islamic and Muhammadiyah values for all lecturers and academics.

The Community Service (P2AD) team of Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS) held an assistance program for the Village Government of Kemuning, Karanganyar, Central Java. By raising the theme “Web Development Course in Kemuning Village”, the course was conducted in Pendopo Ngopi, an aesthetic place in Kemuning. The course was initiated to develop and enlarge tourism digital promotion to ease the wider community’s access. Through the official web, the community will gain accurate information.

The P2AD team, led by Putri Agustina, facilitated the Web Development of Kemuning. The web can be reached at wonderfulkemuning.com, which has been developed by the collaboration of lecturers and students from various study programs in the Faculty of Education and Teacher Training (FKIP) UMS. “Through this web development and management, the speakers encourage us to keep innovating to make Kemuning tourism objects go viral,” said Aris, one of the participants.

Putri Agustina mentioned that once, people used to browse the Kemuning tourism object on Instagram and google from the visitors who share their reviews on social media. “So, through the development of a tourism official website managed by the local government, we hope that it will introduce Kemuning tourism objects based on the latest factual data,” said Putri Agustin, the P2AD team leader.

Later, the web will be managed by the local government that collaborated with Village-Owned Enterprise (Bumdes) through the updated development of Kemuning tourist destinations. The web has various informative features related to Kemuning village, including the local government, tourism information (both natural and culinary tourism), virtual tour, and accommodation.

The international students of Universitas Muhammadiyah Purwokerto (UMP) paid a visit to the Muhammadiyah Central Board (PP) office in Cik Ditiro, Yogyakarta, Friday (23/12). The visit, which was accompanied by UMP Rector, Dr Jebul Suroso, was warmly welcomed by Prof. Haedar Nashir, the President of Muhammadiyah Central Board accompanied by the Secretary of Muhammadiyah Central Board, Muhammad Sayuti, Ph.D.

In his remarks, Jebul Suroso mentioned several international students studying at UMP received scholarships and some paid the tuition fees by themselves. UMP has prepared international student program before the class started. The Rector also told a unique story about a student from Thailand who is fluent in Indonesian and Javanese (in Banyumas dialect). “He  is very proficient in Ngapak (Banyumasan dialect of Javanese, ed.) because he lived along with the community. Some are in dormitories and some are in rent-houses,” explained the Rector.

In the briefing, Haedar Nashir explained the history and development of Muhammadiyah. He suggested that the international students could also visit Papua so they could better understand Muhammadiyah’s role in empowering local communities. In Papua, Muhammadiyah becomes a minority, as well as Islam. “But we build schools, hospitals, higher education institutions without thinking about religious conversion, that is a personal choice,” he explained.

For him, the role of community service is to demonstrate the way of Muhammadiyah in realizing the teachings of Qur’an, especially in Al Hujurat verse 13. Various ways had been done by Muhammadiyah in the global context by establishing Muhammadiyah schools overseas including Muhammadiyah University in Malaysia. “In Lebanon, we built two schools for Palestinian refugees, for the Palestinian children. That is our way to show that Islam is a mercy to all creation (rahmatan lil alamin),” said Prof Haedar.

Universitas Muhammadiyah Prof DR HAMKA (Uhamka) is the best Islamic Higher Education Institution in Indonesia with nine faculties and postgraduate schools, covering 44 study programs, including the Doctoral Program of Indonesian Education. As a vision to be a prophetic teaching university, Uhamka implements spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and social education to create a progressive civilization. Currently, this university officially established a Master’s Program (S-2) in Pharmacy according to the Minister of Education, Culture, RI Research and Technology Decree Number 889/E/O/2022, on Tuesday (27/12).

Prof. Gunawan Suryoputro as the Rector of Uhamka expressed his profound gratitude because Uhamka has succeeded to perform continuous improvement that officially has a Master’s Program (S-2) in Pharmacy.

“Alhamdulillah, according to the Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology Decree of the Republic of Indonesia, Uhamka has officially established a Master Program (S-2) of Pharmacy. The newly established study program became an important part of the 2020-2024 Strategic Plans. Insya Allah, more study programs will be established which can become our new encouragement to contribute constantly to advancing the nation and Indonesia,” said Prof. Gunawan.

Prof. Gunawan Suryoputro also hoped that this Master’s Program can motivate Uhamka to accelerate excellence and continue to improve quality.

“I hope the University can maintain excellence in some future accomplishments. And the Master Program in Pharmacy will slowly catch up to excellence, both in the study program accreditation and its academic civitas,” added Prof. Gunawan.

Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) student, Aprilisfiya Handayani, became an inspirational figure who succeeded in proving her perseverance in painting. April, a UMM Accounting student, finally realized her dream that had been dreamed of since childhood to break a record. She conveyed to the Public Relations of UMM that this goal was inspired by the television program, Ripley’s Believe It or Not. The television show demonstrated unique achievements of various international record-breaking. “Since childhood, I intended to be able to break records in the arts. Including as it is now, even though the record-breaking includes many people,” she said. The record April mentioned was the event from Art for The Nation ‘Yayasan Seni untuk Bangsaku’ (YSUB) with the topic “Indonesia Paints 1,000 Faces” held in early November.

April has contributed a lot to art. Her paintings became the top ten in a national event in which the East Java Governor also presented. Apart from that, April’s art works often participate in exhibitions. In fact, April has also won the achievement of being the youngest painter at the 2018 Indonesian Art Fair event. She has also won international achievements by bringing home the Bronze Award in a painting competition at the Jakarta Music Foundation.

Besides painting, this UMM student also started an art gallery business with Prilis Gallery. She hoped that the gallery could become an art appreciation medium for the public to care more about the works of local artists. “I have also received Kemenristekdikti funding and successfully won Indonesian Student Entrepreneurship (KMI) last November,” she said proudly.

“I go to college not only to get a degree but also to gain knowledge as much as possible and to build networking. I intended to study sociology and politics because I want to become a statesman”. That was a statement from Syaiful Muhammad Usman, a Postgraduate student in the Sociology Department of Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) from Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

Apart from being a student, Syaiful also spent his time as an online motorcycle taxi driver. With good time management, Syaiful can manage his time between working and studying. Even though the classes mainly are conducted online, he still manages his time to study. “I work from morning to night. If I had a class to attend, I turned off the application first. After that, I continued to drive again,” he said.

Syaiful admitted that he does not feel inferior about the job he is currently doing. Although many people underestimated him. Being a motorcycle taxi driver provided his daily needs. Syaiful can collect hundreds of thousands in a day. He collected his income to support his daily life and to pay tuition fees. “The important thing is to not be ashamed because the work can generate income and give blessings,” he explained.

Syaiful’s strong determination to continue to a higher level of education brought him to gain a scholarship. “Alhamdulillah, Allah provides ease from an unexpected direction. I received a scholarship from the campus because I have experience in the Muhammadiyah Youth Organization in Kupang. Besides the scholarship from campus, I also get various assistance from BAZNAS, Dompet Dhuafa and LAZISMU,” he said happily.

Syaiful did not want to waste this opportunity. Even though he is quite far from home, his enthusiasm and passion are strong. He is optimistic and his endeavours can become a ladder that will lead him to realize his dreams. Helping people in numerous numbers through his great determination.

Syaiful chose UMM as his university because he admitted that UMM was the right place. “Even though the distance is quite far, the NTT people, especially Muslims, feel proud to study in UMM which has a religious nuance and has a good international reputation,” he said. Besides providing many scholarship opportunities, according to him, the Postgraduate Program at UMM was quite affordable because it could be paid in an instalment method. Furthermore, a lot of cooperative lecturers were one of the varied reasons that made him feel pleasant.