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.