Young Jesuits are being invited to participate in a one-month programme designed to help them understand the lived reality of Islam in our world. The Asia Pacific Theological Encounter Programme (APTEP) was developed by the Jesuits in Indonesia to help the Society of Jesus respond to the challenges of the Church in the area of interreligious dialogue, especially in Asia. It will be held from April 20 to May 20, 2015 in Indonesia, which is home to the world’s largest Muslim population.
Participants will stay at the Ignatius House of Studies in Yogyakarta, and will have classes on Islamic studies with Muslim and non-Muslim professors, discussing topics such as the Qur’an, the history of Islam, Islamic Law, and Islamic Theology and Philosophy. They will also have the opportunity to reflect on Christianity and Islam and to spend one week in an Islamic boarding school for an immersion experience.
The APTEP is accredited by the Jesuit-run Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta, and has been well received by participants.
“Abdul Kadir Riyadi, one of the speakers during our stay in the pesantren in Jombang said that if you want to study Islam especially how it is lived and practised, you come to Indonesia. And I feel that APTEP simply facilitated the claim of the speaker as I truly experienced how Muslims live the faith – I have seen their faith and how they truly live the faith. My experiences at the pesantren were really a great impact into my disposition towards my Muslim brothers and sisters. That was truly my religious experience,” said a participant in the first APTEP in 2011.
Another previous participant said “[The APTEP] offered a comprehensive study of Islam. This, as well as living with them for a week, paved me an objective way of looking at Muslims and their religion. The biases that I had with them in the past were corrected.”
The APTEP can take up to 15 participants but a few places are still available. Applicants should preferably have completed at least one year of theology.
For more information on the Asia Pacific Theological Encounter Programme, click here.