Friski Riana, Jakarta – Vice President Jusuf Kalla compared sermons in Malaysian mosques to Indonesia. He highlighted Malaysia's mosques that tend to open a sermon by praying for the well-being of its King.
"There are no sermons here in Indonesia which pray for the president, however, there are sermons that criticize the president," said Jusuf Kalla during the national campus' mosques workshop in Jakarta today, November 10.
The vice president mentioned another stark difference between mosques in both countries. According to Jusuf Kalla, sermons in Malaysian mosques tend to be centralized and homogeneous since they are managed by the government.
Meanwhile, in Indonesia, the mosques are organized and built by the people and the local communities. Especially the ones located within campus environments that are led by professors.
VP Jusuf Kalla (JK) also acknowledged that the charity box normally seen in Indonesian mosques are rarely seen outside of Indonesia. This factor was seen by him as a means to measure a country's charitable trait.