On Friday, August 7, 2026, CSR-CMR representatives – Sumanto Al Qurtuby (the head of the center) and Rev. Dr. Gunawan YA Suprabowo (the center’s faculty affiliate) – visited the Balewiyata Institute of Theological Education (Institut Pendidikan Theologia Balewiyata, hereafter IPTh. Balewiyata) in Malang, East Java, an institution under the auspices of the Supreme Synod of Greja Kristen Jawi Wetan (GKJW). Reps of IPTh. Balewiyata, including Rev. Yulius and Rev. Hardiyan (the directors of IPTh. Balewiyata), welcomed the CSR-CMR reps.
The official meeting between reps of the institutions took place in the institute’s meeting room as well as in the very room that KH Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) once used when he taught Islamology to theology students at the institute in the 1970s.
The meeting marked an important milestone in strengthening academic cooperation networks and deepening Christian-Muslim relations in Indonesia. Discussions between representatives of the two institutions focused on building synergies between Balewiyata and SWCU, especially CSR-CMR, and on strategic collaboration to advance Christian-Muslim interreligious education, training, and research.
IPTh. Balewiyata itself brings specialized, high-value experience through its management of the Intensive Christian-Muslim Study (SIKI) program, an initiative based on a live-in approach that invites participants to reside and interact directly within Islamic boarding school (pesantren) communities as well as GKJW congregations.
Beyond academic discourse, the meeting reaffirmed the importance of fostering interfaith literacy and brotherhood through genuine encounters and shared living experiences. The achievements of the SIKI program demonstrate that Christian-Muslim dialogue must not cease at the intellectual level, but must instead be realized through authentic friendship and deep mutual understanding.
The discussion also highlighted the vital contribution of educational institutions in nurturing mutual respect, sustaining peace, and equipping society to navigate the religious and cultural diversity of a pluralistic Indonesia.
*Rev. Dr. Gunawan YA Suprabowo contributed to this report.
