Islamic Book Fair 2017 Opens with Message to Revive Islamic Glory

Jakarta, 5 Sha’ ban 1438/ 3 Mei 2017 (MINA) –  The largest Islamic book exhibition, Islamic Book Fair (IBF, 2017, opened Wednesday by emphasizing the message of Islamic civilization through literacy.

Chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) KH. Ma’ruf Amin when opening the 16th exhibition said IBF should be a good place for civilization of Indonesian literacy in the field of book publishing.

“We hope that IBF should continue to produce qualified authors to continue the footsteps of their predecessors, such as Buya Hamka, Sheikh Nawawi and others,” said Ma’ruf Amin.

This year’s event took place at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) for five days (3 – 7 May), with the theme “Building Civilization Through Islamic Literacy.”

Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Publishers (IKAPI) DKI Jakarta Hikmat Kurnia in his speech said, human is the perpetrator as well as the creator of civilization, and the quality of a civilization highly depends on the quality of human.

“If humans are likened to a building, now the foundation has been shaken, though the ornaments and decorations are very good, but the foundations are fragile. We must strengthen the fragile foundation to save the future,” he said, quoting the words of a scholar.

He added, the question is how to produce superior quality human beings, so that we can save the future and make Islam able to  be victorious again?.

“The answer lies in the ability to build three pillars of literacy, namely reading culture, discussion culture, and writing culture. To rebuild the glory of Islam, like it or not we should start with the ability to produce human beings with capability to undertand literacy, “Hikmat.explained.

Meanwhile, IBF Committee Chairman M. Anis Baswedan said the organizers had prepared to organize no less than 50 events to be held on the main stage and stage at the Kid’s zone to support the IBF 2017 exhibition.

“Alhamdulillah although this book exhibition only  lasted five days, the publisher’s interest to follow this exhibition increased from the previous year, as well as the multi-product party at IBF. The business type of multi-product participants is increasingly varied, “said Anis.

IKAPI DKI as the organizer of the book exhibition as the previous year also gave awards to the best works of Islamic books in Indonesia in the form of Islamic Book Award (IB Award) to the authors of Islamic books in the country. (L/ R04/RS5)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)