Revitalizing the Roles of Higher Education in the preservation of Harmony among Religious Society

Harmony among religious society denotes a solid foundation in the context of pluralistic society. The preservation of harmonious affinity of the society requires collectively participative roles among groups within the society including higher education practitioners. This Study highlights Islamic higher education efforts reflected through the practices of education, research and community services for preserving religious harmony. This research applies a qualitative approach to investigate practices of preserving harmony by heads and lecturers of Islamic Higher Education Institutions in Eastern Regions of Indonesia. This study reveals that the State College for Islamic Studies of Sorong, West Papua intensively held cross-religious dialogs with prominent religious leaders while State Islamic Institute of Datuk Karama, Palu widened the opportunities among lecturers to hold harmony coaching such as coaching ex-terrorist inmates. In addition, State Islamic University of Makassar facilitated cross-religious studies with other theological higher education institutions. This study recommends strengthening synergy among higher education institutions in revitalizing their roles for the preservation of religious harmony