The Role of MTs N 3 Surabaya City in Building Religious Moderation Culture: Analysis of Inclusive and Child-Friendly Education Models
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Backgrounds. As educational institutions with Islamic characteristics, madrasahs play unique roles and bear special responsibilities in this national project. Madrasahs function not only as institutions for knowledge transfer, but also as centers for character formation and religious understanding of Indonesia's young Muslim generation.
Aims. This research conducts an in-depth analysis of the religious moderation culture development model at MTsN 3 Surabaya City, positioned as a pioneer in responding to the national agenda for strengthening religious moderation. Facing challenges of intolerance and radicalism, this madrasah has designed a holistic and systematic program architecture.
Methods. Using qualitative analysis methods on institutional publication data and news reports, this study identifies three main strategic pillars: (1) student empowerment as agents of change through the flagship program "Young Ambassadors of Religious Moderation"; (2) institutional ecosystem strengthening through in-depth teacher training and internal knowledge production in the form of dozens of moderation books; and (3) holistic integration of moderation values into curriculum, school culture, and strategic partnerships.
Result. The main findings indicate that this strategy not only successfully forms tolerant, prosocial, and nationally minded student characters, but also fundamentally transforms the school climate into a safer, more harmonious, and collaborative environment.
Conclusion. The central thesis of this report is that the comprehensive implementation of religious moderation at MTsN 3 Surabaya City functions as an instrumental mechanism to realize an inclusive education model based on the Child-Friendly School (CFS) framework.
Implementation. This model proves effective in translating macro policies into impactful micro practices, offering valuable insights for other educational institutions.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Amrina, A., Aprison, W., Sesmiarni, Z., M, Iswantir, & Mudinillah, A. (2022). Child-friendly schools, challenges and opportunities in student character formation in the globalization era. Jurnal Obsesi: Jurnal Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, 6(6), 6803-6812.
Aziz, A., & Anam, K. (2024). Religious moderation and discourse struggle in public space. IRCiSoD.
Daimah. (2017). Inclusive education perspective QS. Al-Hujurat verses 10-13 as solution for teaching exclusivism in schools. Al-Thariqah: Jurnal Pendidikan Agama Islam, 1(1), 54-70.
Duta.co. (2025, February 13). MTsN 3 Surabaya inaugurates Young Ambassadors of Religious Moderation, creating tolerant generation. Duta.co.
Fitriani, S., Istaryatiningtias, & Qodariah, L. (2021). A child-friendly school: How the school implements the model. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education, 10(1), 273-284.
Hasanah, U., & Abbas, A. (2024). Integration of religious moderation values in Islamic religious education (PAI) learning at SD Islam Al Azhar 11 Surabaya. Jurnal Pendidikan dan Pembelajaran (Alyasini), 9(1), 1-15.
Hefni, W. (2019). Religious moderation. Research and Development and Training Agency of Ministry of Religious Affairs RI.
Iman, N., Basri, M., Tajab, M., Saputro, A. D., Erwahyudin, D. D., & Syah, M. D. F. (2025). Implementation of Islamic religious education learning in inclusive schools in Indonesia. Journal of Research in Education and Pedagogy, 2(1), 73-81.
Kantor Kementerian Agama Kabupaten Bantul. (2023, March 30). Religious moderation guidance for MTs and MA teachers. Bantul.kemenag.go.id.
Ministry of Religious Affairs. (2024). Regulation of Minister of Religious Affairs of Republic of Indonesia Number 8 of 2024 concerning Changes to Regulation of Minister of Religious Affairs Number 18 of 2020 concerning Strategic Plan of Ministry of Religious Affairs 2020-2024.
Ministry of Religious Affairs. (2025). Kemenag: Madrasah learning content must contain religious moderation. Kemenag.go.id.
Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection. (2019). Child-friendly school prototype model based on local wisdom. Ahmad Dahlan University.
MTsN 3 Bogor. (2025). Religious moderation in madrasah. Mtsn3-bogor.sch.id.
MTsN 3 Kota Surabaya. (2025a). Vision and mission of MTsN 3 Surabaya City. Mtsn3kotasurabaya.sch.id.
MTsN 3 Kota Surabaya. (2025b, March 6). Religious moderation strengthening workshop at MTsN 3 Surabaya City. Mtsn3kotasurabaya.sch.id.
MTsN 3 Kota Surabaya. (2025c). Religious moderation material by Young Ambassadors of Moderation MTsN 3 Surabaya City. YouTube.
MTsN 3 Kota Surabaya. (2025d). Religious moderation chants at MTsN 3 Surabaya City. YouTube.
MTsN 3 Kota Surabaya. (2025e, February 20). Religious moderation ambassadors MTsN 3 Surabaya City clean madrasah environment. YouTube.
MTsN 3 Kota Surabaya. (2025f). MATSAMA MTsN 3 Surabaya City 2025. Mtsn3kotasurabaya.sch.id.
MTsN 3 Kota Surabaya. (2025g, July 17). Madrasah program socialization 2025 at MTsN 3 Surabaya City. Mtsn3kotasurabaya.sch.id.
MTsN 3 Kota Surabaya. (2025h, April 17). Socialization to prevent radicalism and intolerance by Densus. Mtsn3kotasurabaya.sch.id.
MTsN 3 Kota Surabaya. (2025i, February 6). MTsN 3 Surabaya City study visit to MAN 1 Malang City: Strengthen religious moderation. Mtsn3kotasurabaya.sch.id.
Muchith, M. S. (2025). Religious moderation-based school management to realize tolerance education in Indonesia. SIBATIK JOURNAL, 4(5), 579-588.
Nasarudin, N., Syafii, A. H., Nurjannah, N., Muhirdan, M., Husnan, H., & Marlina, H. (2024). Child-friendly school (CFS) management model in instilling character education in independent curriculum. Jurnal Obsesi: Jurnal Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, 8(5), 893-904.
Novrizal, N., & Manaf, S. (2024). The policy of inclusive education in Indonesia. Multicultural Islamic Education Review, 2(1), 39-48.
Nuhaliza, S., et al. (2024). Implementation of religious moderation values integration in religious intracurricular at Madrasah Tsanawiyah. Jurnal Educatio, 10(2), 245-260.
Purnomo, & Solikhah, P. I. (2021). Basic concepts of inclusive Islamic education: Study on Islamic inclusivity as foundation for developing inclusive Islamic education. J-PAI: Jurnal Pendidikan Agama Islam, 7(2), 114-123.
Riza, M., et al. (2024). Religious moderation textbook. PT. Literasi Nusantara Abadi Grup.
TV9 Nusantara. (2025, February 17). MTSN 3 Surabaya inaugurates Religious Moderation Ambassadors. YouTube.
Yuliana, Y., Lusiana, F., Ramadhanyaty, D., Rahmawati, A., & Anwar, R. N. (2022). Strengthening religious moderation in early childhood as effort to prevent radicalism during Covid-19 pandemic. Jurnal Obsesi: Jurnal Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, 6(4), 2974-2984.