Jakarta, Dec. 16 -- The Ministry of Religious Affairs has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Cooperatives to economically empower Indonesia's Muslim community through the development of cooperatives linked to mosques and Islamic educational institutions.

Speaking during his ministry's national conference in Tangerang, Banten, on Tuesday, Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar encouraged more mosques and Islamic schools to take part in strengthening the national cooperative ecosystem to support economic growth and self-reliance.

He said efforts to empower and guide citizens toward economic independence are important to enable the government to focus tax-based resources on infrastructure development and br...