Asian leaders call for peaceful Muslim fasting month<\/p>\n
HONG KONG (AFP): Asian Muslims called for unity on Thursday
\nahead of the fasting month of Ramadhan and an end to sectarian
\nand separatist violence which has flared throughout the region in
\nrecent months.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-populated country,
\nRamadhan began on Thursday with a call for national unity amid
\nreligious clashes and mounting calls by provinces for
\nindependence.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, a nation of 200 million people, is battling
\nseparatist movements in Aceh and Irian Jaya provinces, and
\nongoing Muslim-Christian clashes in the eastern Maluku islands.<\/p>\n
Authorities said 13,000 policemen have been deployed to secure
\nJakarta, while Islamic leaders and a Roman Catholic bishop
\nappealed for restraint.<\/p>\n
Ambon, the capital of Indonesia's eastern province of Maluku,
\nhas witnessed almost a year of bloody violence between warring
\nMuslim and Christian residents in which 700 people have been
\nkilled.<\/p>\n
Maluku Governor Saleh Latuconsina appealed for a truce.
\n"Religious figures, informal and youth leaders, security
\npersonnel from the military and the police should make use of
\nthis time to earnestly hold negotiations and dialogs toward
\nachieving a peaceful and secure situation," he said.<\/p>\n
Monsignor C. Mandagie, the Roman Catholic bishop of Ambon
\ndiocese, also called on his flock to respect the holy month.<\/p>\n
"Muslims and Christians should apologize to one another and
\nend the prolonged conflict in an endeavor to create lasting peace
\nin the territory," he said in a pastoral letter which will be
\nread in all Catholic churches in the province.<\/p>\n
Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid was preparing to visit
\nAmbon over the weekend but is skipping Aceh, where demands for a
\nseparate Islamic state have grown louder since East Timor voted
\nfor independence in August.<\/p>\n
East Timor independence leader Xanana Gusmao on Wednesday
\nsigned a guest book at the Annur mosque in the Catholic former
\nPortuguese territory and met a group of about 200 Muslims.<\/p>\n
In Pakistan, where Ramadhan is expected to start with the
\nappearance of the crescent moon on Friday, security has been
\nstiffened to avert violence and sectarian sabotage, officials
\nsaid on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Police will guard mosques during special prayers held daily
\nabout two hours after the break of fast at sunset.<\/p>\n
Sectarian unrest since September, blamed on militants from the
\nextremist groups in the majority Sunni and minority Shiite sects,
\nhas claimed more than 50 lives.<\/p>\n
The new military government which seized power in October has
\nalso ordered strict implementation of laws on maintaining the
\n"sanctity" of the holy month.<\/p>\n
Afghanistan's ruling Taleban said they would not attack
\nopposition forces during Ramadhan.<\/p>\n
The Taleban control most of the country but are fighting a
\nbitter civil war against opposition troops who hold two
\nnortheastern provinces and the Panjshir Valley, 100 kilometers
\nnorth of the capital Kabul.<\/p>\n
In religiously diverse Malaysia, an Islamic party broadened
\nits power with a surprise state election win last month but has
\nsparked an outcry over plans to introduce a special tax on non-
\nMuslims.<\/p>\n
In the northeastern states of Kelantan and Terengganu, ruled
\nby the Parti Islam SeMalaysia, civil servants are being allowed
\nto stop work early during Ramadhan to prepare for the evening
\nmeal.<\/p>\n
Non-Muslim government employees can also leave early even
\nthough they, unlike Muslims, will have a lunch break.<\/p>\n
Special prayers will be held nightly after the breaking of the
\nfast in all 37 mosques in the national capital Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n
Ramadhan begins Friday in India, a Hindu-majority country of
\nnearly one billion people which is also home to more than 125
\nmillion Muslims, the largest religious minority.<\/p>\n
Muslims will not eat, drink or smoke and abstain from sex
\nbetween sunrise and sunset during the holy month, which is
\nfollowed by the Muslim festival of Idul Fitri.<\/p>\n
Bangladeshi President Shahabuddin Ahmed sent greetings to his
\ncounterparts throughout the Muslim world as the National Moon
\nSighting Committee decided to begin Ramadhan on Friday.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asian-leaders-call-for-peaceful-muslim-fasting-month-1447893297",
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