Moderate Muslims urged to join war on terrorism<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri finally reached out to the
\ncountry's Islamic mainstream on Monday, urging them to
\nparticipate in the war against terrorism.<\/p>\n
She also assured the country's Muslim community that the on-
\ngoing antiterrorism drive was not directed against Islam.<\/p>\n
\"The President is calling on moderate Muslim groups such as
\nNahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah to promote Islam as a peace-
\nloving and cooperative religion, especially in the current war
\nagainst terrorism,\" chairman of the Indonesian Muslim Students
\nAssociation (PMII) Nusron Wahid said after a meeting with
\nMegawati Monday.<\/p>\n
The PMII is one of the youth-wing organizations of Nahdlatul
\nUlama (NU), the largest Muslim-based organization in the country.<\/p>\n
\"The President also underlines that the Muslim community
\nshould not be afraid of the current probe as long as they are not
\ninvolved in terrorist activities,\" Nusron said.<\/p>\n
Megawati's invitation for moderate Muslim groups was the first
\nattempt to engage the public in fighting against the terrorism
\nthat has created havoc for the country's economy with the deadly
\nattacks in the prime tourist destination of Bali on Oct. 12.<\/p>\n
It also came amid anxiety among Muslims here following police
\nsearches in a number of Muslim boarding schools suspected of
\nhaving links with suspects in the Bali carnage that killed almost
\n190 people and injured over 300 others, mostly foreigners.<\/p>\n
The searches have provoked strong criticism from some quarters
\nin society, with NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi saying that the police
\nshould have shown more courtesy in conducting investigations in
\nthese schools.<\/p>\n
Earlier, Hasyim, Bishop's Council of Indonesia (KWI) chairman
\nCardinal Julius Darmaatmadja, Indonesian Communion of Churches
\n(PGI) chairman AA Yewangoe, nationalist figure Roeslan Abdoelgani
\nand Muslim scholar Nurcholis Madjid called for an end to
\npropaganda equating terrorism with Islam.<\/p>\n
Nusron said that Megawati had given assurance that there was
\nno intention at all from the government of abusing the
\nantiterrorism regulation or to follow any foreign scenarios as
\nsuggested by some quarters in the society.<\/p>\n
She did admit that the presence of a number of radical
\nreligious groups had created problems for her administrations but
\nemphasized that their existence did not warrant the government to
\nabuse the recently unveiled antiterrorism regulations.<\/p>\n
\"Their numbers are not much, but they could become a pebble in
\nthe shoe of the government,\" Megawati said, referring to their
\npotential to create problems in the country.<\/p>\n
Vice President Hamzah Haz also criticized the searches of
\nMuslim schools on Monday, saying that the police should show
\nrespect for these places.<\/p>\n
\"The police should use a different approach when investigating
\ngambling dens and Muslim boarding schools,\" said Hamzah, who is
\nalso the leader of the country largest Muslim-based party.<\/p>\n
\"This criticism should provide input for the police in doing
\ntheir job. Please do not treat places of worship as terrorist
\nhiding places,\" Hamzah said.<\/p>\n
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said that the police
\nwould always act ethically in conducting searches in Muslim
\nschools.<\/p>\n
\"All places in the country come under our jurisdiction, except
\nsome areas belonging to foreign diplomatic missions,\" Da'i
\nremarked.<\/p>\n
\"So we have the right to conduct searches in the Muslim
\nschools, but of course we take ethics into account when we do
\nso,\" the four-star general said.<\/p>\n
He further said that the investigation would continue to be
\ntransparent so that the public could scrutinize the work of the
\npolice.<\/p>\n
Despite of the criticism, Bali investigative team leader Insp.
\nGen. Made Mangku Pastika said on Monday that the police would
\nconduct more searches in Muslim boarding schools to find the
\nperpetrators of the bombing.<\/p>\n
Nusron underlined that his organization endorsed the
\nPresident's view on Islamic radicalism, including the insistence
\non inclusion of sharia in the state's life, as a worrying
\nphenomenon in the country.<\/p>\n
\"We believe that religion is the private sphere and the state
\nis the public sphere. Forcing the inclusion of shariah in the
\nstate's live would jeopardized this distinction,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/moderate-muslims-urged-to-join-war-on-terrorism-1447893297",
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