Moslems told to help fight poverty<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto is urging the Islamic
\ncommunity in Indonesia to mobilize funds to finance various
\nefforts to eliminate poverty, most notably in funding the
\neducation of poor children.<\/p>\n
While opening the 17th National Koranic Reading Contest (MTQ)
\nin Pekanbaru, Riau last night, Soeharto said that poverty
\neradication is part of the national development program which is
\nnot only a national duty, but also a \"religious calling.\"<\/p>\n
\"If the Moslem community can collect huge funds to stage an
\nevent like this contest, then we should also be capable of
\nmobilizing funds for the eradication of poverty,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Doesn't the Koran state that we will be defying God if we do
\nnot take care of the orphans and the poor?\" Soeharto asked.
\n\"Didn't the Prophet also state that our devotion is deemed
\nimperfect if we still have brothers and sisters who live in want
\nwhile we live in abundance?\"<\/p>\n
The week-long event, to be participated in by some 1,500
\npeople from all corners of Indonesia, has already been criticized
\nby some people in Riau as a \"waste of money\" as it cost a total
\nof Rp 14 billion ($6.6 million) to stage, the Antara news agency
\nreported.<\/p>\n
But Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher justified the
\nspending in terms of the benefits the MTQ brings for education,
\nfor the religion and for Riau tourism. \"In Islam, the term waste
\nhas some evil connotations. So let's not make some bad
\npresumptions.\"<\/p>\n
Riau Governor Soeripto said that the province is benefiting
\nfrom hosting the event, citing the construction of the Taman Mini
\nRiau (the Riau miniature park) where the contest is being staged.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Hasan Basri also
\nrejected the suggestion that the MTQ is extravagant. \"You cannot
\njudge this spiritual activity in material terms,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Besides the Koranic reading contest, a series of seminars and
\nan exhibition will be held in the course of next week in
\nPekanbaru.<\/p>\n
The city is also taking the event seriously, knowing that it
\nis attracting national attention for the next week. It has
\nordered all Moslem civil servants, students and public transport
\ndrivers to wear Moslem costumes everyday until July 24.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto in his speech last night drew the
\nparticipants' attention to the need for the Moslem community to
\njoin in the present government campaign to eradicate poverty.<\/p>\n
\"We have to seriously develop and combine all of our potential
\nto show our social solidarity at a time when we are intensifying
\nour development efforts,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The MTQ is proof that, with the participation of the people,
\nthe nation can undertake large activities to help the poor, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Soeharto urged various social-religious organizations in the
\ncountry, which have succeeded in establishing education
\ninstitutes, to launch scholarship programs to finance the
\neducation of poor children.<\/p>\n
Giving them scholarships has a strategic value with long term
\nbenefits for the nation. \"We're giving them a rod and hook, not
\nthe fish, by giving them an opportunity to obtain education,\"
\nSoeharto said. (emb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/moslems-told-to-help-fight-poverty-1447893297",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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