Try closes second Istiqlal Festival<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Vice President Try Sutrisno closed the two-month
\nlong second Istiqlal Festival of Islamic Arts and Culture during
\nan impressive ceremony at the Grand Istiqlal Mosque last night.<\/p>\n
Starting with the reading of the Koran and closed with songs
\nand dances by the Bimbo group, the closing ceremony was attended
\nby a number of cabinet ministers, Jakarta Governor Surjadi
\nSoedirdja, foreign ambassadors to Indonesia and thousands of
\npeople.<\/p>\n
In his speech, Try called on the people to strengthen their
\nreligious faith in the face of globalization.<\/p>\n
\"We should bear in mind that we are a pious nation which
\nupholds religious norms in our conduct,\" Try stressed.<\/p>\n
According to Try, it is obvious that religion is a source of
\nmotivation, inspiration and a stimulus for Indonesians in their
\neffort to develop the country.<\/p>\n
The vice president also warned that the religious tolerance
\nthat has been the pillar of this nation should not mean that
\nfollowers of the various religions should sacrifice their beliefs
\nfor the sake of religious harmony.<\/p>\n
\"But it should not mean a malpractice of religious teachings
\neither,\" he maintained.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the festival's organizing committee, Minister of
\nFinance Mar'ie Muhammad, said a total of 11 million people
\nvisited the festival. The number was above the target of 10
\nmillion visitors.<\/p>\n
\"The number should make us proud because it shows that
\nreligious spirits exist inside everyone of them, especially
\nbecause most of the people who attended the seminars and dialogs,
\nwhich were held as part of the Istiqlal festival, were Moslem
\nyouths,\" said Mar'ie in his report.<\/p>\n
Mar'ie on the occasion handed over the blueprint of the
\nIstiqlal Mushaf to Try, who presented it to the chairman of the
\nIndonesian Council of Ulemas, Hasan Basri.<\/p>\n
Huge Mushaf<\/p>\n
The festival committee announced earlier this week that the
\nhuge Mushaf will be published in book form, both in standard and
\nluxury editions, and will be distributed to the public.<\/p>\n
\"For the first edition, we will distribute it for free to
\nlimited people such as public figures and Islamic centers. The
\nstandard edition is expected to be completed at the end of this
\nyear and the luxury edition during the Ramadhan (Moslem fasting
\nmonth),\" said festival organizer Pontjo Soetowo.<\/p>\n
The 5,000 copies of the standard edition will be printed in
\nfive colors and the 1,000 copies of the luxury edition in seven
\ncolors.<\/p>\n
The Istiqlal Mushaf, a compilation of Koranic scripture with
\ntraditional decorations representing Indonesia's 27 provinces,
\nwas the highlight of this year's festival. The 970-page Mushaf
\nmeasures 123 cm by 88 cm and took 70 experts four years to
\ncomplete.<\/p>\n
The second Istiqlal Festival activities were also held in
\nGedung Kesenian Jakarta, the National Gallery of the Ministry of
\nEducation and Culture, Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts Center, the
\nMinistry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunication and other venues.<\/p>\n
Deputy chairman of the Indonesian Council of Ulemas, Ali
\nYafie, said the festival is a vehicle to help develop the great
\npotentials of Islamic culture, and should not stop at the
\nfestival's activities.<\/p>\n
\"The festival is also expected to support our material
\nadvances with our spiritual and artistic accomplishments, to show
\nthat we are civilized,\" said Ali.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's Moslem population of more than 160 million is the
\nlargest in the world.<\/p>\n
The second Istiqlal Festival was bigger and larger than the
\nfirst one held four years ago and had more participants,
\nincluding exhibitions from foreign countries.<\/p>\n
Four years ago, foreign participants were limited to other
\nAssociation of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN) countries. This
\nyear, they included Bangladesh, Bosnia, Britain, Brunei, China,
\nEgypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan,
\nPalestine, Singapore, Spain, Sudan, Tunisia, and Turkey. The
\ncountries took part in the festival's exhibition, bazaar and
\nseminar.<\/p>\n
The festival also provided a box for donations for Bosnia and
\nmanaged to collect over Rp 62 million (US$26,956) and several
\ngold rings from visitors.<\/p>\n
The Rp 10 billion festival featured various arts and cultural
\nworks and performances inspired by Islam. (31)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/try-closes-second-istiqlal-festival-1447893297",
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