5,000 Moslems pray for end to crisis

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: At least 5,000 Moslems attended a mass prayer, known as Istighosah kubro, here yesterday to ask for divine help to lift Indonesia out of its problems, Antara reported.

Waves of people from the provincial capital, Kupang, and the districts of Timor Tengah Selatan, Timor Tengah Utara and Belu began flooding into the East Nusa Tenggara Provincial Police soccer field at 6 a.m.

The congregation recited verses of the Koran led by 22 local Moslem figures.

Muhammad Salim al Djufri, chairman of the Kupang chapter of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia's largest Islamic organization with more than 30 million members, called on the Moslem community to pray for Allah's mercy and guidance.