Abdurrahman Wahid's election to world religious body hailed
JAKARTA (JP): Prominent religious figures have hailed the decision made by the World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP) to name Abdurrahman Wahid, chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama organization, a member of the presidium of the WCRP.
"We are proud that an Indonesian was selected as one of WCRP's presidents," one of the Indonesian delegates to the recent sixth WCRP in Rome, Victor Tanja, said on Saturday.
He said Abdurrahman was not nominated for the post by the Indonesian delegates.
"He was nominated by an Australian delegate," Tanja told The Jakarta Post.
Gedong Bagus Oka, another Indonesian representative at the conference, said the nomination of Abdurrahman Wahid for the presidium post was valid.
"The nominating mechanism for the presidium's members was determined by the WCRP's governing body," she said.
"As long as the governing body agrees on the nominee, the election is legal," she added.
Included among the other Indonesian delegates to the conference were Lukman Harun, Maftuchah Yusuf, and Anton Timur Jaelani. The conference, held from Oct. 31 until Nov. 10, was also attended by several other Indonesians invited by the WCRP.
However, chairman of the Indonesian Council of Ulemas Hasan Basri declined to give any comments on the election of Abdurrahman as one of the WCRP's presidium members.
"It is the WCRP's election system, I cannot say anything," Hasan said.
"I can only hope that he (Abdurrahman) will be able to echo the aspirations of Indonesian Moslems in that international body," he added.
Ilyas Ruchiyat, Syuriyah's Acting Chairman (Rois' Aam) of Nahdlatul Ulama, happily welcome the appointment of Abdurrahman as a Presidium member of the WCRP.
"It proves to us that Abdurrahman, either as an individual or a Nahdlatul Ulama figure, is internationally acclaimed," Ilyas was quoted by the Surya daily as saying.
Abdurrahman, popularly called "Gus Dur", was not available when the Post tried to contact him by phone on Saturday.
"Bapak (Abdurrahman) is still in Japan attending a seminar," his house maid said.
Controversial politician Abdurrahman caused a stir recently for his visit to Israel, a country with which Indonesia has no diplomatic relations. At the invitation of the Israeli government, Abdurrahman and two other Indonesian Moslem scholars, Djohan Effendy and Habib Chirzin, attended the signing of the peace agreement between Israel and Jordan on Oct. 26.
Abdurrahman said last week that it was time for Indonesia, the world's largest Moslem nation, to consider diplomatic ties with Israel. Such ties are necessary for the future, following the improved relations between Israel and Arab countries, he said.
The Council of Ulemas and other Moslem organizations have condemned the visit, saying it would split Moslem opinions here. In February, Moslem groups also condemned four Indonesian journalists for visiting Israel.
World Conference on Religion and Peace was established in 1970. Its mission is to promote the ideals of universal peace, justice, and freedom, as well as unite individuals of all religious creeds in an effort to realize world peace through dialogs on disarmament, human rights and global economic reform.(imn)