Abdurrahman Wahid's election to world religious body hailed

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)