African Moslems on brotherly visit

SURABAYA: Five South African Moslems are currently visiting East Java in an effort to enhance relations and set up cooperation with their brothers in the province, Antara reported.

The visitors -- Sheik Abdul Gamied, Abbas Gamied, Cassiems Solomons, Riedwan Gabier and Dr Osman Fahier -- were received by East Java's deputy governor for economic and development affairs Soeprapto Thursday.

They are members of the Indonesian South African Friendship Society, an institution formed by Moslems of Indonesian descent in South Africa.

Sheik Abdul Gamied, the group's leader, said South African Moslems want to cooperate in the development of the Indonesian national language in South Africa as many Africans of Indonesian descent could no longer speak the language.

Of the one million Moslems in South Africa, 600,000 are of Indonesian descent, he said.

The group will visit Ujungpandang, the Gontor Islamic boarding school in East Java, the Sunan Ampel mosque in Surabaya, and the tomb of Sunan Kalijogo in Semarang. Their visit, which began on Dec. 23, winds up on Dec. 31.