All faiths must rise up against terrorism: Susilo

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post/Yogyakarta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urged world leaders of all religions on Monday to rise up against the scourge of terrorism and demonstrate that faith is a force for peace.

"To my mind, terrorism today must be regarded as the enemy of all religions," he said while opening the two-day International Dialog on Interfaith Cooperation at the Sheraton Mustika Hotel in Yogyakarta.

"In the end, the forces of light, reason and hope must overpower the forces of darkness, despair and violence," Susilo added.

The gathering was co-sponsored by Indonesia and Australia, which is keen to encourage moderate forms of Islam within its giant neighbor. As many as 124 religious leaders from 13 Asia- Pacific countries are in attendance.

The delegates ranged from Buddhist monks in orange robes to Muslim muftis and Catholic cardinals. Jews, Protestants, Hindus and Confucionists. But one key regional player, Malaysia, was absent as the meeting opened.

The President also called for the promotion of tolerance among religious followers across the globe as part of the world's war on terrorism.

"We must redeem them from narrow-mindedness, from prejudice and intolerance, and from the poverty of their spirit and ideas. Tolerance building is very much part of development," he said.

"People of faith like you are committed to bringing enlightenment and the most positive human values like tolerance and compassion," he added.

Susilo hoped the dialog would result in the establishment of a permanent forum for the exchange of ideas and insights to help people understand and effectively deal with their fundamental problems.

"People of faith like you have the responsibility to bring your message of truth, unity, and hope deep into the grassroots of society. And that message will resonate strongly among peace- loving people at all levels," he said.

Speaking at the same event, Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said the war on terror would falter and fail if it was not prosecuted vigorously in pulpits, mosques, synagogues, temples and schoolrooms as well as in parliaments and the mass media.

"I have no hesitation in saying that the gift of faith can fortify us in all our various efforts to combat terror and violence. The friendships and shared understandings which arise out of participation in dialogs like this one will, I'm sure, be fruitful," he said.

Downer said that one of the reasons why the dialog was so timely was because the peace and harmony of the world was under threat.

Reviving bonds between moderate clerics and followers of different faiths holds the key to crushing Asia's formidable network of extremist militants, he said.

"The real challenge is to build understanding between moderate leaders. That is the great challenge.

"Most followers of the great religions of the region and the world are moderate people. To get moderate leaders together and for them to promote their messages I think is enormously important," Downer said.

He said that a terrible perversion of religion, with a violent face, is threatening moderate believers and states.

Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda concurred, saying the success in the fight against terrorism in the medium and long term depends on the successful efforts to empower moderates.

"Religion and culture are the core components of civilization. Hence, promoting dialog among nations is an important global agenda," he said.

Ahmad Syafii Maarif, who chairs Muhammadiyah -- Indonesia's second biggest Muslim organization, told the forum that the dialog is aimed at empowering moderates and putting a lid on extremism.

"If injustices persist such (extremist) groups will continue to flourish. They are idealistic but I think their idealism is silly," he was quoted by AFP as saying.

In recent years Indonesia has been rocked by a series of bloody clashes between Christians and Muslims as well as deadly attacks blamed on Jamaah Islamiyah (JI).

These include the October 2002 Bali bombings in which 202 people died and last year's Marriott hotel bombing, which claimed 12 lives.

JI has also been accused of involvement in a deadly strike outside Australia's Jakarta embassy in September that left 11 dead.

In Buddhist Thailand, violence this year in the country's Muslim-dominated south has left more than 550 people dead, while the mainly Christian Philippines is also fighting Muslim militants.