'Ambassador' of peace Rev. Moon comes to RI

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace, an organization led by South Korean Sun Myung Moon, will hold the inaugural convocation of the Universal Peace Federation of Indonesia on Friday, hosted by former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid.

The federation is part of the Universal Peace Federation, which was launched in New York on Sept. 12 this year and attended by 1,200 "Ambassadors of Peace" from 128 countries and representatives from governments, religions, civil society and the private sector.

During the September event, Moon, a self-proclaimed peace fighter, told diplomats and dignitaries the core of world peace was a harmonious family life.

The secretary of the Indonesian Committee for Religion and Peace, Theophilus Bela, said Moon would share his vision and ideas on world peace and family life during Friday's event.

"Religious leaders, public figures, top government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, entrepreneurs, non-governmental organization activists and youths are invited to the event," Bela said.

Jakarta will be the 100th city Moon has visited to promote the Universal Peace Federation. His inaugural trip to Indonesia will mean he has traveled to 67 countries.

The federation represents the beginning of a new stage for Moon's organization, marked by the establishment of a network of Peace Councils across the world at the global, regional and national levels.

This effort is being accompanied by the creation of a special "Peace Force Initiative" that calls on volunteers from around the world to engage in peace building programs in the world's trouble spots.

Moon, the founder of the Unification Church, has been portrayed as a businessman, a politician as well as a religious leader.

Born in 1920, Moon began studying the Bible after he claimed that he was called by Christ to help spread the message of peace.

Moon started organizing his teachings that revolve around peace in 1945, which later came to be known as the Divine Principle.