Clerics vow action on terrorism
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post/Yogyakarta
Asia-Pacific religious leaders wrapped up a two-day meeting here on Tuesday, vowing action to curb the causes of terrorism and recommending the establishment of a center to promote moderate spiritual beliefs.
"We hope to be able to establish such a center in three to six months time in Yogyakarta," dialog organizing committee chairman Din Syamsuddin told a news conference after the meeting.
The permanent center was proposed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono when opening the International Dialogue on Interfaith Cooperation on Monday.
Reading out a statement issued by 124 delegates from 10 major faiths attending the event in Yogyakarta, the forum of Muslim ulemas, Catholic cardinals, Protestants, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews and Confucionists condemned extremism and pledged to strengthen interfaith ties.
"Delegates affirmed their strong condemnation of violence and terrorism. Participants committed themselves to taking action in their own communities to further promote interfaith and inter- communal harmony," the statement said.
Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-populated nation, has been rocked by a series of bloody sectarian clashes between Christians and Muslims as well as deadly attacks blamed on Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
The attacks included the October 2002 Bali bombings in which 202 people died, last year's deadly JW Marriott Hotel blast in Jakarta, and a September attack on the Australian Embassy that killed 12.
Elsewhere in Asia, Buddhist Thailand is fighting an increasingly bloody insurgency in its southern Islamic provinces while the Philippines has been plagued by a Muslim rebellion for decades.
"Terrorism must be regarded as an enemy of all religions. Terrorists are well-organized, well-funded and highly skilled in spreading mayhem and fear through the slaughter of the innocent," Susilo said in his opening speech.
Delegates from 13 countries agreed that terrorism had no roots in religion and that it went against the morality of all faiths.
"The basis of terrorism is structural injustices in societies while at the same time people feel they have no other way to address the issue," said Australian delegate Sister Patricia Madigan of the Bishop's Advisory Committee for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations based in Sydney.
She said that through interfaith dialogs, peaceful life would follow. "This dialog is a good adventure as it has brought us together to learn about each other, to make friends and contacts that will help us build more harmonious societies in the region."
Mgt. Rey Manuel S. Monsanto, from the Philippines' Bishop- Ulema Conference, similarly said interfaith dialogs have helped create good relationships and understanding between Muslim muftis and Catholic priests in Mindanao.
"We are now in the process of transforming this into the lower levels, which is indeed not an easy task," he said.
Din said the dialog, co-sponsored by Indonesia and Australia, achieved its main objective of promoting understanding and fostering harmony among communities of different faiths across the region.
"We see this meeting as the beginning of a process of more direct and frequent communication between regional faith leaders in solving problems and building a more harmonious and peaceful future for the region," he said.