'Dialogue needed to solve edict polemic'

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued a number of edicts last week banning pluralism and liberalism, and they included a ban on Muslims attending prayer sessions led by non-Muslims. The Jakarta Post interviewed residents here to get their views on the issue.

Toto Prawoto, 49, is a radio broadcaster who lives in Bintaro, South Jakarta.

If I may comment on the MUI edicts, I think they are fine in terms of a specific internal community, such as for some Muslim people.

However, the impact is different because not all Muslims accept the edicts.

As far as I'm concerned, a dialog among Muslim communities is needed to resolve the matter. The dialog could be supported by the ministry of religious affairs and other related ministries so that the matter would not cause any social unrest in the country.

If I'm not mistaken, things turned out differently because there was a difference in semantics with the interpretation among experts.

If people want to learn about pluralism, in general, they can learn from residents of East Belitung on Sumatra, who have voted in a non-Muslim Chinese-Indonesian as their mayor even though a majority of them are members of the Muslim-based Crescent Star Party.

Ellenor Ribekah, 20, is a college student who lives in Bekasi, West Java.

Indonesia consists of various ethnic groups, religions and languages. As a student, I have been taught about 'unity in diversity' in school and we Indonesians have to understand that. Why would pluralism and liberalism thinking be banned in this country?

I think Indonesia is based on Pancasila (five-point national ideology that is largely based on secularism), not on a particular religion. If people in this nation can be together during an inter-faith prayer, why would MUI ban such a marvelous thing?

We should focus on similarities rather than differences that may cause problems and friction among people. This is very important due to our various ethnic groups, religions, cultures and languages.

The best way to build this nation is to focus on how to make poor people have a better life, how to eradicate corruption and accomplish the targets of the reform movement.

-- The Jakarta Post