'Faith no reason for discord'

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Followers of Christianity and Islam need to communicate, instead of turning faith into a reason for discord, in a bid to build mutual understanding and avert conflicts, a Catholic leader said.

"Dialog does not mean abandoning one's own beliefs, but is a way to find mutual understanding, which so often have been, and still are, the cause of conflicts, even wars," visiting Austrian archbishop Cardinal Christoph Schonborg said during a seminar at the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University here on Thursday.

He said dialogs should be organized for followers of different religions, with both leaders and grassroots people participating.

The cardinal asserted that it sometimes was difficult to encourage followers of Christianity and Islam to communicate due to the fact that both groups believe their religions are the only true ones, not only for one people or one particular country, but all human beings.

Both have the ultimate aim of converting everyone in the world, he explained.

"Our religions have a mission to convert people as their main purpose and still are that way today," he added.

In accordance with Jesus Christ's commission, Christians work to bring the Gospel to all human beings.

But, Islam, too, understands itself as the final and ultimately valid revelation of God, Schonborg said.

He asserted that devout Christians and Muslims could not accept relativism.

"The question is what does being a missionary-oriented religion mean in our time; in the globalized world. Through dialog, we will share what is the most precious in our life," he said.

He added that through a dialog, people could learn from each other how to deal with the basic human questions.

Among those attending the discussion were the university rector Azyumardi Azra, Muslim scholar Komaruddin Hidayat, sociologist Mely G. Tan, and leaders of the Indonesian Committee on Religion and Peace (ICRP).

Schonborg is visiting Indonesia upon the invitation of the Indonesian Bishops Council (KWI).

Widespread sectarian conflict between Muslims and Christians in Maluku and Central Sulawesi have plagued the country since 1999, killing thousands of people.