Gus Dur to attend Jerusalem conference

Gus Dur to attend Jerusalem conference

JERUSALEM: Former President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid is to join an array of international political and religious figures in Jerusalem next week for an interfaith peace conference.

Gus Dur and another 3,000 delegates from around the world will attend the two-day conference, which starts with an opening banquet at the Sheraton Plaza hotel in the holy city Friday night.

Following the conference, the delegates will join hundreds of Israelis to march for peace through Jerusalem's Old City on Monday, after which there will be peace rally at Independence Park.

The interfaith conference is sponsored by the Interreligious and International Peace Council -- a body set up by Reverend Doctor Sun Myung Moon, the leader of the Unification Church, more commonly known as the "Moonies".

Wahid, who held office between 1999-2001, was due to arrive in Israel on Friday, the conference organisers told AFP.

The former Indonesian leader, who belongs to Israel's Shimon Peres Foundation, is also the former head of the Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's biggest moderate Islamic group which counts more than 40 million members.

Wahid has been criticised for advocating trade and diplomatic ties with Israel.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim majority state, is a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause and has no diplomatic ties with Israel.