Habibie calls for religious harmony

JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie performed his dawn prayer at the Istiqlal Grand Mosque here on Sunday with 10,000 other Moslems, during which he urged the nation to maintain religious harmony and non-Moslems to respect Islamic places of worship.

"We hope other believers can respect the Moslems' places of worship," said the President, reported the Antara news agency.

The agency said Habibie entered the mosque at 4:05 a.m. and was accompanied by Minister of Defense Gen. Wiranto, Minister of Religious Affairs Malik Fajar, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Subagyo HS and Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso.

The President urged Moslems to respect religious plurality in the country, which has a population of more than 200 million.

"Allah teaches us to show tolerance to this plurality. Religious belief cannot be forced on other people," he said.

For Moslems, the President said, plurality was a reality that should be accepted and respected.

Furthermore, he said, "Moslems should respect other religions' places of worship. We even have to protect them if somebody wants to destroy them. We regret any actions aimed at damaging those places of worship and our religion forbids such action."

During the event, which was aired live by state-owned television station TVRI, Habibie also expressed his happiness because many Moslems were still patient and submitting to God during this difficult situation.

"There are many Indonesians who are still maintaining a clear mind in order not to get involved in destructive acts. It is our duty, including the ulema, to call on all followers to do things a right way," he said.

On the reform movement, he reminded all citizens of the need to maintain the results of development the country has achieved.

"Earlier, we saw a tendency on the part of certain groups in society to commit destructive acts," he said.

Habibie also stressed that his government would correct the mistakes and weaknesses of the past. (swe)