JK's Sermon on 'Martyred Death' at UGM Mosque Sparks Controversy, Mosque Management Speaks Out
The statement by Indonesia’s 10th and 12th Vice President, Jusuf Kalla (JK), during a sermon at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), has sparked controversy. In response, the management of the UGM Campus Mosque has spoken out.
The mosque’s administrators have asked the public not to rush to conclusions based solely on one-sided information. The Takmir has requested that the public watch the full video.
“We earnestly request that you watch the full video, not just the circulating snippets,” said Mohamad Yusuf, Chairman of the Takmir of the UGM Campus Mosque, in his statement on Tuesday (21/4/2026).
He said that the circulating video snippets often trigger misunderstandings because they do not include the full context of the sermon.
“Often, incomplete clips can cause misunderstandings because the context of the discussion is not properly conveyed,” he stated.
He hopes that all parties will act fairly in assessing a matter by viewing the full context before drawing conclusions.
“Let us act fairly in assessing a matter, by looking at it comprehensively before drawing conclusions or spreading it further,” he emphasised.
Citing detikNews, Indonesia’s 10th and 12th Vice President, Jusuf Kalla (JK), asserted that he never intended to blaspheme religion regarding his statement in the sermon at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), which has recently sparked controversy. JK said that what he conveyed was actually intended to promote peace, not to divide.
JK made this statement during a press conference on Jalan Brawijaya, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, on Saturday (18/4). He explained that the sermon covered the theme of peace and discussed various conflicts, including those that occurred in Poso and Ambon.
“I explained what peace is. Peace is the end of conflict. What is conflict? The end of peace. Then, for one or two minutes, I discussed conflict due to religion. That includes Ambon-Poso,” said JK.
JK explained that the part questioned by the public was only a small snippet of the overall material. He admitted to only touching on religion-based conflicts for one to two minutes in the sermon.
“I did not talk about religious dogma. I talked about conflict events, how people use religion to wage war,” he said.
According to JK, in the Poso and Ambon conflicts, many parties felt their actions were justified by religion. He said that such perceptions then exacerbated the conflict, claiming thousands of lives.
“About 7,000 people died in three years. That was due to the Ambon-Poso conflict,” he said.
JK emphasised that neither Islamic nor Christian teachings justify violent actions. He instead reminded that the conflict was a deviation from religious teachings.
“There is no religious teaching that justifies killing each other. That is what I conveyed,” he stressed.
Furthermore, JK recounted his experience of going directly to the conflict areas to reconcile the warring parties. He claimed to have even risked his life to stop the violence in Ambon-Poso.
“I entered the conflict area without escort. I risked my life to reconcile,” he said.
On the same occasion, John Ruhulessin, a religious figure from Maluku, also provided his view. He assessed that JK’s statement should be seen in the context of the conflict at that time, not as a form of blasphemy against religion.
“Pak JK saw the sociological fact that there was an effort to use religion as legitimation for war,” said John in his video statement.
John also emphasised that JK did not intend to offend any particular religious teachings, but rather to describe the real conditions on the ground during the conflict.
Meanwhile, JK was reported to the Metro Jaya Police after his viral sermon video on ‘dying as a martyr’. JK was reported for alleged blasphemy against religion.
The reporter in this case was the Indonesian Christian Youth Movement (GAMKI). They reported JK to the Integrated Police Service Centre (SPKT) of the Metro Jaya Police on Sunday (12/4) night.