Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar: Indonesia's Beauty is Born from Differences
Indonesia is the most beautiful painting of God, because its beauty is born from differences, not uniformity, according to Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar. “A beautiful painting is not stunning because of its golden frame, but because of the white background blending harmoniously with red, green, yellow, orange, and various other contrasting colours. Indonesia is God’s most beautiful painting. Therefore, let no one ruin this painting,” he said during a National Dialogue event for the 34th anniversary of the Assalam Arya Kemuning Islamic Boarding School in West Kutai on Saturday.
During the event, the Minister called on all people of East Kalimantan, particularly in West Kutai Regency, to continue nurturing tolerance. He also praised the nation’s extraordinary achievement in maintaining harmony, noting that since independence, Indonesia successfully reached its peak of harmony in the 2025–2026 period with a harmony index score of 87. “There is no country in the world more plural and heterogeneous than Indonesia. We have thousands of islands and starkly contrasting cultures, customs, and religions. Yet, we are able to display extraordinary peace and harmony. The most harmonious country in the world is Indonesia,” he said.
Furthermore, the Minister delivered a profound message for Islamic educational institutions and places of worship. He requested that Islamic boarding schools and mosques not only function as places for learning and religious rituals but also transform into inclusive homes for humanity. “All Indonesian children are siblings. Mosques must also become great homes for humanity, not just homes for Muslims,” he added.
On the same occasion, East Kalimantan Governor Rudy Mas’ud expressed his pride in the region’s conduciveness. He asserted that East Kalimantan is a great home for diversity and an ideal miniature of Indonesia. “One of the best examples of diversity is West Kutai. Amidst very dynamic differences in ethnicity, culture, and religion, the community here has proven it can live side by side peacefully, cooperating, calmly, and respecting one another,” the Governor praised.
As a tangible commitment to maintaining tolerance, the East Kalimantan Provincial Government continues to pay significant attention to the caretakers of all places of worship. The provincial government routinely facilitates religious travel programmes for the management of these places, including Umrah and Hajj trips to Mecca and Medina for Muslims, religious journeys to Jerusalem for Christians, trips to the Vatican for Catholics, journeys to India for Hindus, and trips to Tibet and other sacred sites for Buddhists and Confucians. This programme is expected to motivate grassroots religious leaders to maintain East Kalimantan’s reputation as one of the regions with the highest level of tolerance in Indonesia.