Moslems and Christians urged to intensify dialogs

JAKARTA (JP): An international conference on Moslem-Christian relations ended here Saturday with a call for followers of both faiths to intensify discussions on creating peace between the two communities.

Antara reported that local Moslem scholar Alwi Shihab read out the conclusion of the three-day talk which was attended by theologians of 18 countries and closed by noted Indonesian Moslem intellectual Emil Salim.

The conference agreed that Moslems and Christians were to continue discussions based on truth, sincerity and deep mutual understanding.

"Such a dialog demands a redefinition of the Christian mission and Islamic da'wah (propagation). Only through dialog and such redefinition will social and religious tensions be resolved," he read.

The conference was opened Thursday by Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher. It also urged Western universities to include in their curricula studies of Indonesia's religious pluralism and state ideology Pancasila.

It was recommended that Indonesian universities also include this in their curricula and that grass-roots relationships be developed between Western and Indonesian intellectuals and students.

Alwi said the conference agreed strong cooperation was needed between Indonesia's religious affairs ministry and American higher learning institutions to promote religious understanding and harmony.

Earlier in the day, Minister Tarmizi Taher said that discussions and cooperation were needed between the U.S. and Indonesia to cushion the countries' entrance into the next century.

He said the next century was likely to be beset with even greater human problems.

Moral problems due to the impact of information technology in the 21st century should be solved by Moslems and Christians because they were the largest populations in the world, he said.

Former environment minister Emil Salim said harmonious relations between the two communities would help bring about "a brighter world towards the third millennium".

The conference, the first of its kind hosted by Indonesia, was co-sponsored by the state-run institute of Islamic studies (Yogyakarta-Indonesia), Temple University and Hartford Seminary in the U.S.

Discussions were held on theological bases for mutual understanding between Islam and Christianity; religious, social and political dimensions of medieval Moslem-Christian encounters, and human rights issues from both perspectives.

John Esposito of Georgetown University, Mahmoud Ayoub of Temple University, Rev. Thomas Michel, SJ from the Vatican, Richard Valentasis of Hartford Seminary and representatives from Malaysia, Lebanon, Egypt, Congo, Canada and Austria attended the conference. (swe)