Moslems told to help fight poverty
Moslems told to help fight poverty
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto is urging the Islamic
community in Indonesia to mobilize funds to finance various
efforts to eliminate poverty, most notably in funding the
education of poor children.
While opening the 17th National Koranic Reading Contest (MTQ)
in Pekanbaru, Riau last night, Soeharto said that poverty
eradication is part of the national development program which is
not only a national duty, but also a "religious calling."
"If the Moslem community can collect huge funds to stage an
event like this contest, then we should also be capable of
mobilizing funds for the eradication of poverty," he said.
"Doesn't the Koran state that we will be defying God if we do
not take care of the orphans and the poor?" Soeharto asked.
"Didn't the Prophet also state that our devotion is deemed
imperfect if we still have brothers and sisters who live in want
while we live in abundance?"
The week-long event, to be participated in by some 1,500
people from all corners of Indonesia, has already been criticized
by some people in Riau as a "waste of money" as it cost a total
of Rp 14 billion ($6.6 million) to stage, the Antara news agency
reported.
But Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher justified the
spending in terms of the benefits the MTQ brings for education,
for the religion and for Riau tourism. "In Islam, the term waste
has some evil connotations. So let's not make some bad
presumptions."
Riau Governor Soeripto said that the province is benefiting
from hosting the event, citing the construction of the Taman Mini
Riau (the Riau miniature park) where the contest is being staged.
Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Hasan Basri also
rejected the suggestion that the MTQ is extravagant. "You cannot
judge this spiritual activity in material terms," he said.
Besides the Koranic reading contest, a series of seminars and
an exhibition will be held in the course of next week in
Pekanbaru.
The city is also taking the event seriously, knowing that it
is attracting national attention for the next week. It has
ordered all Moslem civil servants, students and public transport
drivers to wear Moslem costumes everyday until July 24.
President Soeharto in his speech last night drew the
participants' attention to the need for the Moslem community to
join in the present government campaign to eradicate poverty.
"We have to seriously develop and combine all of our potential
to show our social solidarity at a time when we are intensifying
our development efforts," he said.
The MTQ is proof that, with the participation of the people,
the nation can undertake large activities to help the poor, he
said.
Soeharto urged various social-religious organizations in the
country, which have succeeded in establishing education
institutes, to launch scholarship programs to finance the
education of poor children.
Giving them scholarships has a strategic value with long term
benefits for the nation. "We're giving them a rod and hook, not
the fish, by giving them an opportunity to obtain education,"
Soeharto said. (emb)
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto is urging the Islamic
community in Indonesia to mobilize funds to finance various
efforts to eliminate poverty, most notably in funding the
education of poor children.
While opening the 17th National Koranic Reading Contest (MTQ)
in Pekanbaru, Riau last night, Soeharto said that poverty
eradication is part of the national development program which is
not only a national duty, but also a "religious calling."
"If the Moslem community can collect huge funds to stage an
event like this contest, then we should also be capable of
mobilizing funds for the eradication of poverty," he said.
"Doesn't the Koran state that we will be defying God if we do
not take care of the orphans and the poor?" Soeharto asked.
"Didn't the Prophet also state that our devotion is deemed
imperfect if we still have brothers and sisters who live in want
while we live in abundance?"
The week-long event, to be participated in by some 1,500
people from all corners of Indonesia, has already been criticized
by some people in Riau as a "waste of money" as it cost a total
of Rp 14 billion ($6.6 million) to stage, the Antara news agency
reported.
But Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher justified the
spending in terms of the benefits the MTQ brings for education,
for the religion and for Riau tourism. "In Islam, the term waste
has some evil connotations. So let's not make some bad
presumptions."
Riau Governor Soeripto said that the province is benefiting
from hosting the event, citing the construction of the Taman Mini
Riau (the Riau miniature park) where the contest is being staged.
Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Hasan Basri also
rejected the suggestion that the MTQ is extravagant. "You cannot
judge this spiritual activity in material terms," he said.
Besides the Koranic reading contest, a series of seminars and
an exhibition will be held in the course of next week in
Pekanbaru.
The city is also taking the event seriously, knowing that it
is attracting national attention for the next week. It has
ordered all Moslem civil servants, students and public transport
drivers to wear Moslem costumes everyday until July 24.
President Soeharto in his speech last night drew the
participants' attention to the need for the Moslem community to
join in the present government campaign to eradicate poverty.
"We have to seriously develop and combine all of our potential
to show our social solidarity at a time when we are intensifying
our development efforts," he said.
The MTQ is proof that, with the participation of the people,
the nation can undertake large activities to help the poor, he
said.
Soeharto urged various social-religious organizations in the
country, which have succeeded in establishing education
institutes, to launch scholarship programs to finance the
education of poor children.
Giving them scholarships has a strategic value with long term
benefits for the nation. "We're giving them a rod and hook, not
the fish, by giving them an opportunity to obtain education,"
Soeharto said. (emb)