Moslems told to preserve unity
Moslems told to preserve unity
PROBOLINGGO, East Java (JP): President Soeharto yesterday
reminded Indonesia's Moslems of their duty to preserve the unity
of the nation in which people from other faiths, traditions and
cultures also live.
"Given the diversity of our nation, we have to strive to
preserve unity and cohesion," Soeharto said in an address to
gathering of leaders of pesantren (Moslem boarding schools)
associated with the powerful Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).
Moslems are called upon to forge common understandings with
other communities, he said.
These shared perceptions should be the base on which
harmonious relations are built so that people in Indonesia can
live in mutual love and shed all suspicions and enmity.
The President's speech came at the heels of a series of
attacks against churches over the past year, which threaten to
undermine precarious relations between the various religious
communities.
The latest attacks happened last month in Situbondo, about 100
kilometers from here. Five people were killed when several
churches, a temple and a number of government buildings were
torched by a mob. Police are still investigating the riot.
Soeharto received a warm reception from the estimated 1,000
participants as he arrived at the Zainul Hasan Genggong
pesantren. He was met by NU chief advisor Ilyas Ruchiyat and
chairman Abdurrahman Wahid.
This was the first encounter between Soeharto and Abdurrahman
since the latter was reelected to the NU, a powerful Moslem
sociopolitical organization with an estimated 35-30 million loyal
followers, in December 1994.
Abdurrahman had not been granted an audience at the
presidential palace, a tradition for newly elected or reelected
leaders of major organizations. Informed sources said the NU
chairman canceled a trip to Germany to be here yesterday.
Traveling with the President from Jakarta were Minister/State
Secretary Moerdiono, Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher,
and his eldest daughter Siti Hardijanti Rukmana. East Java
Governor Basofi Soedirman joined the entourage in Surabaya.
The President called on leaders of the Moslem boarding schools
to adapt to the changes of time. "As traditional education
institutions which have passed from generation to generation, the
pesantren should open themselves to change," he said.
No one can withstand the force of change, he said. "The
pesantren should no longer isolate themselves the way they did
during the colonial era," he said.
"Now, the pesantren has ample opportunity of participating in
the advancement of the nation, not only in education and
religious propagation, but also in social and economic fields,"
he said.
Agriculture, rural development and the opening of new
settlement areas are some of the fields in which pesantren could
take part, he said.
Soeharto paid tribute to the role the pesantren played during
the colonial rule, in the fight for independence, and in
promoting education over the last 30 years.
Most of all, he praised the pesantren's contribution toward
"sowing the seeds of love" through their education. (26/emb)