Mosque no place for political activities: Try

Mosque no place for political activities: Try

JAKARTA (JP): Vice President Try Sutrisno told Moslems yesterday not to use mosques for political activities, such as persuading the congregation to vote for a particular political organization in an election.

Meeting with leaders of the Indonesian Mosques Council (DMI), Try stressed that the mosque was a good place to undertake social activities.

"The mosque need not be used solely as a place of worship," the vice president was quoted as saying by council chairman Adang Safaat.

Adang said Try also suggested that mosques be open for humanitarian activities, such as offering first aid to victims of accidents or disasters.

While agreeing that preachers may encourage mosque goers to learn more about politics, Try cautioned against their use for partisan political purposes.

"What we may not do is to let a mosque affiliate with either the ruling Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP) or the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI)," Adang told reporters.

DMI's acting secretary-general Oemar Ghifarry added that the council would intensify its information campaigns aimed at discouraging the use of mosques for political activities.

He said the council had asked the Amal Bhakti Pancasila Foundation, which is chaired by President Soeharto, to assist mosques to build facilities such as libraries, clinics and kindergartens.

"We hope that the foundation will do more than simply assist in the building of new mosques, as it does at present," Oemar said.

The council leaders met with Try to report on their plan to hold DMI's third congress here from Jan. 18 through Jan. 21.

Congress steering committee chairman Achmad Syaichu Ratib said the gathering, which will bring together about 1,000 MDI activists from across Indonesia, will be opened by President Soeharto and closed by Try.(pan)