MUI calls for 'jihad' to protect country

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Ulemas Council concluded its three-day congress by calling on Moslems to wage a jihad (holy war) alongside the government and the military to protect the country from political and economic pressures.

"As the majority in the population, we are obliged to maintain the nation's unity and protect it from irresponsible groups and foreign conspiracies," chairman Hasan Basri said at the closing ceremony here yesterday.

Quoting a verse from the Koran, he said: "Whoever fights in the name of Allah the Almighty shall be guided toward the right path."

Basri stressed that Indonesian Moslems should play an active role in lifting the nation out of its present predicament.

He said each Moslem could fight against the economic crisis by ignoring baseless rumors and calls for illegal actions.

"Our true enemies are the speculators and hoarders (of staple commodities) because they continue to weaken the economy," he said.

Responding to the influential body's call, a prominent figure of the Moslem organization Nahdlatul Ulama, Ma'ruf Amin, said the jihad included fighting against poverty and the shortage of basic commodities.

Amin said the Moslem leaders agreed that the present situation should be considered a national crisis and that the true enemies of the Moslem community were the negative impacts of the crisis, such as increased poverty.

He said the jihad should be seen as a fight against irresponsible groups, such as speculators and those who circulate rumors.

The secretary-general of the Indonesian Islamic Propagation Council, Hussien Umar, said the call for jihad reflects Moslem concern over the present situation in the country.

"Jihad has a broad meaning. In this context, it is a response to the present condition. It is our positive response to efforts to overcome the country's problems," he said. (swe)