MUI to hold 'largest' Islamic gathering

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) plans to hold "the largest Moslem gathering since 1945" from Nov. 4 to Nov. 8 to discuss ways to equip the community to face new social, political and economical challenges in the reform era.

Around 1,000 ulemas, public figures and the leaders of Islamic organizations from across the country will attend, MUI deputy chairman Ali Yafie said on Friday.

"The congress is being organized out of an awareness that the problems we are all facing cannot be tackled alone," he said as quoted by Antara. "Not one body, including MUI, is able to handle all those problems by itself."

"That is why MUI is inviting kyai (Moslem leaders) and other Islamic figures to sit together to try to find solutions," he said. "This congress does not have any political aims and all of its results will be made public and be submitted to the highest state institutions."

Among problems he identified as "urgent" were scarcity of basic essentials, calls for the abolition of the Armed Forces' political role, the reemergence of communism, mass rape and lawlessness in the form of vandalism and looting.

The congress will be opened at the Istiqlal Grand Mosque and will feature Abdurrahman Wahid of Nahdlatul Ulama, Syafii Maa'rif of Muhammadiyah, Nurcholish Madjid, Quraish Shihab, Sahal Mahfudz and Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto, among other notable figures. (swe)