MUI to hold 'largest' Islamic gathering

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)