Muslim parties urged to merge

Muslim parties urged to merge

JEMBER, East Java: The Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) has called on smaller Islamic parties to join together to run in the 2004 general election for the sake of Muslim interests.

MUI deputy chairman Din Syamsuddin said the Muslim political elite should put their pride behind them to avoid making a negative impact on the unity of Muslims in the country.

He warned that the next general election would be a strategic moment for Muslims to determine who should lead the nation out of the multidimensional crisis.

"A true statesman could be born from a compromise among religious, informal and political elite groups," he said, citing that the prolonged crisis had a lot to do with the pride of political leaders. --Antara