Promote religious tolerance, President reiterates

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto said yesterday he hoped Indonesia would become a center for excellence in Islamic studies, with its strong commitment toward tolerance and democracy.

The President said Islamic institutions could encourage the democratization process by promoting peace, discussion and religious tolerance.

He said that Indonesia, the largest Islamic country in the world, was not a religious nor a secular state, and the constitution guaranteed people the freedom to choose their religion.

"We need to boost discussions to reach better mutual understanding and respect between the religious faithful," Soeharto said.

Speaking at the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN) Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, he said he hoped the institute would advocate campaigning for religious harmony.

"Developing in this pluralistic society, I hope IAIN will become a highly qualified center for Islamic studies," he told thousands of students and lecturers of the institute.

Soeharto said Islam was a very tolerant religion that valued democracy highly.

But he said that Islamic teachings did not focus enough on musyawarah, (the deliberation for consensus concept), that Indonesia regarded highly.

Islam is embraced by 88 percent of Indonesia's 200 million people. Protestantism constitutes 5.8 percent, Catholicism 2.9 percent, Hinduism 2 percent and Buddhism 0.9 percent, according to official statistics.

Sporadic riots, often clouded by religious undertones, have rocked communities across the country over the last few months.

Despite being the majority, Moslems complain they are overpowered by the minority economically and demand a greater say in decision making.

The minority sometimes complain that they are not fully free to carry out their religious obligations.

IAIN rector M. Quraish Shihab said the institute had five faculties and 4185 students. Most of its 15,145 graduates work in the education sector or in Islamic courts.

Shihab said the government planned to change IAIN's status to a university to anticipate future challenges.

"IAIN will be able to meet international Islamic community expectations that it be a pioneer for the awakening of a more religious world order," he said. (06)