Promote religious tolerance, President reiterates

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)