Religious leaders condemn war, call for prayer for Iraqis

Religious leaders condemn war, call for prayer for Iraqis

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Religious leaders condemned the U.S.-led attack on Iraq as it was
an affront to humanity, and called on followers to pray for a
quick end to the war so that it would not claim too many
casualties.

Ahmad Syafii Maarif, chairman of the country's second largest
Muslim organization Muhammadiyah, branded the U.S. government as
the aggressor against Iraq, a weak country. But he warned Muslims
against any retaliatory moves to harm foreigners.

"I am not a defender of Saddam Hussein, but the U.S.
government cannot just expel him by attacking Iraq. Bush is a war
criminal, and he needs to go see a psychiatrist," he said.

He called on Muhammadiyah followers across the country to pray
for the Iraqi people, who would suffer most from the war.

"Let's pray to God to save the Iraqi people, as the attackers
of Iraq never listen to us," he said.

Syafii said Indonesian Muslims should not attack any American
interests or citizens here, but supported those who rallied
against the war and the U.S. government peacefully.

"The antiwar movement is a global movement, also involving
Americans. So if we want to protest the war, we must direct it to
the U.S. government, and not its people," he stressed.

The U.S. began its attack on Iraq early yesterday with air
strikes on Baghdad, despite strong opposition from most member
countries of the United Nations.

It is the second American war in Iraq since 1991, when a
multinational force led by the U.S. attacked Baghdad in response
to its invasion of Kuwait. Many Iraqi people at the time suffered
from malnutrition, mainly due to economic and financial embargoes
imposed on the country.

Solahuddin Wahid, deputy chairman of the largest Muslim
organization Nahdlatul Ulama, said that the U.S. government had
committed "an international crime" for attacking Iraq without UN
consent.

"It's a personal war between Bush and Saddam ... it is not a
war against Islam," he said.

He also reiterated that Indonesian people must protest the war
in a peaceful manner, not by conducting sweeps on foreigners.

When the U.S. government led an attack on Afghanistan in 2001
to hunt for Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the
Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S., radical groups here had targeted
Americans and Westerners in Indonesia.

Rev. Lambe, secretary of the Indonesian Communion of Churches
(PGI), also condemned the U.S attack on Iraq for reasons of
humanity and called on Christians across the country to dedicate
this Sunday's mass to the Iraqi people.

"War will always take the life of a human being. This war will
have the same impact and hand even more problems to the Iraqi
people, who have already suffered from malnutrition for years,"
he said.

He said that he and other Christian leaders would also join
together as a multireligious group to protest the U.S. attack.

The Bishops Council of Indonesia (KWI) also deplored the U.S.
attack on Iraq as a war against humanity.

The leaders of various religious groups had campaigned for
peace to prevent the U.S. from attacking Iraq, traveling to
several countries, including Australia, Europe, and the papal
state of Vatican City, to convey their messages of peace.