Religious tolerance crucial to maintance peace: Minister

JAKARTA (JP): Tolerance between the various religious communities in Indonesia has played a major role in dampening the potential for religious conflicts here, Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher said yesterday.

This tolerance has ensured that the various religious communities respect and refrain from upsetting one another, Tarmizi said in a speech read before the opening of the Asian Conference on Religion and Peace (ACRP) in Denpasar, Bali.

"Moslems can go to the mosque without being harassed, Christians go to the church equally in peace. The same goes for Hindus and Buddhists," he said as quoted by the Antara news agency.

The three-day conference is being attended by 60 religious leaders from various countries in the region. The ACRP is an inter-religious forum based in Tokyo with Moslem, Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto and Shikh religious scholars.

Indonesia has been spared from the inter-religious conflicts that have beset many other countries although the potential always exists given the religious mix in the country.

Tarmizi, whose speech was read by chief of the ministry's research and development agency Hasbullah Mursyid, said the Indonesian constitution and the state ideology Pancasila guarantee people freedom to practice their religions.

He said that although Moslems make up nearly 90 percent of the people, Indonesia is neither a theocratic nor a secular state.

Religious values play important roles in the government and this has been a factor that helped promote tolerance between the various religious communities in Indonesia, he said.

He added that the state recognizes just five religions, Islam, Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism and Buddhism.

Tarmizi said leaders of these five religions play a major role in ensuring that their flocks observe and maintain the religious tolerance that has been developed over so many years.

Lukman Harun, head of the conference's steering committee, said ACRP is a forum to promote understanding among followers of religions.

Referring to the choice of Indonesia as the venue for the conference, Lukman said it provides Indonesia with a chance to showcase its success in promoting harmony between the peoples of different faiths.

Bali, which is also famous for tourism, is a predominantly Hindu island.

Participants at the conference came from Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. (11)