Religious tolerance crucial to maintance peace: Minister

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.
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