Suicide bombing

Many leading religious figures of Islam are gathering to debate the concept of suicide bombing.

May I suggest they concentrate on the success factor of the Japanese kamikaze campaign of the War in the Pacific, at the time of the Allied invasion of Okinawa.

The thought that goes into plotting such suicidal tactics could be so much better put into devising other, better strategies. In the Koran, which Muslims believe is the word of God, suicide is very, very, very specifically forbidden.

In the new planetary society this new century appears to be defining, Islam is one of the five great human core beliefs and therefore plays an extraordinary part in the world we inhabit today. If plots must be hatched, let them be to allow more of the world's people to discover the Light, one of the 99 names of God and the clarity of a righteous path brilliantly illuminated and perfectly defined.

All that can be beautiful and noble and inspired in life can be found in the Koran. Let the wisdom of God and the Recital of His Holy Messenger Muhammad, guide Indonesia's Muslim religious leaders.

GREG WARNER, Jakarta