Try closes second Istiqlal Festival

Try closes second Istiqlal Festival

JAKARTA (JP): Vice President Try Sutrisno closed the two-month
long second Istiqlal Festival of Islamic Arts and Culture during
an impressive ceremony at the Grand Istiqlal Mosque last night.

Starting with the reading of the Koran and closed with songs
and dances by the Bimbo group, the closing ceremony was attended
by a number of cabinet ministers, Jakarta Governor Surjadi
Soedirdja, foreign ambassadors to Indonesia and thousands of
people.

In his speech, Try called on the people to strengthen their
religious faith in the face of globalization.

"We should bear in mind that we are a pious nation which
upholds religious norms in our conduct," Try stressed.

According to Try, it is obvious that religion is a source of
motivation, inspiration and a stimulus for Indonesians in their
effort to develop the country.

The vice president also warned that the religious tolerance
that has been the pillar of this nation should not mean that
followers of the various religions should sacrifice their beliefs
for the sake of religious harmony.

"But it should not mean a malpractice of religious teachings
either," he maintained.

Chairman of the festival's organizing committee, Minister of
Finance Mar'ie Muhammad, said a total of 11 million people
visited the festival. The number was above the target of 10
million visitors.

"The number should make us proud because it shows that
religious spirits exist inside everyone of them, especially
because most of the people who attended the seminars and dialogs,
which were held as part of the Istiqlal festival, were Moslem
youths," said Mar'ie in his report.

Mar'ie on the occasion handed over the blueprint of the
Istiqlal Mushaf to Try, who presented it to the chairman of the
Indonesian Council of Ulemas, Hasan Basri.

Huge Mushaf

The festival committee announced earlier this week that the
huge Mushaf will be published in book form, both in standard and
luxury editions, and will be distributed to the public.

"For the first edition, we will distribute it for free to
limited people such as public figures and Islamic centers. The
standard edition is expected to be completed at the end of this
year and the luxury edition during the Ramadhan (Moslem fasting
month)," said festival organizer Pontjo Soetowo.

The 5,000 copies of the standard edition will be printed in
five colors and the 1,000 copies of the luxury edition in seven
colors.

The Istiqlal Mushaf, a compilation of Koranic scripture with
traditional decorations representing Indonesia's 27 provinces,
was the highlight of this year's festival. The 970-page Mushaf
measures 123 cm by 88 cm and took 70 experts four years to
complete.

The second Istiqlal Festival activities were also held in
Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, the National Gallery of the Ministry of
Education and Culture, Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts Center, the
Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunication and other venues.

Deputy chairman of the Indonesian Council of Ulemas, Ali
Yafie, said the festival is a vehicle to help develop the great
potentials of Islamic culture, and should not stop at the
festival's activities.

"The festival is also expected to support our material
advances with our spiritual and artistic accomplishments, to show
that we are civilized," said Ali.

Indonesia's Moslem population of more than 160 million is the
largest in the world.

The second Istiqlal Festival was bigger and larger than the
first one held four years ago and had more participants,
including exhibitions from foreign countries.

Four years ago, foreign participants were limited to other
Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN) countries. This
year, they included Bangladesh, Bosnia, Britain, Brunei, China,
Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan,
Palestine, Singapore, Spain, Sudan, Tunisia, and Turkey. The
countries took part in the festival's exhibition, bazaar and
seminar.

The festival also provided a box for donations for Bosnia and
managed to collect over Rp 62 million (US$26,956) and several
gold rings from visitors.

The Rp 10 billion festival featured various arts and cultural
works and performances inspired by Islam. (31)