It is Common Responsibility to Promote Religious Harmony in Indonesia: Civic and Religious Leaders

Jakarta: All civil and religious leaders, but also all citizens, have a role and responsibility in promoting values such as tolerance, respect, religious harmony, which strengthen Indonesia in their daily lives: several religious leaders gathered in a seminar on “Harmonious and constructive religion that strengthens national life”, held on February 27 in the capital Jakarta.

The event was organized by the People’s Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia, which is the legislative branch of the Indonesian political system. It is made up of members of the Council of Popular Representation and of the Council of Regional Representation. Over 100 delegates, representing various faiths, government officials and civil society groups, attended the seminar.

As Fides learns, speaking to the assembly, prof. Syafiq Mughni, president of “Muhammadiyah”, the oldest Islamic organization in Indonesia, said that every citizen of the Country must contribute to religious harmony in a given situation and find ways to contribute to national life: only in this way, he remarked, the whole country can progress. No religion can be used for “destructive purposes in any context and time”, he added.

In his speech, Mgr. Paskalis Bruno Syukur OFM, Bishop of Bogor and vice president of the Indonesian Bishops’ Conference, said that “religious leaders and government officials must work together to promote peace, love and solidarity between the different communities”.

It is the task of every community and every believer, whatever community it belongs to – added the rev. Gomar Gultom of the Central Church Fellowship in Indonesia – “to find ways for religion and the practice of worship to contribute to the country’s ideals of peace and prosperity, opening the way to people’s progress and the common good”

The approach of the necessary contribution of each religion to the development of the nation was shared by Wisnu Bring Tenaya, president of the “Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia”, Hindu leader and by Arief Harson, representing Buddhism, by Budi S. Tanuwibowo, president of the Indonesian Supreme Council for the Confucian religion.

Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, pursues a model of democracy with particular attention to the values of tolerance and pluralism, summarized in the motto “unity in diversity”, inherent in the philosophy of “Pancasila”, the five principles that are basis of the Constitution: faith in one God; a just and civil society; a united nation; democracy guided by wisdom; social justice for all citizens.

Indonesia has a population of 263 million people. Christians of all denominations make up 12% of the population~Agenzia Fides