By Konradus Epa, Jakarta
Radical groups that promote violence in the name of religion should be suspended or disbanded, say young Indonesian Muslims attending a conference on pluralism.
“As young Muslims concerned about pluralism, we feel threatened by such violence. It is embarrassing,” said Muslim intellectual Zuhairi Misrawi.
He was speaking to 100 participants at an interreligious conference organized by Pluralism Care Movement in Jakarta on Aug. 4.
Catholic, Confucian, Hindu and Muslim leaders participated in the conference held to commemorate the 70th birthday of the late former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid and the 49th birthday of US President Barrack Obama.
Indonesian Muslims regard Obama as an important figure in pluralism.
Misrawi told the conference that radical groups are able to develop because a 1985 law on mass organizations fails to impose strict sanctions on abuses.
Certain existing extremist religious groups even receive backing from the government, police and some religious leaders, he warned.
“The solution is to revise the law and introduce stricter regulations,” he said, referring to recent clashes between ethnic-based organizations in South Jakarta, in Bekasi and in Bandung, West Java.
Misrawi also criticized Islamic organizations for not offering stronger leadership in the fight against radical groups that have engaged in violence.
Arifin Nuril, another Muslim leader, said he agreed that radical groups should be suspended. The government should take firm action, he said.
Meanwhile Hajah Julia Safari, a representative of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which has been accused of attacking Christian churches, said FPI actually “values pluralism.”
“We believe that pluralism is part of the teaching of Islam,” she said.
(Published in UCAN News, August 6)
Radical groups that promote violence in the name of religion should be suspended or disbanded, say young Indonesian Muslims attending a conference on pluralism.
“As young Muslims concerned about pluralism, we feel threatened by such violence. It is embarrassing,” said Muslim intellectual Zuhairi Misrawi.
He was speaking to 100 participants at an interreligious conference organized by Pluralism Care Movement in Jakarta on Aug. 4.
Catholic, Confucian, Hindu and Muslim leaders participated in the conference held to commemorate the 70th birthday of the late former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid and the 49th birthday of US President Barrack Obama.
Indonesian Muslims regard Obama as an important figure in pluralism.
Misrawi told the conference that radical groups are able to develop because a 1985 law on mass organizations fails to impose strict sanctions on abuses.
Certain existing extremist religious groups even receive backing from the government, police and some religious leaders, he warned.
“The solution is to revise the law and introduce stricter regulations,” he said, referring to recent clashes between ethnic-based organizations in South Jakarta, in Bekasi and in Bandung, West Java.
Misrawi also criticized Islamic organizations for not offering stronger leadership in the fight against radical groups that have engaged in violence.
Arifin Nuril, another Muslim leader, said he agreed that radical groups should be suspended. The government should take firm action, he said.
Meanwhile Hajah Julia Safari, a representative of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which has been accused of attacking Christian churches, said FPI actually “values pluralism.”
“We believe that pluralism is part of the teaching of Islam,” she said.
(Published in UCAN News, August 6)
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