Pesantren leader voices support for president's appeal

Jombang, NU Online
Members of the Indonesia’s Interfaith Forum (FLI), whose representatives were participating in the NU congress in Jombang, voiced their support for the Preisdent Joko Widodo’s appeal.
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FLI spokesman KH Husein Muhammad said the congress, which runs through Wednesday, must underline the blaring issue of growing intolerance in Indonesia.

“[Incidents like Tolikara] must not be repeated,” said Husein, an NU cleric and leader of an Islamic boarding school (pesantren) in West Java. “All of us [FLI members] present here support the suggestion that NU should pay special attention to tackling intolerance in our country.”

Another FLI official, Aan Anshori, added that the Tolikara incident also highlighted local governments’ failure to safeguard religious tolerance in their respective regions.

Meanwhile, Wirya, a representative from Buddhist organization Mahavihara Buddha Trowulan in Mojokokerto, East Java, asked for “concrete recommendations” from the NU congress to address the pressing issue.

Reports of attacks carried out by Buddhist monks on the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar have also sparked malicious sentiments against Buddhists in Indonesia among some hard-line Muslim groups.

The Saturday evening’s opening ceremony was attended by Indonesia’s fifth president and chairwoman of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Megawati Soekarnoputri; the wife of late Indonesian president and NU leader KH Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid, Shinta Nuriyah Wahid; as well as a number of cabinet ministers, political party leaders and foreign ambassadors.

The NU’s 33th congress will see the election of a new chairman of Indonesia’s largest Muslim group, with candidates that include incumbent KH  Said Aqil Siradj; the Abdurrahman’s younger brother, KH Salahuddin “Gus Sholah” Wahid; and Said’s current deputy and former deputy of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), KH As’ad Said Ali. (masdar)