President Yudhoyono to open Islamic conference on Iraq

Jakarta, NU Online
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is slated to open a two-day international conference of Muslim leaders at the Bogor Presidential Palace on Tuesday afternoon to seek reconciliation in Iraq.

According to the presidential schedule, Yudhoyono will open the meeting at 4.30 p.m. on Tuesday and at 7.30 p.m. the president will host a dinner banquet at the Bogor Palace.<>

The Bogor meeting will be attended by a number of international Shiite and Sunni clerics from 11 countries, namely Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Malaysia, Lebanon, Pakistan, Syriah, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia as the host to find the best possible solution to the sectarial violence in Iraq.

As reported by the Antara news agency, the Indonesian government will plays its role as an initiator and facilitator of the conference while Indonesian Muslim clerics will act as a moderator.

To be present in the meeting will be some 20 ulemas from the Middle Eastern countries, among others Iranian Shiite figure Sheikh Mohammad Mehdi Taskiri, former Jordanian Religious Affairs Minister Abdalslam Al-Abadi, Iraqi Sunni figure Mahmood Al Sumai Dai, Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary General Ekmeleddine Ihsanoglu, and Malaysia`s Interstate Islamic University President Dato Seri Tan Sri Sanusi Junid.

The Indonesian delegation to the meeting is made up of Ma`ruf Amin of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Mahfur Usman of Nahdlatul Ulama, Syafii Maarif and Yunahar Ilyas of Muhammadiyah, and Shiite figure Jalaludin Rahmat.

Presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said earlier that the Indonesian government hoped to create a common view among Shiite and Sunni leaders in their bid to overcome the sectarian conflict in Iraq.

Dino added that the meeting would be held to bridge the differences between Shiite and Sunni groups so that they can coexist in perfect harmony.

Meanwhile, presidential special envoy for Middle Eastern affairs Alwi Shihab said in Riyadh recently that conflicts in the Islamic world appeared to be intensifying as a consequence of political interference and were victimizing an increasing number of people.

"The many cases of violence occurring in Iraq and similar happenings in other parts of the world, for instance, are also increasingly disturbing the atmosphere of religious harmony because of their strong political overtones and the involvement of certain interests," Alwi said. (dar)