Inter Religious Harmony
May 23rd, 2006, in News, by PatungFormer presidents of the country are not immune from the attention of hardline Islamic groups.
A discussion on inter religious and ethnic relations in Purwakarta, west Java, attended by former president Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur), was targeted by militant Islamic groups such as Front Pembela Islam (FPI), Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI), Forum Umat Islam (FUI) and Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI).
The dialogue was arranged by the youth wing of the Nahdlatul Ulama, GP Ansor, and was attended by Catholic, Protestant, Confucian, Hindu, and Muslim representatives.
A number of demonstrators managed to enter the building and began making nuisances of themselves.
They were led by the chairman of the Purwakarta branch of the FPI, Asep Hamdani. About 15 people came in to try to break up the forum.
(Mereka dikomandoi Ketua FPI Cabang Purwakarta Asep Hamdani. Sekitar 15 orang masuk dalam ruangan diskusi untuk membubarkan forum.)
said Sona Maulida Roemardhie, the chairman of the committee that arranged the event.
A shouting match ensued between some of the men and Gus Dur.
Some of them said dirty things not appropriate for those who say they are religious.
(Sebagian mengeluarkan kata-kata kotor yang tak pantas diucapkan oleh orang yang mengaku beriman.)
Outside the room a further 50 odd militants attempted to come inside but were obstructed by the police.
Sona Maulida Roemardhie added that previously she had been summoned by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and told not to proceed with the inter-faith forum.
They said I was secular and haram. They demanded that the forum be cancelled.
(Di sana, saya divonis sekuler yang telah diharamkan MUI. Untuk itu, mereka meminta forum tidak jadi dilaksanakan.)
One Comment on “Inter Religious Harmony”
Comment on “Inter Religious Harmony”.
Copyright Indonesia Matters 2006-2023
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact
I really think government need to do something on FPI. It is not the first time they committed kind of criminal act. And by the way, I like these kind of Inter Religious Conversation. As much as your religion is yours, still it is always good to understand other religion in order to find the same ground (such as values) and lessen the prejudism toward each other in order to build a better society. Reminds me a lot of repression of Ulil and his Jaringan Liberal. To whoever make this initiative, continue the work. It will be easier to have pluralistic society that have inter faith dialogue whom understand they are might be have different perspective but still one species: Human Being that try to make a better living in the same country. Indonesia.