Jakarta – The enforcement of Islamic sharia in Indonesia must not violate the country's existing system and prevailing laws and that the state interests must be above those of any group, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah say.

"Indonesian Muslim society has the high interest in defending (state ideology) Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution and the unitary state of Indonesia," the country's two largest Muslim organizations said in a joint statement here Thursday.

The statement was issued during a joint news conference by NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi and Muhammadiyah leader Din Syamsuddin at the NU headquarters in Central Jakarta to observe the Islamic New Year that fell on Tuesday.

"The idea to put religion vis-a-vis the state or vice versa must be abandoned," said the statement signed by Hasyim and Din, calling on Muslims as the country's majority to be at the forefront for maintaining the country and Pancasila as well as the Constitution.

Indonesia, the predominantly Muslim nation, is a secular state, but sharia has been adopted into bylaws in local regions, where students or civil servants, for example, are obliged to wear Islamic headscarves.

NU and Muhammadiyah also urged Muslims to strengthen the solidarity, understanding and dialogs on different opinions to avoid misunderstanding and disputes among Muslims and followers of other religions.

Muslims are not allowed to use violence and terror because they would only worsen the image of Islam and create Islamo-phobia, they added.

"Jihad should be aimed at catching up in the areas that we are lagging behind, such education, economy and human resources development. Jihad should instead means eradicating illiteracy, poverty and immorality," the joint statement said.

It said the harmony between different religions must be promoted, so that each religion can strengthen the statehood, instead of creating problems. Moral movement should emphasize on legal and moral justice, it said.

The organizations also called for a "more serious and systemic" movement to fight pornography and indecent acts, arguing that they were already proven to have damaged the morality of the nation, particularly young people who have been influenced into embracing "hedonistic lifestyle".

They urged "statesmen, politicians, government officials and all leaders to become role models".