Devi Asmarani, Yogyakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono yesterday urged religious leaders to play a strong role to build tolerance in their communities in the fight against terrorism.Opening a two-day meeting on inter-faith cooperation here, he said religious leaders must promote religion as an agent of peace in the world. "Terrorism today must be regarded as the enemy of all religions," Dr Yudhoyono told delegates from regional countries.
He described terrorists as "well-organised, well-funded and highly skilled in spreading mayhem and fear through the slaughter of innocents. On the other hand, people of faith like you are committed to bring enlightenment and the most positive human values like tolerance and compassion to wherever hatred and prejudice rear their ugly heads.
Jointly sponsored by the Indonesian and Australian governments, the meeting was organised by the 30-million-strong Muhammadiyah, which is Indonesia's second-largest Islamic group. It took place amid a struggle by Indonesia to tackle growing Islamic militancy and radicalism that had led to a string of fatal bomb blasts and sectarian conflicts over the past five years.
A recent survey by the respectable Freedom Institute think-tank showed that many Indonesian Muslims had grown intolerant of the Christian minorities. Half of the respondents objected to having a church being built in their neighbourhood.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayudha said the dialogue was first planned after a discussion among foreign ministers on the fringe of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bangkok last year.
"We realised that our success in the fight against terrorism in the medium and long term will depend on the success of our efforts in empowering the moderates," he said.
Attending the event were 124 leaders of various religious groups from Asean countries – except Malaysia – as well as Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste.
The participants represented major faiths such as Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism, as well as smaller groups such as Confucianism, Sikhism and Bahaism. No leaders of radical Islamic groups were present. The 14-strong Singapore delegation was led by Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports Yu-Foo Yee Shoon.
She gave a speech on religious harmony in Singapore in a discussion of one of the working groups yesterday.
Officials said the meeting was expected to pave the way for a permanent regional forum to tackle issues surrounding religious-related violence and extremism.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told a media briefing yesterday: "I think what would come out of this meeting is the beginning of a process of establishing a permanent dialogue. Religious leaders have the potential to exercise a good deal of influence on government, but more importantly, on their own followers or flocks."