ID :
14439
Wed, 07/30/2008 - 20:42
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/14439
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PRESIDENT: ISLAMIC COUNTRIES MUST PROMOTE PEACE
Jakarta, July 30 (ANTARA) - Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Islamic countries must promote peace and economic building among Muslim countries in the world.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the third International Conference of Islamic Scholars (ICIS) at Borobudur Hotel here Wednesday, the president said, "This conference is an opportunity for us to strengthen our ukhuwwah (solidarity) worldwide. It is also an opportunity to formulate practical measures to overcome political, economic, and social barriers to make peace and progress".
The president said the Muslim community today is riddled by many conflicts and wars both among internal and external parties despite Islam's teachings of love, compassion and tolerance among people.
This factor, the head of state said, was worsened by Muslims' poverty around the world.
"However, I remain optimistic for there are instances where peace has made a refreshing breakthrough in the Muslim world," said the president.
He mentioned as an example the peace agreement between the Philippine government and the separatist Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in the southern Philippines.
After 20 years of conflict, a peace process brokered by Indonesia on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference was initiated, he said.
Another example, he said, was the peace accord reached by the (now-defunct) Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government after three decades of armed conflict.
As to the economic empowerment of Islamic countries, President Yudhoyono urged states and nations to work together in a powerful force to gain more progress in the Islamic world as well as in promoting peace and security of the world.
"The Muslim world supplies 70 percent of the world's energy requirements and 40 percent of raw materials which the industries of the world turn them into consumer products," the president said, adding that if the Muslim community united their sources, there would be great progress among Islamic countries and in the world.
The Third ICIS is an international meeting of Islamic scholars from around the world to discuss actions to promote progress in the Islamic world.
"This year's focus of the meeting is on peace building and conflict prevention in the Islamic world," said KH Hasyim Muzadi, chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Muslim organization in Indonesia, on the same occasion.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the third International Conference of Islamic Scholars (ICIS) at Borobudur Hotel here Wednesday, the president said, "This conference is an opportunity for us to strengthen our ukhuwwah (solidarity) worldwide. It is also an opportunity to formulate practical measures to overcome political, economic, and social barriers to make peace and progress".
The president said the Muslim community today is riddled by many conflicts and wars both among internal and external parties despite Islam's teachings of love, compassion and tolerance among people.
This factor, the head of state said, was worsened by Muslims' poverty around the world.
"However, I remain optimistic for there are instances where peace has made a refreshing breakthrough in the Muslim world," said the president.
He mentioned as an example the peace agreement between the Philippine government and the separatist Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in the southern Philippines.
After 20 years of conflict, a peace process brokered by Indonesia on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference was initiated, he said.
Another example, he said, was the peace accord reached by the (now-defunct) Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government after three decades of armed conflict.
As to the economic empowerment of Islamic countries, President Yudhoyono urged states and nations to work together in a powerful force to gain more progress in the Islamic world as well as in promoting peace and security of the world.
"The Muslim world supplies 70 percent of the world's energy requirements and 40 percent of raw materials which the industries of the world turn them into consumer products," the president said, adding that if the Muslim community united their sources, there would be great progress among Islamic countries and in the world.
The Third ICIS is an international meeting of Islamic scholars from around the world to discuss actions to promote progress in the Islamic world.
"This year's focus of the meeting is on peace building and conflict prevention in the Islamic world," said KH Hasyim Muzadi, chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Muslim organization in Indonesia, on the same occasion.
