He said around 400 influential clerics have already expressed their support to Jokowi-Ma`ruf Amin pair for the election in April.
"Around 400 senior and influential clerics (that) have gathered in Jakarta and declared support to Jokowi and me," he said at High End Building in response to newsmen regarding the decision of clerics grouped in the Nationsl Fatwa Guards Mivement (GNPF) to support his rival Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno.
Around 400 clerics gathered at Asshiddiqiyah Islamic Boarding School here on Saturday. They had declared support to Jokowi in his bid to seek reelection with Ma`ruf Amin, who is a chief cleric as his running mate.
Ma`ruf Amin, who is the chief of the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) and also chairman of the advisory board of Nahdlatul Ulama, which is the biggest Islamic organization in the country, said the senior clerics that have expressed support to Jokowi-Ma`ruf Amin are mostly leaders of Islamic boarding schools from various parts of the country.
He said he believed students of the schools would follow their leaders. "Students usually follow their clerics," Ma`ruf said.
With regard to campaigning, which is officially scheduled to start on September 23, Ma`ruf said he planned to conduct visits to various regions including the boarding schools.
Reporting by Riza Harahap
Editing by Yoseph Hariyadi, Rahmad Nasution
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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