Our vision is we want to take further (the forum) to not only become an event or conference, but we are also encouraging this idea to become a global movement.
Badung, Bali (ANTARA) - The 2022 G20 Summit scheduled in Bali on November 15-16, 2022, has a highly strategic value since the G20 is a multilateral cooperation forum that represents 75 percent of the global trade.

The summit will be different from the earlier edition since there will be an added value from the implementation of the Religion of Twenty (R20) forum on November 2-3, 2022, in Bali.

The R20 meeting, part of the Sherpa Track of Indonesia's 2022 G20 Presidency engagement group, aims to encourage discussions among world religious leaders, so that religion can provide solutions to various global problems.

Hence, the R20 event, themed "Revealing and Nurturing Religion as a Source of Global Solutions: A Global Movement for Shared Moral and Spiritual Values," is expected to strengthen the role of G20 through religious values to solve international problems.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) conveyed his support for the implementation of the forum to General Chairperson of the Indonesian Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama Executive Board (PBNU) Yahya Cholil Staquf, as initiator of the R20, when Staquf, along with several PBNU members, invited the president on September 22, 2022, to attend the R20 meeting.

In addition, support for the forum also came from the Muslim World League (MWL), as the representative of the international Islamic organization.

Sheikh Abdurachman Al Khayyat, a member of the MWL, stated at the introductory meeting of the R20 Forum in Jakarta on September 5, 2022, that the Saudi Arabia-based organization was ready to act as co-chair of the R20 meeting in November 2022.

He lauded PBNU's initiative to implement the world religious leaders' meeting in Bali.

"I am very happy, thank you very much to Nahdlatul Ulama for organizing this meeting for everyone. Hopefully, this forum would be attended by many representatives of world religious leaders as well as run well and smoothly," he stated.

Furthermore, he assessed that collaboration between MWL and PBNU in the R20 event was a strategic collaboration.

Meanwhile, the PBNU chairperson noted that R20 was initiated to emphasize that religion also had an important role to play as a solution to various global problems.

Hence, he is optimistic that R20 would not only become an annual agenda but also a global movement.

"Our vision is we want to take further (the forum) to not only become an event or conference, but we are also encouraging this idea to become a global movement," he remarked during a pre-R20 event press conference here on Tuesday (November 1, 2022).

Identity-based Solution

PBNU’s idea is to gather global religious leaders to address the problems of communal relations among different religious groups as well as promote religious values as a source of solutions to various global issues.

The organization brought the idea to the government and proposed it to be adopted at the annual G20 forum. Hence, the PBNU is cooperating with the MWL to bring back the role of religion in diplomacy.

Secretary General of MWL Sheikh Mohammed Al-Issa highly welcomed the idea and lauded PBNU.

"From Bali, there will be concrete actions to strengthen peace between religious believers," he stated.

At least, the R20 can emphasize that religion is not a marginal factor that is only used to legitimate the implementation of various development programs.

The forum should highlight that religious values are not only for show in policy making. Religious, justice, and humanitarian values can instead play a role and influence political and economic policies.

Hence, the R20 Forum will discuss four topics regarding the role of religion in development, including "Historical Grievances, Truth Disclosure, Reconciliation, and Forgiveness" as well as "Identifying and Embracing Noble Values from the World's Great Religions and Civilizations."

Furthermore, other topics will discuss about "Recontextualization of Obsolete and Troubled Religious Teachings, Identifying the Values Needed to Develop and Ensure Peaceful Coexistence" as well as "Spiritual Ecology."

The results of discussion on those topics will be compiled into a communiqué that will make religious values as a solution for global problems and not just be part of the problems. In other words, religion will become an identity-based solution and not identity politics.

Results of the R20 meeting will complete the solutions for three main G20 Summit topics of economy digitalization, renewable energy, and global health, with a touch of religious values that always seek the harmony of human, inter-state, and inter-religious relations.

Harmonious relations are in line with the implementation of moderate Islam in Indonesia that emphasizes three ukhuwah (brotherhood) principles of ukhuwah islamiyah (brotherhood among Muslims), ukhuwah wathoniyah (brotherhood of nation), and ukhuwah insaniyah (brotherhood of mankind).

It might also be the reason to choose Bali to host the R20 meeting, as people of the island have, since long, practiced a traditional philosophy of life derived from Hinduism called ‘Tri Hita Karana’ that includes a harmonious relationship between humans and their God, fellow humans, as well as the environment to achieve happiness.

If those ukhuwah and Tri Hita Karana values can be promoted and implemented well, then there is great hope that religion can truly be an identity-based solution.

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Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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