Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The chief of the Nahdlatul Ulama Islamic organization, Said Aqil Siradj, said the conflict in Sampang on the island of Madura in East Java recently was not between Sunnis and Shiites but a mere family matter.

"It was not a Sunni-Shiite conflict but a conflict between families," he told newsmen here on Tuesday.

He said there had never been a conflict between Sunnis and Shiites in Indonesia much less between NU and Shiites.

Therefore, he called for efforts to localize the problem as a mere family affair because the fact was like that and against spreading it further moreover now when the Islamic world needs unity among different schools, sects, ethnic groups or political backgrounds.

He said he had talked with the governor of East Java and the district head of Sampang and they had said they were able to settle it.

As reported before the Misbahul Huda Islamic boarding school in Nangkernang, Karang Gayam, in Sampang which was managed by a Shiite group was burned on Thursday (Dec 29) by unknown people.

Three houses and one house of prayer were also burned in the incident but there were no casualties.
(T.S024/Uu.H-YH/HAJM)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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