"Indonesia`s Pacasila (five principles) state philosophy is a correct basis for diverse society and religious adherents," Din Syamsudin said when opening an ACRP meeting at the Muhammadiyah University here on Friday night.
Din Syamsuddin, who is also the general chairman of Indonesia`s second largest Muslim organization Muhammadiyah, said that besides Pancasila, the principle of `Bhinneka Tunggal Ika` (unity in diversity) also played a very basic role so that the interfaith life and different ethnic groups could peacefully interact with each other.
Din said that the principles were in line with Islamic teachings which require Muslims to see differences as a pillar for interactions.
However, the flow of globalization which brought in freedoms could not be deterred. This caused the emergence of new groups which inclined to be exclusive and created new problems.
ACRP Secretary General Susnggon Kim concurred with Din. Sunggon Kim, who is a prominent religious leader from Korea, said that human beings needed religions to build their spirituality. He said that without religion, human beings would be equal to animals.
"Religion is the sole of a society. Our task is how to maintain religion as a spiritual pillar to preserve peaceful co-existence in life," Kim said.
In the meantime, East Java Governor Soekarwo said the ACRP meeting was very strategic because it showed the importance of interfaith dialogs and become a momentum for East Java to show the diversity of its society which was harmonious and lived a peacefully.
"East Java can serve as a model for the development of interfaith life where dialogs are intensively carried out both among religious adherents and among the government," the governor said.
The three-day ACRP meeting is being attended by 61 prominent religious leaders from 17 countries in Asia and Australia.
The meeting is an annual event organized to discuss reports from respective countries on contemporary issues regarding interfaith dialogs and to decide a host country for the ACRP general assembly next year.
The religious leaders attending the meeting were members of the World Conference of Religions for Peace (WCRP), Asia Desk, from China, South Korea, North Korea, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh, India, Cambodia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Timor Leste, Iran, Australia and Indonesia.
(A014/F001)
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2013
