VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Vice President Ma'ruf Amin invited all interfaith leaders in Indonesia to play an active role in building coalitions for global peace and helping to resolve religious conflicts in friendly countries.

"We, as religious leaders and adherents of devout religions, need to build an interfaith coalition for global peace that promotes the spirit of harmony and a narrative of peace throughout the world," said Ma'ruf Amin at the commemoration of the 2,571st birthday of the Prophet Kongzi virtually, Tuesday.

Ma'ruf said conflicts involving religious believers in various countries occurred because community groups had not yet implemented religious teachings in creating peace and harmony, and avoided destructive behavior.

"On the other hand, religion is still often used as a means of justification and excuse in conflicts and wars. Once again, we are very sorry for this and we must correct it," said the Vice President.

Ma'ruf took the example of religious conflicts that caused injustice to Muslims, including in India and Myanmar. Ma'ruf regretted that the conflict was still happening.

"As an example, we can mention the occurrence of violence against a religious background, such as the case of discriminatory treatment against Muslims in India and Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, which we should regret," he said.

To maintain peace in the country, Ma'ruf Amin emphasized the importance of strengthening the narrative of harmony to maintain unity amidst ethnic, religious, and racial differences in Indonesia.

"The narrative of harmony is very important for us because the Indonesian nation is a pluralistic nation. As a pluralistic nation, the pillar of the Indonesian nation's strength lies in its diversity," he said.

In addition, we must also promote caring for and implementing Pancasila values as the state ideology as an effort to maintain community harmony between religious believers, among groups, and between groups.

"Maintaining and caring for Pancasila is not enough just by reading historical records and memorizing its formulas. To remain strong as a living ideology, we must manifest the noble values of Pancasila in the genuine works and practices of the community and every Indonesian citizen," he said. (Antaranews)