by AP and Israel Hayom Staff
Despite angry protests at home over his visit to Israel, secretary general of 60-million-member Sunni Islam movement in Indonesia, Yahya Staquf, hopes the controversy can bring more attention to his message of tolerance and help solve many conflicts.
Yahya Staquf, secretary general of the 60-million-member
Nahdlatul Ulama poses for a photograph in Jerusalem, Monday
Photo: AP
A
leader of Indonesia's largest Muslim organization is visiting Israel
this week, braving angry protests at home in order to spread what he
calls a message of interfaith compassion.
Yahya Staquf, secretary general of the 60
million-member Nahdlatul Ulama, a traditionalist Sunni Islam movement,
is in Israel to attend the American Jewish Committee's international
conference in Jerusalem.
The world's largest Muslim country,
Indonesia does not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, and
strongly supports the Palestinians. Staquf's Israel visit has triggered
angry reactions, as seen on Indonesian social media.
But in an interview, Staquf said he remains
committed to the visit and hopes the controversy can bring more
attention to his message of tolerance.
"Some people here are amazed by my decision
to come, because they think it must be dangerous for this man to come,
thinking that many, many Muslims must be threatening him with death or
something," Staquf said.
Earlier this week, Staquf addressed the
American Jewish Committee conference, appearing alongside a rabbi. His
itinerary also includes meetings at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
and talks with local Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders. There were no
meetings with Israeli politicians listed on his schedule.
Staquf said the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict is not the sole focus of his trip. He said he sees interfaith
cooperation as a foundation for solving many conflicts, including in
Myanmar, where 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled persecution by the
country's security forces to Bangladesh.
But Staquf remains aware of the "magnitude" of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"We are facing a civilizational problem
here, and it is related to religions," Staquf said. "As Muslims, we want
to do our part related to our religion."
Staquf says he has identified portions of
Islam that he considers problematic, including how Muslims interact with
non-Muslims. He says there needs to be "a new discourse" to recognize
that Muslims and non-Muslims are equal and should be able to coexist
peacefully.
"These elements are problematic because they are not compatible anymore with the current reality of our civilization," he said.
In Indonesia, Twitter and Facebook have
been filled with negative comments about the visit. Many are upset about
the situation in the Gaza Strip, where over 120 Palestinians, many of
them Hamas terrorists, have been killed by Israeli troops during riots
along the border between Israel and Gaza over the past two months.
An image featuring Staquf and the flags of
Israel and of Nahdlatul Ulama has gone viral online. The photo is
captioned: "When Muslims are wounded by an Israeli attack, the NU
representative goes to Israel. This visit is a form of recognition of
the State of Israel, hurting the hearts of Muslims and Palestinians."
Teuku Taufiqulhadi, a lawmaker from the
National Democratic Party, one of the parties in the Indonesian
government coalition, said "the majority of Indonesians" do not want
diplomatic relations with Israel.
In a letter to Indonesia's foreign
minister, published online, Staquf said the government could "deny" his
actions if deemed harmful to state interests. "But if there is a
benefit, let's follow it up to be a real advantage," he said.
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2018/06/12/braving-backlash-muslim-leader-spreads-interfaith-compassion-in-israel/
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