Jakarta, Indonesia - Interfaith leaders are to begin a three-day national congress here Tuesday aimed at revitalizing the Pancasila state ideology as a common ethics amid concern over decreasing tolerance among religious communities.
Coordinating Minister for the People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie is slated to open the first Congress of Indonesian Religious Leaders at 8 p.m in the Acacia Hotel in Central Jakarta.
In attendance will be more than 200 leaders of six established religions in Indonesia: Islam, Christianity, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism.
Among the participants are representatives of Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI), the Indonesian Bishops Conference (KWI), the Indonesian Hindu Religious Council, the Council of Buddhist Communities and the Confucian Supreme Council of Indonesia.
"The Indonesian Mujahidin Council and Hizbut Tahrir will also take part," Zainudin Daulah, a deputy secretary of the congress committee, told The Jakarta Post on Monday. The two hardline groups are campaigning for an Islamic state in Indonesia.
However, Ahmadiyah, which the MUI has declared a heretical Islamic sect and which has subsequently been the target of attacks by Muslim radicals, was not invited to the meeting.
Former Muhammadiyah chairman Ahmad Syafii Maarif, priest Mudji Sutrisno and former religious affairs minister Tolchah Hasan are scheduled to deliver speeches at the gathering.
The congress is mainly aimed at promoting a pluralistic religious society and revitalizing the basic values of Pancasila as a common ethics. It is also expected to end with the formulation of a "joint action" by all religions to face global challenges.
KWI's Father Benny Susetyo said now is the time for all religions to cooperate in finding solutions to humanitarian problems, and unite in facing global challenges.
"We have to change our way of relating to people of other faiths. We have to alter the way we practice religion," he told the Post. "We should no longer be reactionary when dealing with problems arising from rapid social change. We have to be proactive."
Both Daulah and Benny said the congress would focus on how to build greater synergy among religions to face approaching challenges. They said it would avoid deep debates about "old issues" such as the controversial decree on houses of worship jointly issued by the Religious Affairs Ministry and the Home Affairs Ministry.
"We'll talk about it, but it will not be the main issue," Daulah said. "We have to look forward, not backward," Benny added.
The decree has been blamed as one of the causes of series of clashes between Muslims and Christians across the country.
In March, a group of some 200 self-styled Muslim vigilantes forced Christians to close their church in Bogor, West Java.
The mob claimed the church violated the decree, which requires a new place of worship to have a congregation of at least 90 people and to get approval from the local administration as well as 60 people of other faiths.
As many as 23 churches in West Java alone have been forcibly shut in the past two years because the buildings lacked permits, according to the PGI.
Benny also said the congress would not specifically discuss the sharia-inspired bylaws recently issued by several regional administrations. Such ordinances have sparked protests from moderate Muslims and minority groups, who say they undermine religious harmony in the country.
"We will fight for religious life which is based on humanity and justice," he said, explaining that the enactment of these bylaws was actually due to a lack of justice in practicing religion.