JAKARTA (UCAN) -- Various religious leaders say a Muslim leader deserves the 2008 Ramon Magsaysay Award he soon will receive because of his work and commitment toward a friendly, tolerant and plural face of Islam.

The Manila-based Board of Trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) announced on July 31 that Ahmad Syafii Maarif, 73, has won this year's award in the peace and international understanding category.

He is to receive the award at a ceremony on Aug. 31 in Manila.

Maarif, former chairperson of Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second-largest Islamic organization, is honored for "guiding Muslims to embrace tolerance and pluralism as the basis for justice and harmony in Indonesia and in the world."

According to the RMAF website (www.rmaf.org.ph), the peace and international understanding category recognizes "contributions to the advancement of friendship, tolerance, peace and solidarity as the foundations for sustainable development within and across countries."

Father Johannes Nicolaus Hariyanto, secretary general of the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace, describes Maarif as "a big figure who is not ambitious to obtain power." As a religious leader, the Jesuit said, Maarif plays a prophetic role and promotes human values through his talks and writings. "He really deserves the award," the priest told UCA News on Aug. 2.

Reverend Nathan Setiabudi, former chairperson of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia, said he is happy that Maarif's struggle has been recognized and respected. "We must support it because it is a struggle for plurality in national life," the Protestant pastor told UCA News.

Reverend Setiabudi recalled that he together with Maarif and other religious leaders belonging to the National Interreligious Moral Movement visited the late Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in February 2003. In October that same year, they also met with U.S. President George W. Bush in Bali to express their rejection of the U.S. attacks on Iraq.

Maarif was born on May 31, 1935, in Sumpurkudus, West Sumatra province. In the United States, he earned a doctorate in Islamic Thought from the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations of the University of Chicago, as well as a master's degree in History from Ohio University.

He served 1998-2005 as chairperson of Muhammadiyah, and has been a lecturer of the postgraduate program in State Islamic Religion Institute and Teachers' Training Institute, both in Yogyakarta.

On Feb. 28, 2003, Maarif established the Maarif Institute for Culture and Humanity in Jakarta, with the aim of presenting Islam as a religion that is Rahmatan lil 'Alamin (a blessing for the world), inclusive and tolerant.

Philip Wijaya, secretary general of the Trusteeship Council of Indonesian Buddhists, told UCA News Maarif is a "statesman" who has played an active role in dialogue forums and shared his views on promoting interreligious peace. "I congratulated him, but he humbly replied he does not deserve the award," Wijaya said.

Masdar F. Mas'sudi of the board of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Islamic organization, told UCA News on Aug. 4: "Maarif is an interreligious thinker. He deserves the award, which is given to respect his struggle."

Theopilus Bela, a Catholic layman who is general secretary of the Indonesian Committee on Religion for Peace, commented: "I am proud of him and admire him. He is an inclusive national figure who deserves the award."

Bela also said Maarif's thinking is progressive, especially for the Muslims' development. He also recalled that in July 2007 Maarif condemned an attack on a Catholic retreat house in Cianjur, West Java, by a radical Muslim group.

This year, RMAF, which was established in 1957, is honoring seven individuals -- from India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand -- and one institution based in the Philippines.

Each awardee will receive a certificate, a medallion and a cash prize at the presentation ceremony on Aug. 31 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

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