Religious leaders pray for the late Gus Dur

JAKARTA (UCAN) – Religious leaders meeting here this week have prayed for former president Abdurrahman Wahid, also known as Gus Dur, who died in late December.

He is best remembered for his work in shoring up pluralism in Indonesia.

The leaders, including Jesuit Father Ignatius Ismartono who coordinates the bishops’ Crisis and Reconciliation Service, were among about 150 people from various religious communities who attended the Feb. 8 meeting.

The event was held at the Aditya Jaya Hindu Temple in Rawamangun, East Jakarta.

“Gus Dur was willing to suffer in order to maintain pluralism. For me, he was a shepherd who tended to all communities, not only Muslims,” Father Ismartono said.

The late president “inspired me to get involved in various interreligious dialogues,” he said, expressing hope that Gus Dur’s efforts would inspire all Indonesians to live together in peace.

Jesuit Father Fransiskus Xaverius Mudji Sutrisno, who first met Gus Dur in 1987, said that when politics divided religions, Gus Dur worked hard to ensure that Islam remained moderate.

Maintaining Gus Dur’s ideas for Indonesia

“I hope we can maintain Gus Dur’s spirit for the sake of our country,” said the lecturer at the Jesuit Driyarkara School of Philosophy in Jakarta.

Reverend Tjahjadi Nugroho, a Protestant pastor, praised Gus Dur’s courage in working for pluralism. For Gus Dur, pluralism was about “honesty and humanity,” he said.

“Adhering to a religion means showing honesty and behaving humanely,” he added.

Ketut Singgih, a Hindu lay leader, said he always respected the late leader’s ideas. “He was aware of and really understood this nation as a plural society whose basis is bhinneka tunggal ika [unity in diversity]. This was the foundation of his struggle,” he told the gathering.

Nyara Suryanadi, a Buddhist monk, lauded Gus Dur as “a spiritual teacher” who inspired all Buddhist monks in the country. “Gus Dur instilled spiritual values into our minds,” he said.

According to Budi Tanu Wibowo, who heads the Supreme Council for Confucian Religion in Indonesia, Gus Dur was “a little prophet” who paved the way for Confucianism to be recognized by the government.

When Gus Dur was president, Chinese people were allowed to celebrate Imlek [local word for Chinese New Year] publicly,” he recalled.

The end of the meeting also saw the launch of a book titled “Sejuta Doa untuk Gus Dur” (a million prayers for Gus Dur). The book contains a novel as well as a collection of prayers written by individuals and religious organizations, including the Bishops’ Conference of Indonesia.

IJ08781.1588 February 10, 2010 46 EM-lines (415 words)

Church tributes pour in for Gus Dur
´Indonesian Islam is pluralistic in character´
‘Interreligious dialogue must include radical groups’