Rais Aam supports MORA's list of preacers

Jakarta, NU Online
The supreme leader of the Indonesia's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) KH Ma'ruf Amin supported the Ministry of Religious Affairs for issuing list of recommended preachers. He said the list is important to prevent the emergence of radical preachers.

"The list is needed as a control. How could they be preachers when all they can do is only cursing," Kiai Ma'ruf was quoted by Antara news agency as saying on Tuesday (22/5).

According to the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman, MUI would soon invite representatives from a number of Islamic mass organizations and preachers to discuss the list. He said MUI will be the party that verifies the names of the preachers on the proposal of the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Ministry of Religious Affairs will release list of recommended preachers and it will not be a matter if anyone doesn't want their name on the list, Kiai Ma'ruf added.

Earlier, Ministry of Religious Affairs issued a list of 200 preachers. Polemic on the list has created a commotion in the society.

According to Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin the list was made based on inputs from religious mass organizations, grand mosques, and others. He also said the list was intended to answer questions from the society.

Many people have asked recommendation from Ministry of Religious Affairs related to preachers who can preach both at mosque and other places.

Lukman said the list will be broadened. "We have imagined that the list will be dilemmatic, but we must also accommodated request from people. In the future we will also ask recommendation from MUI," Lukman said. (Masdar)