NU chairman comes to Vatican more often than Indonesian Catholic leader

Jakarta, NU Online
He is not a Catholic priest but a cleric (kiai) or ulema. He is also the leader of Indonesia's biggest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama. He is KH Hasyim Muzadi. He said that he had come to Vatican more often than Indonesian Catholic leader Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja.
 
Hasyim who is also the president of World Conference of Religions for Peace said that he had so far met with two supreme leaders of world's Catholic members, namely Pope Johannes Paulus II and Pope Benedict XVI.<>

“I have five times come to Vatican more often than (Indonesian) Cardinal (Julius Darmaatmaja). Whereas he has never come to Mecca,” said Hasyim before 40 Indonesian Catholic priests grouped under the Unio Indonesia at the NU headquarters in Jakarta on Friday (16/5).

Hasyim explained that his coming to Vatican was intended to cultivate relationship among religious adherents living not only in Indonesia but also in other countries around the world. He said through the relationship the harmony among religious adherents could be reached.

He said through dialog and communication, both the togetherness and the brotherhood among religious adherents could be reached without any suspicions. All this was aimed at avoiding misunderstanding among them, he said.

The inter-religious communication, Hasyim said, could also be held in the country and even NU headquarters could be considered as such joint room in which religious leaders had most of the time held meeting to take up any national issues.

“This (NU) headquarters has been a place for religious leaders. In this place we have discussed issues related to religion,” the caretaker of Al Hikam Islamic boarding school, Malang, East Java said. (rif)