NU will hold meeting for world's Muslim leaders

Jakarta, NU Online
The Central Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) would hold a meeting by involving Muslim leaders around the world through its International Conference of Islamic Scholars (ICIS) that would reportedly be held in Jakarta in the end of July 2008.

"NU as an Islamic organization developing tolerant attitudes (tasamuh) toward any existing differences will open such dialogue room in order to obtain additional feedbacks and ideas from Muslim scholars and intellectuals respectively," said chairman of the PBNU H. Mustofa Zuhad Mughni as opening a discussion (halaqah) ahead of ICIS at the PBNU headquarters in Jakarta Thursday (26/6).<>

According to Zuhad the Indonesia's biggest Muslim organization has sent invitation for most countries in the world.

The dispute between Islamic movements in some countries, he said, had tended to increasingly escalate from time to time and even lead to bloody conflicts.

Zuhad said as part of Indonesia as the world's most populous Muslim country, NU was challenged to initiate the scholarly forum.

"Through the third ICIS we will also develop what called as Fiqrah Nahdliyah (NU's line of thought) having so far been introduced by NU's special branch boards in many countries," Zuhad said.

The halaqah was attended by Indonesia's Palestinian ambassador Fariz Mehdawi and scores of officials from Middle East embassies to Indonesia.

Present also at the occasion were ex-chairman of Muhammadiyah Central Board Prof. Dr. Amien Rais, chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) KH Ma'ruf Amien, caretaker of As-Shidiqiyah Islamic boarding school (pesantren) KH Nur Iskandar SQ and ex-chairman of Honor Body of the House Slamet Effendy Yusuf. (nam)