Chairwoman of Muslimat NU calls for peace building

Sidoarjo, NU Online
General chairwoman of Muslimat NU Khofifah Indar Parawansa called on all people in the country here on Sunday to always build peace everywhere at any time, Antara news agency reported.

"There are many ways and places where we can spread peace, create peacefulness and peace of minds," she said before around 2,000 people attending a dzikir (remembrance of God rite) event to mark the anniversary of Prophet Mohammad and Sidoarjo District at the districts Grand Mosque in East Java.

She said conducting dzikir together could be one of ways Muslims could take to spread peace of mind and also national peace.

"Al Quran states if you wish to be peaceful, to have your nation and country peaceful say a lot of dzikir," she said.

Khiofifah who is also Social Affairs Minister said the Indonesian nation is currently facing various kinds of tests including in faith and economic areas.

She explained unless the condition is not faced with clear minds destruction will certainly happen in various parts of life.

On the occasion she also raised the issue of Indonesian citizens leaving for Syria to join with the ISIS armed group for a jihad.

Last week, she said, she met with 75 Indonesian citizens who had been deported from Turkey and accommodated at the Ministry of Social Affairs shelter.

"They confessed they wished to conduct jihad, hijrah and heaven. I told them, I think, you should not have gone to Syria if you wished to find heaven. You may possibly just give food and shelter to those in need and do it constantly," she said.

The minister said that right now there are more 200 Indonesians in Syria. She said they had sold their possessions and wealth, sacrificed their jobs and all their families to go to Syria.

In view of that she called on the people "to safeguard our families so that they would not become the targets or be influenced by such ideology." (Masdar)