Receiving North Sulawesi Governor, VP highlights importance of inter-religious harmony

Jakarta-wapresri.go.id. Vice President Jusuf Kalla underscored the importance of building a harmony among religions through mutual understanding of different religious teachings.

The Vice President stated this when receiving Governor of North Sulawesi Olly Dondokambey in his office on Jalan Merdeka Utara, Jakarta, Thursday (April 6).

In the meeting, Olly Dondokambey invited the Vice President to inaugurate the opening of the national meeting of the Inter-Religious Harmony Forums (FKUB) that will be held in Manado on April 23, 2017.

“Earlier, on Saturday (April 22), there will be the National Easter celebration which will be attended by churches around the world, with some conferences and seminars,” said Olly.

In response, the Vice President appreciated the event and promised to set up a schedule to attend the FKUB national meeting.

The Vice President then recounted that it was he who first established FKUB in Makassar, which became the forerunner of FKUB in the national scale.

“There used to be rotating meetings in houses of worship. If this month, for example, the Muslims are the host, (the meeting place) should be in the mosque. The following month, (when) the Christians (become the host), (the meeting place) is in a cathedral. The host was then given ten minutes to explain about their religion. Thus, eventually, all religious communities become familiar (one another) and have mutual respect,” he said.

The Vice President further said, by understanding other religions, we will respect the similarities and differences among different teachings.

Also present with North Sulawesi Governor in the meeting were Head of the North Sulawesi Office of the Ministry of Religious Affairs H.Sulaeman, North Sulawesi FKUB chairman HWB Sumakul, Head of Committee of the National Easter Celebration Shepherd Supit, Head of North Sulawesi National and Political Unity (Kesbangpol) Steven Liow, as well as representatives of FKUB national meeting committee Lucky Rumopa, Frans E Wuisan, and Johan Manampiring; while the Vice President was accompanied by Head of the Secretariat of the Vice President Mohamad Oemar, Special Staff to the Vice President for Poverty Reduction and Regional Autonomy Syahrul Udjud, and the Vice President’s Expert Team member Sofyan Wanandi.