March 19, 2013: Muslim leaders in indonesia have congratulated the new pope on his
election and are hoping for increased cooperation with the Catholic Church.They say
they have also prepared proposals which could help boost Catholic relations with Muslim
groups within the country.
“I hope [Pope Francis] will continue what his predecessors
have done," Din Syamsuddin, chairman of Muhammadiyah, told ucanews.com at the weekend.
"They have shown the commitment of the Catholic Church in bridging relations with
other religions, including Islam.”
He hoped that the newly elected pontiff
will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two of the country’s biggest Islamic
organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah.
“It will stress how to make
the relationship between Indonesian Muslims and the Vatican more harmonious. It will
also include several points on the protection of Indonesian Catholics,” he said.
The
MoU, he said, has been planned since Syamsuddin's visit to the Vatican in March of
last year, when he met with Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical
Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and Andrea Riccardi, the Italian minister for
international cooperation.
Popes including Blessed John Paul II and Pope Emeritus
Benedict XVI have played an important role in the dialogue between Islam and Christianity,
Syamsuddin said. In April last year, the president of the Community of Sant’Egidio
Marco Impagliazzo signed a similar MoU with Muhammadiyah to work together for the
benefit of humanity.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Agus Mulyadi, an Islamic scholar from
Nahdlatul Ulama, said he hopes Pope Francis will build personal relationships with
Muslim leaders. “Personal relationships will certainly bring vast impact on the relationships
between the two religions,” he said. He also hoped the pope will promote the values
of tolerance to prevent conflict.
Nusron Wahid, chairman of Ansor Youth Movement
(GP Ansor), the youth wing of Nahdlatul Ulama, said Pope Francis' third-world background
will help him understand the situation of people in Asia.
“I’m quite optimistic
the pope will pay attention to the situation in developing nations, such as poverty,”
he said. “He will definitely be sensitive to the marginalized who live in developing
nations, including Indonesia."