Monas in Jakarta surrounded by protesters. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
The cleric wants people to focus on uniting a divided nation.
3 April 2017 15:50
Indonesian Ulema Council Chairman Ma'aruf Amin urged Muslims to stop holding rallies and massive protests ahead of the second leg of Jakarta election.
The cleric urged the people to unite the nation again.
"It's enough. We have voiced our aspiration, what is left for us to do is to take stepsin order to unite the nation," said Ma'ruf to reporters at the Vice President Office on Monday.
He also suggested the government to hold a national dialogue to bring together all ethnic and religious communitiesso they could discuss howto find the best solution to resolve any diversity issues.
Ma'aruf claimed that the idea has been delivered to President Joko Widodo.
"If God wills, probably after the election. We expect to have a national dialogue to end misunderstanding and disharmony," said Ma'aruf.
Last week, a group of religious organizations held another massive rally Central Jakarta demanding the imprisonment and impeachment of Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama regarding his blasphemy case and asking the police to stop criminalizing Islamic scholars.
