REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, LONDON -- The Indonesian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Abdurrahman M. Fachir visited Serbia to hold an interfaith dialog with local religious and social figures.
Among the religious and social figures were the leader of the Serbian Orthodox Church Patriah Irinej, leader of the Serbian Islamic Community Grand Mufti Adam Zilkic, and leader of the Serbian Jewish Community Isak Asiel.
During the dialog, the Serbian religious figures were delighted to have an opportunity to hold a meeting with the Indonesian deputy foreign minister, academics, and youth who have experiences in preserving unity in pluralistic or heterogeneous community in Indonesia, spokesman for the Indonesian embassy in Beograd Habadi Soewedo noted on Thursday.
The dialog focused on thwarting the increasing number of cases of religious blasphemy, radicalism, extremism, and religious xenophobia, which may harm the spirit of national unity and youth empowerment.
Serbian Grand Mufti Adam Zilkic stated that Indonesia should thank God and preserve the noble values of the state ideology of Pancasila as the philosophy for the nation's progress.
He affirmed that Indonesia had managed to transform itself into a democratic state in a matured manner.
Indonesia's democracy and reform movements have paved the path for freedom of expression, which respects the rights of fellow citizens, including in the cultural and religious fields, he emphasized.
Leader of the Serbian Jewish Community Asiel remarked that Indonesia is a model country where people of different groups can co-exist peacefully and harmoniously. The presence of religions is to promote multi-culture to ensure that dialog among adherents of different faiths will grow strongly. Therefore, character building is needed to allow people to accept differences.
The deputy foreign minister stated that the 1945 Constitution ensures freedom of religion, and the government encourages tolerance among adherents of different faiths through an interfaith dialog program and pushes the youth to take active part in echoing peace through dialog.
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