REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN)'s Executive Board Saleh Partaonan Daulay reminded President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo of his promise on finding peace in Palestine by taking concrete action to protect Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque.
"I think President Jokowi totally understands about the importance of Al-Aqsa Mosque for all Muslims. The mosque was the first Qibla (direction where Muslims face while offering prayers) of Islam. It is also the third holiest mosque in Islam," Daulay noted here on Friday.
During the pre-election campaign, Jokowi and his running mate M. Jusuf Kalla had promised to play an active role in helping Palestine to get free from the Israeli occupation, he stated.
"Muslims will be very happy if President Jokowi could lead from the front to help Palestine. It is about time that Jokowi shows up on the global stage," the legislator added.
Daulay believed that President Jokowi is capable of initiating a meeting of the leaders of Islamic countries to discuss efforts to end the Israeli aggression in Al-Aqsa Mosque.
"We might not be able to free Palestine now, but at least we could stop Israeli attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque," he noted.
The chairman of the House of Representatives' (DPR's) Commission VIII remarked that the Parliament would fully support the president if he is serious about fighting for the cause of Palestinian freedom.
"Moreover, everyone knows that the problem in Palestine is not a religious issue, but a gross violation of human rights," he added.
The Indonesian government has condemned the ongoing violations and violence by Israeli Zionist Jews in the Al-Aqsa compound.
The Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry, in a statement following the total closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israel recently, noted that Israel must allow access to the mosque and guarantee the safety of Muslims offers prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque.
The government has called the Israeli move a violation of human rights, and particularly depriving all Muslims in Jerusalem, Palestine, of their religious freedom.
"Indonesia strongly condemns Israel's move to bar access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. We demand that Israel immediately reopens the mosque," the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry stated.