REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Vice President Jusuf Kalla has ordered the Indonesian Mosque Youth Communication Forum (BKPRMI) to remove the sword on their emblem. He said it is a negative connotation for an Islamic youth organization.

"There is a sword image, but do not use it anymore. We do not want to fight with anyone. Do not join the Middle East, which uses a sword. We, in Indonesia (apply) the middle way, wasathiyah," Kalla stated, when opening the BKPRMI's National Coordination Meeting at Pondok Gede Hajj Dormitory here on Wednesday.

Kalla, who is also chairman of the Indonesian Mosque Council (DMI), reminded the BKPRMI's executive board members to bring the organization in line with the middle way of Islam, which does not spread radical notions to Muslim youths in mosques.

The sword images are identified with violent or radical movements in a number of Islamic organizations in the Middle East. Therefore, Kalla asked BKPRMI to replace the symbol with a picture of the mosque.

"So do not change the mosque's young activists into radicals with a sword symbol. Change, I say, into a mosque flag. (Use) the flag of the mosque alone, which is upright," he added.

Kalla also asked BKPRMI to avoid using commands or orders to all its members. BKPRMI should be able to run the organization by providing guidance to Muslim youths for the prosperity of the mosque and the community around the mosque.

"There is no need to use commands. BKPRMI must examine the relationship between youth and adolescents (Islam) with mosques," he remarked.

Therefore, BKPRMI is expected to be an organization that brings the younger generation of Islam to play a role in national development, especially in the fields of economy, technology, health, and education.

"The mosques can also be used for learning, discussions about technology, economics, and mutual progress. That is what we expect from young activists of the mosques," Kalla revealed.

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