30 July 2008

Speeches of the President
Opening Remarks by H.E. Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,
the President of the Republic of Indonesia
at
the Opening Ceremony of the Third International
Conference of Islamic Scholars
Jakarta, 30 July 2008

Bismillahirrahmaanirrahiim,
Assalamu’alaikum Wr. Wb.

Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Friends,

I am pleased to welcome all of you to the Third International Conference of Islamic Scholars in Jakarta. I congratulate and commend the organizers of this conference, the Nahdlatul Ulama, working with the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, for nurturing this important process.

Indonesia is honored by the presence here of eminent Islamic scholars and leaders of Muslim communities from all over the world.

Two years ago, we held the Second International Conference of Islamic Scholars here in Jakarta. At that time, we focused on our message of upholding Islam as the religion of mercy to all creation, or  rahmatan lil-alamin.

We affirmed that the Ummah has a responsibility to foster global peace through religious tolerance. This time, I trust that we will be much more specific about the demands and our responses to that responsibility.

I therefore welcome the theme for this year’s conference: “Upholding Islam as Rahmatan lil-Alamin: Peace Building and Conflict Prevention in the Muslim World.”

Too much attention and energy has been spent on resolving conflicts, but still not enough on preventing them. Ultimately, it is much better to prevent a conflict from breaking-out, rather than curing it once it happens. Preventing conflict is costs much less — in terms of human lives, political energy and economic resources – than resolving it.

But conflict prevention is no less tricky than conflict resolution.

It requires an ability to detect potentials for conflict. It requires an ability to engage potential adversaries early on, and to understand the dynamics of an emerging conflict.

And like conflict resolution, it requires an ability to explore creative ways to de-escalate tension, and prevent disputes from breaking into conflicts. And also like conflict resolution, preventing conflict requires good timing -- timing of intervention, timing of prevention, and timing of action.

Most importantly, conflict prevention requires leadership, and this leadership can come from anywhere: political leaders, informal leaders, community leaders, religious leaders, depending on the nature of the potential conflicts.

What we must always remember is that every conflict has a life on its own. Each conflict has its own personality, its own dynamic, and each must be treated on its own merit. But I also passionately believe that every conflict—no matter—how difficult and long-standing—is resolvable. We just have to find the right way, and sustained political will, of doing it.

Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

This Conference is an opportunity for us to strengthen our ukhuwah worldwide. It is also an opportunity to formulate practical measures to overcome political, economic and social barriers to peace and progress.

The Muslim world today is riddled with problems. Many of the conflicts around the world today are between Muslims. This, in spite of our professing the same faith that teaches love, compassion and tolerance in the way of Allah.

Groups who call themselves Muslims are inflicting carnage on innocent people, including Muslims, in many places.

And yet I do not despair. I remain optimistic. For there are instances where peace has made a refreshing breakthrough in the Muslim world.

A case in point is the end of the separatist MNLF rebellion in southern Philippines, following a peace process brokered by Indonesia on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference after more than 20 years of conflict. And, of course, nearer home, there is the Peace Agreement between the Free Aceh Movement and the Government of Indonesia that ended three decades of armed rebellion.

I am confident that the peace in Aceh will long endure. It is because we are nurturing that peace with reconciliation, good governance, respect for human rights, and with the people’s enjoyment of the benefits of social and economic development. Without these vital factors, peace will always remain fragile.

Hence, to promote enduring peace in the Muslim world, we must start working today for the economic empowerment and the social welfare of our peoples. Islam, after all, is a religion of progress and liberation. Being equal before Allah, all Muslims must therefore enjoy equality of opportunity. We cannot tolerate a situation where the great majority of Muslims languish in poverty.

According to the latest UN Human Development Index, only nine countries in the Muslim world belong to the high development category of countries.

On average, some 40 percent of the adult population in each Muslim country is illiterate.

Almost 40 percent of the Ummah lives below the poverty line. Untold millions of Muslims live on less than a dollar a day.

Muslim countries account for only seven percent of the world’s inter-trade and 13.5 percent of total foreign exchange.

The reality therefore is that as a whole we are not yet competitive in a globalized world. We are at the outer edges of global economic action, away from the centers of economic opportunities.

And being at the outer edges, we are more vulnerable to two formidable forces at work in a globalized world.

On one hand, the nation-state is being pulled outward only to be absorbed in a global integration process. On the other hand, the nation-state can also be pulled inward by micro-nationalism based on ethnicity, culture, language and religion. That puts all in a precarious situation, which makes it difficult to attain both enduring peace and constant progress.

The remedy that comes easiest to mind is to build a robust state. That explains why the newspapers I read every morning are full of reports on state-building all over the world. Not much on nation-building.

But the fact is that the state alone is not enough to address the downside of globalization and the other intractable problems of our time. We must also vigorously pursue nation-building. State and nation must function closely together like the brain and heart.

Let us not make the mistake of strengthening the state at the expense of the cohesiveness of the nation. Let us strive to create harmony among our communities and to promote constructive dialogue among the faiths that have found a home in our societies. Let each nation foster a deep sense of itself as history has created it.
When state and nation work together, it can be a powerful force for good, thus contributing tremendously to the attainment of world peace and security. We have the resources and the strength to achieve this.

The Muslim world supplies 70 percent of the world’s energy requirements and 40 percent of the raw materials that the industries of the world turn into consumer products. The Ummah accounts for more than 20 percent of the world’s population. If we are united, these numbers can translate into capacity for doing good, for promoting trade and investment and for fostering peace among ourselves and with the rest of the world.

It has been proven many times that Muslim communities can mediate the peace when cultures come into conflict or when governments clash with minority groups. Many of us have wide experience and exceptional skills in dialogue, in soothing deep grievances and in easing the pain of wounded ethnic pride. These are community-building skills.

If to be Muslim is to be a servant of Allah, then to be Muslim is also to be a servant of peace.

And in the service of peace we in the Ummah look to our Muslim scholars for leadership. Indeed, you the Muslim scholars have a unique role in the great jihad for peace. You can teach us not only the articles of faith but also the skills of an agent of peace and development, and the way to promote harmony and compassion.

Teach us to pray and at the same time to act and do the work of Allah in this world. And bring the message of peace beyond the limits of your own communities, beyond the edges of your nations to a world that thirst for respite from conflict— so that you become Ulema sans frontiers. Ulema without borders.

Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I find it significant that this Conference coincides with the observance of Isra Miraj : the example of the Prophet Muhammad SAW, who in his own time rose to heaven to come very close to the Divine Presence.

But how do we the followers of the Prophet achieve the same miracle in our time? I say: we cannot come close to Allah if we remain divided and we keep on fighting or working against one another. We can come close to Allah by way and only by way of one another.

The Prophet could get close to Allah because he was close to all the faithful, he was forgiving and tolerant even to the enemy, and he was a tireless worker for peace. We should do no less.

We cannot rise heavenward to Allah and leave behind us the political, economic and social problems that have burdened us for centuries — until we make total peace with one another in the Ummah. Until we rise above our rivalries and disputes and conflicts. Until we work together as brothers and sisters in Islam.

Finally, with this call for action and pledge of hope, and with a plea for peace and brotherhood to the Ummah and all the Islamic leaders, by saying ”Bismillahirrahmanirrahim” declare this third International Conference of Islamic Scholars open.

I thank you.

Wassalamu ‘alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh