NY Muslim leader talks on moderate
Islam
The Jakarta Post | Sat,
11/06/2010 10:47 AM | Headlines
US President Barack Obama has
yet to arrive, but Feisal Abdul Rauf, the imam behind the planned Muslim
community center close to Ground Zero in New York, is already here to lecture
members of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Cabinet on religious
tolerance.
After meeting with Yudhoyono on
Friday, Rauf delivered a lecture on “Promoting Moderate Islam and Striving for
Harmony Among Civilizations in the 21st Century” at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta . The lecture was
attended by several Cabinet ministers and religious leaders.
Rauf addressed several issues,
including the relationship between Islam and the US , growing Islamophobia, the
nature of moderation in Islam and how to promote it, and his experiences in
trying to realize the plan to build the Park51 Islamic center and mosque close
to Ground Zero.
Rauf said Muslims needed to
“expose” people to the best quality of Islam, including kindness, compassion
and tolerance, to address Islamophobia.
“Only through the right behavior
can we change the minds of Americans on Islam,” said the Egyptian-American Sufi
and interfaith activist, who is also the imam of the Al-Farah Mosque in lower Manhattan .
Rauf also shared his experience
in dealing with protests over his plan to build Park51, which was originally
named Cordoba House.
He said not only was the plan
supported by New York’s Jewish mayor Michael Bloomberg as well as Obama, it was
also supported by Jewish and Christian leaders he had been working with in
interfaith dialogs for years.
Rather, Rauf said, the plan was
protested by radicals in the communities, citing Terry Jones, the leader of a
small church in Gainesville ,
Florida , who announced plans to hold
a Koran-burning day.
“It shows us that the real
battleground is not between Islam and the West, between Muslims and Jews, nor
Muslims and Christians.
“The real battle ground is
between moderates of all religions and radicals of all religions. And we have
to understand the science of what happens; that radicals fuel radicals,” Rauf
said.
Responding to Rauf’s remarks,
Yudhoyono said Islam was the most misunderstood religion, saying Muslims needed
to prevent extremism among themselves as well as fight a growing Islamophobia.
“Indonesia is trying hard to
maintain harmony and tolerance, although we continued to face challenges and
problems. I have to admit there will always be problems in this globalized era
with the global network of extremism,” the President said.
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