N

ahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Islamic organization in the country, will hold a national meeting next month to discuss pluralism, a no-tion it believes has been misunderstood and distorted at the same time, Antara news agency reported Thursday.

The meeting will be held in Jakarta from March 12-13.

The chairman of the organization's propagation body, AN Nuril Huda, was quoted as saying by Antara that he took the issue seriously.

"We are deeply concerned about the widespread misconception of pluralism, which many think considers all religions as equally right. This is wrong," he said.

Islam, he said, appreciated diversity, recognizing racial, cultural, social and economic differences in society.

But, he stressed, this did not mean that the faith tolerated heresy and anything against religious principles. "Pluralism does not mean we also respect people whose thoughts defame religions."

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), of which NU is a member, has issued an edict banning pluralism, which it said was against Islamic teaching.

The edict was made in 2005 following the establishment of the Islamic Liberal Networks (JIL), one of the strongest supporters of pluralism and whose members include young scholars from NU.

The issue of pluralism resurfaced after rights activists requested the Constitutional Court review the 1965 Blasphemy Law.

The law, activists said, was often used to outlaw religious minorities whose beliefs have been deemed heretical by mainstream Muslim organizations. A key example is Jema'ah Ahmadiyah, which was officially banned by the government last year.

NU chairman Hasyim Muzadi has stated his opposition to the judicial review request.

His organization is lining up with other Muslim organizations, including Muhammadiyah and several hardline groups such as Hizbut Tahrir and Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), to fight the review at the Court.

Nuril said NU had the responsibility to explain the "true notion" of pluralism to society, especially NU members.