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Arabic conversation between King Salman and a Catholic priest in Bali
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Warm welcome: Fifty dancers perform the Pendet dance, a traditional Balinese dance, to welcome the arrival of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Bali on Saturday afternoon. (Courtesy of Angkasa Pura I/File)
A
n interesting conversation took place amid the grand welcome for King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia on Bali on Saturday afternoon as he greeted several local religious figures.
The King, who is in Bali for a six-day vacation, was welcomed by Bali's local authorities and local religious figures at the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar after landing on Saturday.
He was greeting the figures one by one including Catholic Priest Eventius Dewantoro. Eventius greeted King Salman in Arabic as the later was shaking his hand. The King was impressed that there was a Catholic Priest in Bali who could speak Arabic, Kompas.com reported.
(Read also: Bali welcomes King Salman)
He greeted King Salman with ahlan wa sahlan (welcome). Then the king replied in Arabic asking him if he was a Catholic. Afterward, Eventius also said that King Salman approached him again before leaving the airport.
Eventius, 47, was born in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. After becoming a priest, he studied Islamology at Dar Comboni Institute for Arabic Studies in Cairo in 2002 to 2003. He then continued his Islamic studies at Pontificio Instituto di Studi Arabi E D’Islamistica (PISAI) in Rome for two years until 2005. He said that he learned about the classic and contemporary Islam.
He was fluent in Arabic as he used the language when pursuing his studies.
"I used Arabic everyday especially when studying and also when praying," he said as reported by kompas.com.
King Salman praised Indonesia's religious life as he met with 28 leaders of Indonesia’s major religions — Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Protestantism and Catholicism -- in a dialogue event on Friday. (rin)
