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At Istiqlal Mosque, Pope appeals for interfaith harmony, unity in tackling climate change
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Pope Francis (center) and Istiqlal Mosque grand imam Nasaruddin Umar (centre left) pose for a family photo on Sept. 5, 2024, following an interreligious meeting with religious leaders at the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta. (AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba/Pool)
P
ope Francis continued his Indonesian itinerary by visiting the Istiqlal Mosque in Central Jakarta on Thursday morning as an effort to foster interfaith harmony and push for joint efforts to tackle climate change.
The head of the Catholic Church met the mosque’s grand imam Nasaruddin Umar and then signed with Nasaruddin and other leaders representing all six officially recognized religions in Indonesia the Istiqlal Declaration, a four-points document that called for joint action in solving humanitarian and environmental crises currently facing the world.
The document also calls for interreligious dialogue to be recognized as an effective tool to resolve local, regional and international conflicts, especially by “those incited by the abuse of religion.”
Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country, officially recognizes six religions: Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism.
In his speech, the Vatican’s head of state also applauded the Istiqlal Mosque as a symbol of interreligious harmony as it was designed by a Christian.
“This shows that in this country, a mosque is a place of dialogue to respect each other and live in peace among different religions,” Francis said.
Istiqlal is considered the biggest mosque in Southeast Asia and one of the biggest in the world, with a capacity of up to 250,000 people.
