Indonesia has set up an ambitious new Group of 20 engagement group forum that will bring together leading religious figures from around the world and make the case for faith to be reconsidered as a more relevant tool for global problem-solving amid the current geopolitical turmoil.

The first-ever G20 Religious Forum (R20) Summit will come at a time of stalemate in international politics, as the war in Ukraine has divided G20 members and put multilateral efforts in the economic forum in jeopardy.

Determined not to squander crucial talks that determine the way nations make decisions on issues that touch the lives and livelihoods of billions globally, Indonesia has pushed ahead with its G20 presidency agenda and has expanded into alternative ways of maintaining dialogue.

As one of these initiatives, the R20 Summit is to be held early next month and promises a forum to air out past grievances among religions and recontextualize draconian values of religious practice – in hopes of achieving peaceful coexistence that transcends international politics.

Its co-organizers, Indonesia’s moderate Nahdlatul Ulama group and Saudi Arabia’s fundamentalist Muslim World League, are making the clear distinction between the R20 and the existing G20 Interfaith Forum (IF20), the latter putting more emphasis on how religious groups can help achieve the global Sustainable Development Goals.

Sensitive topics

The R20, in contrast, “will not shy away from more sensitive topics”, said engagement group spokesman Muhammad Najib Azca, who is also deputy secretary-general of NU, Indonesia’s largest religious group.

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