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RI looks to religion to solve global problems as R20 kicks off
The R20 Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, comes at a time of divisive geopolitical tension stemming from the Russo-Ukrainian war, which has ground multilateral efforts, including this year's G20 meetings and summits, to a halt.
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Indonesia kicked off on Wednesday the host-initiated Religion of 20 (R20) engagement group as part of its Group of 20 presidency, with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo calling on the world’s religious leaders to foster more collaboration and help religion become a source of inspiration for achieving world peace.
The R20 Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, comes at a time of divisive geopolitical tension stemming from the Russo-Ukrainian war, which has ground multilateral efforts, including this year's G20 meetings and summits, to a halt.
But determined to push through the deadlock, Indonesia opened the R20 Summit in a show of diversity, as it welcomed hundreds of delegates and dozens of religious and sect leaders with a traditional Saman dance performance from Aceh – a culture known for its strong ties with Islam – on the Hindu-majority island of Bali.
Jokowi, in his prerecorded opening address, underpinned the importance of Indonesia’s religious diversity and leaders throughout the country’s 77 years of history.
“Different religious figures played a major part in the struggle for Indonesian independence,” the President said. “The country’s success today, including its COVID-19 pandemic handling, is also thanks to the contribution of religious leaders.”
Jokowi said that more collaboration between religious leaders is “very important” and that the world needs more “concrete steps,” in order to promote global peace and counter existing geopolitical tensions.
R20 chair Yahya Cholil Staquf said on Wednesday that the engagement group would be issuing a joint communiqué by the end of the summit on Thursday following six rounds of plenary discussions, which cover topics including airing out historical grievances, embracing shared values and the recontextualization of problematic teachings.
A number of Jokowi’s Cabinet members, including Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD and Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy, along with former vice president Jusuf Kalla, were also in attendance at the summit’s launch.
Forging alliances
Yahya, who is also chairman of the moderate Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) – Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization – is cochairing the R20 with Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, secretary-general of the Mecca-based conservative Muslim World League (MWL).
The newfound alliance between the NU and the MWL, Yahya said, was geared to help realize the R20’s vision of sparking a “global movement” for religious leaders to have more “honest and straightforward conversations” about global problems.
“[The idea for the R20] is for these leaders to develop a vision of religion as a source of solution… by infusing the noble values of religion into the dynamics of international politics,” Yahya said ahead of the opening on Tuesday.
MWL spokesman Abdulwahab Alshehri calls its partnership with the NU “an honor”, promising it would only be the start of the MWL’s efforts to reach out to more religious leaders.
The R20 has also found allies in the Vatican, as Archbishop Piero Pioppo, the Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See to Indonesia, delivered a handwritten message from Pope Francis of the papacy’s support.
“I trust that […] deliberations during this religious forum will, in a spirit of mutual dialogue, benefit the common good. In this way, your work can contribute to resolving the various crises that confront the human family,” Pioppo read from Francis’ letter.
But, the inclusion of some religious leaders has also raised eyebrows, among them the attendance of right-wing Indian Hindu figure Ram Madhav Varanasi who is secretary-general of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party of India, and a leader of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a militant Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organization.
In a statement last month, Yahya said the discussions with the BJP and the RSS were intended to address abuses against Muslims, Christians and minorities in India through a process of constructive engagement.
Maintaining diplomacy
R20 spokesman and NU deputy secretary-general Najib Azca said that, unlike many of the G20’s other engagement groups, the R20 was confident that discussions could remain constructive and avoid topics that could end in multilateral deadlocks over the Russia-Ukraine war.
“The forum is a culmination of previous dialogues that have been done by the NU and many other parties. We are confident we will not face similar problems to other working groups,” Najib told reporters on Tuesday.
Echoing Yahya, Najib emphasized that Indonesia intends for the R20 to be a “real movement for building peaceful civilization” and for the forum to be continued by next year’s G20 president, India, and subsequently Brazil in 2024.
