SEMARANG - A joint prayer among Chinese Indonesians and members of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), which is the biggest Islamic organization in Indonesia, was held in the Tay Kak Sie Temple in Semarang yesterday to pray for the health of former president Abdurrahman Wahid, better known as Gus Dur. The dual prayers were lead by Haksu Bing Buana Jaya and Muhammad Munif Zuhri.
It is said that the joint prayer was held to gain sympathy and attention for Gus Dur, who has made large contributions for the Chinese Indonesian population during his short time in office. While he was the chairman of NU for a long time, and also Indonesian president between 1999 and 2001, he scrapped a presidential decree that banned the use of Chinese characters and cultural expressions in the country.
The only question remains why the organizers did not try to gain sympathy for a religion that has been under fire for a long time already: Islam. By a simple gesture of organizing such mixed prayers in a local mosque they would reach two goals at once. Now this message is just a fill-up item for newspapers, while it could have been a front-page issue. But at least this is something, and that should be appreciated.
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SEMARANG - A joint prayer among Chinese Indonesians and members of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), which is the biggest Islamic organization in Indonesia, was held in the Tay Kak Sie Temple in Semarang yesterday to pray for the health of former president Abdurrahman Wahid, better known as Gus Dur. The dual prayers were lead by Haksu Bing Buana Jaya and Muhammad Munif Zuhri.
