Indonesia S Largest Islamic Group Says Non Muslims Shouldn T Be Called Kafir

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Indonesian Muslims perform Eid prayers in Surabaya, East Java. Religious issues have fueled divisions ahead of Indonesia’s presidential election in April. (Reuters pic)JAKARTA: Indonesia’s largest Islamic organisation, Nahdlatul Ulama, has issued a call to end the usage of the term “kafir”, or infidel, to refer to non-Muslims in state or citizenship matters, a move that may be aimed at calming religious tensions ahead of the presidential election
Nahdlatul Ulama, with around 140 million members, said at its recent National Conference that non-Muslims shouldn’t be referred to as “kafir” as they have equal standing in state affairs
The conference concluded non-Muslims should be referred to as “muwathin,” or citizens with the same rights and obligations as Muslim Indonesians, according to Ahmad Muntaha, secretary of Nahdlatul Ulama’s East Java Ulama Assembly
Muntaha said in a statement published on the group’s website on Friday that a Muslim shouldn’t address non-Muslims as “kafir” in any social context
The conference also emphasised that as a state, Indonesia wasn’t established by Muslims only, the statement said
Nahdlatul Ulama’s recommendation comes as citizens of the world’s largest Muslim-majority country prepare for a presidential poll on Apr 17
Religious issues have fueled divisions between supporters of incumbent President Joko Widodo and rival Prabowo Subianto
Widodo, known as Jokowi, has faced protests from some Muslim groups that allege he has treated some Islamic clerics unfairly
The president’s running partner for the poll, Ma’ruf Amin, is an Islamic scholar and head of a nationwide council of Muslim religious leaders, as well as chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama’s advisory council
Jokowi has dismissed the claims against him as baseless. -FMT

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