‘We are all pilgrims on the way to God’: Pope joins Indonesia imam in warning against weaponisation of religion

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Grand Imam of Istiqlal Mosque Nasaruddin Umar (left) shakes hands with Pope Francis during a family photo following an interreligious meeting with religious leaders at the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta on September 5, 2024. — AFP pic

JAKARTA, Sept 5 — Pope Francis warned today against religion being used to stoke conflicts, in a declaration signed with a top Indonesian imam before he holds mass for tens of thousands in Jakarta.

The signing at Istiqlal Mosque was one of the final major set pieces of the 87-year-old’s three-day visit to Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, that is kicking off a gruelling tour around the Asia-Pacific.

Religious harmony has been the central theme of the pontiff’s trip.

Opening the speech at the mosque, the pontiff underlined that “by looking deeply... we discover that we are all brothers, all pilgrims, all on our way to God, beyond what differentiates us.

Warning against conflicts stoked by the weaponisation of religion, he also pointed to the environmental crisis as an existential threat to human civilisation as he met with leaders from Indonesia’s six official religions.

“We take on the responsibility to address the serious... crises that threaten the future of humanity such as wars and conflicts... and the environmental crisis, which is an obstacle to the growth and co-existence of peoples,” he said.

The pope was welcomed to the mosque by a percussion band often used in Islamic ceremonies and once seated, he and Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar listened to a passage from the Koran recited by a young blind girl and a passage from the Bible.

The mosque sits across from Jakarta’s cathedral, linked by a “tunnel of friendship” as a symbol of religious fraternity.

Francis visited the tunnel before the meeting, delivering blessings and signed a section of the tunnel.

Nasaruddin told AFP before the meeting that the declaration had focused on two messages.

“The first one... humanity is only one, there are no colours. The second one, how to save our environment,” he said.

Francis has made several visits to Muslim-majority countries, and on a 2019 visit to the United Arab Emirates signed a document on human brotherhood with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s prestigious seat of learning.

‘End intolerance’

The biggest event of his Indonesia leg will be today afternoon when he will deliver a mass to nearly 80,000 people seated inside Indonesia’s main football stadium, with tens of thousands more expected outside.

Many people have travelled from across Indonesia’s vast island archipelago for the event.

Catholics represent fewer than three percent of the population of Indonesia -- about eight million people, compared with the 87 percent, or 242 million, who are Muslim.

But they are one of six officially recognised religions or denominations in the nominally secular nation, including Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism.

Some observers have pointed to growing discrimination against religious minorities in Indonesia, particularly Christians in some regions, and there are calls for the government to take action.

Amnesty International Indonesia called on the pope to urge Indonesia to respect all minority groups, saying it had recorded 123 cases of intolerance between January 2021 and July 2024.

“The Pope’s visit plays a crucial role in encouraging Indonesia to end intolerance and discrimination against all minority groups,” said Usman Hamid.

“Religious freedom is a right protected by Indonesia’s constitution.”

The trip to Indonesia is the third ever by a pope and the first since John Paul II in 1989.

Good spirits

The pontiff’s fragile health is being tested on the trip. After Indonesia he will go to Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore in what will be the longest tour of his papacy.

He had not travelled abroad since visiting Marseille in France in September last year.

Accompanying him to Indonesia are his personal doctor and two nurses, but that is standard procedure and he has appeared in good health so far.

Yesterday he smiled and joked with spectators on his first full day of events after arriving from Rome, which included meeting Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

He has used a wheelchair during the trip, but stood with a cane during the Indonesian national anthem and while observing a parade at a presidential palace welcome ceremony. — AFP