Muslim leaders welcome Vatican cardinal to grand mosque (Indonesia)

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Muslim leaders welcome Vatican cardinal to grand mosque

JAKARTA : President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran has paid a visit to the national Istiqlal mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia, during his first official trip to the country.

Cardinal Tauran, walking barefoot, was accompanied by Jesuit Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja of Jakarta, Coadjutor Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo of Jakarta and Bandung Bishop Johannes Maria Trilaksyanta Pujasumarta, a member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

Several officials of the Indonesian Bishops’ Conference also took part in the Nov. 25 visit.

The mosque’s imam Kiai Hajj Syarifuddin Muhammad warmly welcomed the Catholics. “This mosque does not belong only to Muslims but all religious followers. They all are welcome here,” he said.

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http://www.naqshbandi.org/events/Indonesia 2003/07112003/IMG_8518.JPG
 
Seems like mosques have fallen prey to modern architecture as well!😃
 
This is interesting. I hope it bears some fruit, as a lot of radical organization persectued and still persecuting Catholics, Christians in general, in Indonesia. Even it happened in the media, several local movies have done precisely this. Please pray for all of them.
Btw, I’m an Indonesian who lives in Singapore.
 
Muslims visit church as part of ongoing dialogue

BANGKOK: Visits to churches by an Islamic NGO are helping to “break barriers” of suspicion and distrust between Christians and Muslims, their leaders say.

The Islamic Information and Services Foundation (IIS), an NGO that runs theological programs for Muslims, has conducted annual visits to churches for the past five years.

The latest visit on Nov. 22 was to a Mar Thoma Syrian church in Kuala Lumpur to witness a liturgical and communion service. All previous visits were to Catholic churches across Malaysia.

The Mar Thoma Syrian Church is a Church that traces its origin to Saint Thomas the Apostle. In Malaysia, the Church here has about 2,500 members in 16 parishes.

Reverend Thomas Philips, vice-president of the Mar Thoma Church in Malaysia, said that the visit has helped erase suspicions between Christians and Muslims amid interethnic and interreligious strains in the country.

He said he was impressed that 50 Muslim men and women, mostly university students and young professionals, came to the Kuala Lumpur church to witness the liturgy and communion service. They had tea and halal (permissible according to Islamic law) snacks with church members after which they held a dialogue session.

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