A beacon of humanity and peace
Lasting legacy: Catholic faithfuls placing flowers in front of a portrait of Pope Francis after the requiem Mass for Francis at the Surabaya Cathedral, also known as the Hati Kudus Yesus Church in Surabaya. — AFP
Pope Francis's death has elicited an outpouring of grief in Indonesia, with tributes in the world's largest Muslim-majority country praising the pontiff's commitment to interfaith harmony and his stance on Israel's military offensive in Gaza.
Prominent Islamic groups in Indonesia, where around 90% of the 280 million population is Muslim, and the general public praised the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in public statements and social media posts.
'His demands to stop the (Gaza) genocide, his ideas on peace, and his great desire for human fraternity – they are all in line with the council's values,' said Sudarnoto Abdul Hakim, an official at Indonesia's highest council of clerics.
In his last Easter Sunday message, a day before he died after suffering a stroke, Francis, 88, reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Francis had been ramping up criticism of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, calling the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave 'very serious and shameful' in January.
Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Islamic organisation of roughly 40 million members, considered to be one of the largest in the world, sent its condolences.
'Pope Francis was tireless in his efforts to turn the Catholic Church into the caretaker and defender of humanity,' chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf said.
Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second-largest Muslim group, also joined the chorus of grief.
'I hope the inspiration and steps that Pope Francis has taken for humanity and peace can become a push for massive global peace and order,' chairman Haedar Nashir said in a statement.
Francis arrived in Jakarta last year with a message of interfaith harmony, telling Indonesia's political leaders that the Catholic Church would increase its efforts toward inter-religious dialogue in hopes of helping tamp down extremism.
The message is consistent with Francis' stance, having said equating Islam with violence was wrong in 2014.
Muhammad, a 20-year-old Muslim university student, who visited Jakarta's Cathedral on Tuesday to pay his respects, said Francis always brought a message of harmony, despite the occasional inter-religious friction.
'With his presence, we can take the example that we should be tolerant, with Indonesia being a diverse country,' he said.
There was an outpouring by Indonesian social media users, too, with 'Paus Fransiskus' – as Francis is referred to in Indonesian – trending in the country on social media platform X.
Instagram user @sarasaure wrote about how hearing the pope say Islamic greeting Assalamualaikum, or peace be upon you, made her teary.
'He stood by Palestine until the very end. This is what real faith should look like – borderless compassion for humanity, for the oppressed'. — Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
15 minutes ago
- The Star
India intensifies expulsion of suspected foreigners to Bangladesh
FILE PHOTO. Police officers stand next to men they believe to be undocumented Bangladeshi nationals after detained during raids in Ahmedabad, India, April 26, 2025. - Photo: Reuters file GUWAHATI, (India): India has started to push people it considers illegal immigrants into neighbouring Bangladesh, but human rights activists say authorities are arbitrarily throwing people out of the country. Since May, the northeastern Indian state of Assam has "pushed back" 303 people into Bangladesh out of 30,000 declared as foreigners by various tribunals over the years, a top official said this week. Such people in Assam are typically long-term residents with families and land in the state, which is home to tens of thousands of families tracing their roots to Muslim-majority Bangladesh. Activists say many of them and their families are often wrongly classified as foreigners in mainly Hindu India and are too poor to challenge tribunal judgements in higher courts. Some activists, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal, said only Muslims had been targeted in the expulsion drive. An Assam government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Assam, which has a 260 km (160 mile) border with Bangladesh, started sending back people last month who had been declared as foreigners by its Foreigners Tribunals. Such a move is politically popular in Assam, where Bengali language speakers with possible roots in Bangladesh compete for jobs and resources with local Assamese speakers. "There is pressure from the Supreme Court to act on the expulsion of foreigners," Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told the state assembly on Monday. "We have pushed back 303 people. These pushbacks will be intensified. We have to be more active and proactive to save the state." He was referring to the Supreme Court asking Assam in February why it had not moved on deporting declared foreigners. Bangladesh's foreign affairs adviser, Touhid Hossain, did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment. Last week, he told reporters that people were being sent to his country from India and that the government was in touch with New Delhi over it. Aman Wadud, an Assam-based lawyer who routinely fights citizenship cases and is now a member of the main opposition Congress party, said the government was "arbitrarily throwing people out of the country". "There is a lot of panic on the ground - more than ever before," he said. Some brought back Sarma said no genuine Indian citizens will be expelled. But he added that up to four of the people deported were brought back to India because appeals challenging their non-Indian status were being heard in court. One of them was Khairul Islam, a 51-year-old former government school teacher who was declared a foreigner by a tribunal in 2016. He spent two years in an Assam detention centre and was released on bail in August 2020. He said police picked him up on May 23 from his home and took him to a detention centre, from where he and 31 others were rounded up by Indian border guards and loaded into a van, blindfolded and hands tied. "Then, 14 of us were put onto another truck. We were taken to a spot along the border and pushed into Bangladesh," he said. "It was terrifying. I've never experienced anything like it. It was late at night. There was a straight road, and we all started walking along it." Islam said residents of a Bangladeshi village then called the Border Guard Bangladesh, who then pushed the group of 14 into the "no man's land between the two countries". "All day we stood there in the open field under the harsh sun," he said. Later, the group was taken to a Bangladesh guards camp while Islam's wife told police in Assam that as his case was still pending in court, he should be brought back. "After a few days, I was suddenly handed back to Indian police," he said. "That's how I made my way back home. I have no idea what happened to the others who were with me, or where they are." It is not only Assam that is acting against people deemed to be living illegally in the country. Police in the western city of Ahmedabad said they have identified more than 250 people "confirmed to be Bangladeshi immigrants living illegally here". "The process to deport them is in progress," said senior police officer Ajit Rajian. - Reuters
The Sun
3 hours ago
- The Sun
MADANI govt committed to reforms, but needs time
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says the MADANI unity government is deeply committed to tackling corruption and abuse of power but the reforms to combat these menaces will take time to materialise. 'There's no turning back. What I am certain is that every month and every year there must be some progression in addressing these issues,' he said. Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said there are those who are impatient and want reforms fast, but they are 'blinded to the facts and reality.' He said there must be wisdom (hikmah) in the way the MADANI government goes about undertaking such reforms. He cited how Pakatan Harapan does not even have a simple majority in Parliament, which is why as a coalition government, 'we have to work together.' 'And we are fortunate, because UMNO and Barisan Nasional have now turned to be one of the core pillars committed to this reform and support,' he said in his keynote address at the launch of the Centre of Excellence for Research and Innovation in Islamic Economics (i-RISE) here today. 'But you can't take things for granted, because the process of negotiations, discussions and engagement is important,' he said. He said it is vital to work gradually and get the consensus between the key parties including those from Sabah and Sarawak. He also highlighted that proper governance is essential to ensure economic growth and progress whether a country practices Islamic or conventional banking or both banking systems like in Malaysia. He said that there should be sustainability and clarity in a country's macroeconomic policies and in governance which promotes development but avoids financial leakages and endemic corruption. 'Almost without exception, Muslim countries are not poor, but the poverty is because of the tendency to either condone and use power and privilege to squander wealth,' he said. He also lamented over gender poverty in Muslim countries, but said Malaysia is fortunate as the problem is relatively absent. He said that the MADANI unity government remains committed to support studies and research and allow Islamic economics and Islamic instruments to be practiced, supported and expanded. To this end, he called on bankers, academicians, intellectuals, scholars, professionals and Islamic scholars 'not to ignore the importance of what proper and good governance entails' when undertaking reforms in related disciplines. 'Through good governance with clear policies and instruments, institutions must protect the system from excesses,' said Anwar. In this way, the country would grow and possess the capacity to attract foreign direct investments and penetrate new markets as a trading nation. He described the global halal industry as having massive potential of up to US$3 trillion (US$1 = RM4.23), but said this means nothing if 'you don't engage, penetrate and expand into new markets.' On an encouraging note, he said, Malaysia has emerged as a major centre of halal certification envied by other countries wanting to learn and share its expertise, which in the process would help develop linkages with halal ventures globally.
New Straits Times
3 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Hopes rise as US and China hold second day of trade talks
LONDON: The United States and China began a second day of trade talks on Tuesday, seeking to shore up a shaky tariff truce in a bitter row deepened by export curbs. The gathering of key officials from the world's two biggest economies began Monday in London, after an earlier round of talks in Geneva last month. Stock markets wavered as investors hoped the talks will bring some much-needed calm on trading floors and ease tensions between the economic superpowers. A US Treasury spokesman told AFP on Tuesday the "talks resumed earlier this" morning. One of US President Donald Trump's top advisers said he expected "a big, strong handshake" at the end of the talks in the historic Lancaster House, operated by the UK foreign ministry. Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday: "We are doing well with China. China's not easy. "I'm only getting good reports." The agenda is expected to be dominated by exports of rare earth minerals used in a wide range of things including smartphones, electric vehicle batteries and green technology. "In Geneva, we had agreed to lower tariffs on them, and they had agreed to release the magnets and rare earths that we need throughout the economy," Trump's top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, told CNBC on Monday. But even though Beijing was releasing some supplies, "it was going a lot slower than some companies believed was optimal", he added. Still, he said he expected "a big, strong handshake" at the end of the talks. "Our expectation is that after the handshake, any export controls from the US will be eased, and the rare earths will be released in volume," Hassett added. He also said the Trump administration might be willing to ease some recent curbs on tech exports. Tensions between Washington and Beijing have heightened since Trump took office in January, with both countries engaging in a tariffs war hiking duties on each other's exports to three figures -- an effective trade embargo. The Geneva pact to cool tensions temporarily brought new US tariffs on Chinese goods down from 145 per cent to 30 per cent, and Chinese countermeasures from 125 per cent to 10 per cent. But Trump recently said China had "totally violated" the deal. "Investors are willing to grab on to any positive trade headline right now, as this is keeping hopes of a rally alive," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB. Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at the Swissquote Bank, said that although there had been "no breakthrough" it seemed "the first day of the second round of negotiations reportedly went relatively well". "Rumours are circulating that the US may be willing to make concessions on tech exports in exchange for China easing restrictions on rare earth metal exports," she said. Rare earth shipments from China to the US have slowed since the tariff war was triggered by Trump's so-called "Liberation Day" announcements, according to Brooks. The US leader slapped sweeping levies of 10 per cent on friend and foe alike, and threatened steeper rates on dozens of economies. The tariffs have already had a sharp effect, with official figures from Beijing showing Chinese exports to the United States in May plunged by 12.7 per cent. China is also in talks with other trading partners -- including Japan and South Korea -- to try to build a united front to counter Trump's tariffs. Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Tuesday urged South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung to work with Beijing to uphold free trade to ensure "the stability and smooth functioning of global and regional industrial and supply chains." "A healthy, stable, and continuously deepening China-South Korea relationship aligns with the trend of the times," Xi said in a phone call, according to the Xinhua news agency. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng is heading the team in London, which included Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and China International Trade Representative Li Chenggang.
