REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia's ulemas (Islamic scholars) are called on to take initiative for unity of Indonesian people regardless of their religions.

"The ulemas have the responsibility not only to protect religion and people but also to safeguard the state and the nation, therefore when the country experiences discontent, and is less united, ulemas must take initiative with the umara (government) and other components of the nation to unite (the people)," KH Ma'ruf Amin, chairman of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) said here Thursday.

Kiai Ma'ruf made the remarks at the event of "Halaqah" (an Islamic gathering for the primary purpose of learning about Islam).

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) along with around 700 ulemas from across the country also attended the gathering.

"Because for the Ulemas, the Unitary state of Indonesia (NKRI) is not negotiable, Pancasila (state ideology) is final, these must be maintained. We are lucky to have leader like Bung Karno (former President Soekarno), with his intelligence, is able to explore the order of life of the nation and the state into Pancasila, without Pancasila there is no NKRI, without Pancasila there is no Indonesian nation," Kiai Ma'ruf said.

According to him, Indonesian people are lucky because the ulemas at the early independence era (of the country) voluntarily accepted Pancasila as the basis of the state without mentioning the seven words in the Jakarta Charter namely "with the obligation to enforce the Islamic Shari'a for its adherents."

"The scholars voluntarily discard it for the sake of what? For the sake of NKRI. For the perspective of Islam, the country is not an Islamic state, not Darul Islam, not the 'dar ul kufr', not a state of war but the state of peace, the country promised each other because it is the livelihood of the people to one another, the relations of Muslims and non-Muslims is a relationship of mutual to coexist in peace, to love each other," Kiai Ma'ruf stressed.

Therefore he asked the ulamas to teach the people to help each other.

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