Xinhua
Jakarta, Aug 1 (Xinhua) Muslims worldwide must vigorously uphold Islam as a way to foster openness and tolerance, the leader of Indonesia’s largest Muslim body said Friday. “An effort of building a culture of peace and dialogue should be made to avoid the trend of aggression and ignorance that pervades the Muslim world,” Hasyim Muzadi, chief of the Central Board of Nahdatul Ulama said.

“I am confident that if we work in concert, we may uncover an effective and durable solution to these problems,” Muzadi told the International Conference of Islamic Scholars here.

Muslims must examine the challenges they were facing by self-criticism, the Islamic scholar said.

“Then on the basis of our introspection, we could overhaul traditional behaviours that become dysfunctional with a view to fostering greater openness, tolerance and mutual compassion as taught by Islam,” he said.

The three-day conference was attended by 350 participants from across the world, including those from predominantly Buddhist countries like Vietnam and Thailand.
Xinhua