Indonesian Christian and Muslim leaders during Ramadan called for peace and dialogue, warning that ongoing conflicts continue to wound humanity.
Organized by the Indonesian Bishops’ Conference, the gathering brought together Catholic leaders and representatives from major Muslim organizations, including the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Nahdlatul Ulama, and Muhammadiyah, Fides News Agency reported.
The initiative reflects how interfaith dialogue in Indonesia is being advanced as a concrete response to rising global tensions, with participants linking local religious cooperation to calls for peace, particularly amid the conflict in the Middle East.
Father Aloys Budi Purnomo of the Archdiocese of Semarang said the meeting underscores a shared commitment to fraternity despite divisions fueled by war.
“Amidst global conflicts, we, Indonesian Christians and Muslims, are determined to build bridges of fraternity. This Iftar (breaking of the fast) offers space for interreligious encounters in a spirit of compassion, harmony, and peace. It is the peace we strive to cultivate daily, the peace we seek and pray for worldwide, while wars wound humanity,” he said.
The gathering was intended to “bear witness to genuine, fraternità, without discrimination,” he added.
Participants also called for an end to hostilities and a return to dialogue “for the benefit of the peoples of the region and all of humanity.”
Purnomo described the presence of Muslim leaders as “a powerful testimony of mutual closeness and fraternity.”
Shinta Nuriyah Abdurrahman Wahid, widow of former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid, raised concerns over domestic conditions, describing the current period as a “month of fasting in the face of misfortune” and a “shock to democracy.”
She expressed hope that “during this holy month, all human rights violations that cause suffering to the people may cease immediately.”
Held at the bishops’ conference headquarters, the event included Christian hymns, Quranic recitations, and Sufi dances, reflecting shared expressions of faith.
Church leaders, including Jakarta Archbishop Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo and Bishop Antonius Subianto, president of the bishops’ conference, reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Participants also carried out a joint act of solidarity, distributing hundreds of food packages to orphans, widows, and workers ahead of Eid al-Fitr on March 20.
“This is a charitable initiative carried out in several remote areas to help those in need while simultaneously strengthening tolerance and friendship among believers: this is how we live the true spirit of Lent and Ramadan,” Purnomo said.
