JAKARTA, Indonesia — Top Indonesian Muslim scholars Jan. 12 said calls for a “holy war” against Christians in the country’s eastern Spice Islands (Moluccas) region were wrong and likely to worsen the bloodshed.
“I reject jihad if it means to collect thousands of people to gather around and cry out expressions of hate to take revenge,” said Umar Shihah, co-chairman of the Indonesian Ulemas Council, the country’s top official Muslim body.
“But if jihad is to fight against provocateurs, it is allowed,” he added, according to a report from Jakarta by Reuters.
Clashes between Christians and Muslims in the region have resulted in some 1,500 deaths over the past year, according to official estimates, and the government has been unable to stop the feuding.
Although the term jihad is often translated as “holy war,” it can also mean striving hard to protect those who are suffering.
Some Muslim militants have blamed the violence on the Christian provocateurs, and in the past week there has been a series of demonstrations in Jakarta urging a “jihad.”
On Tuesday, however, President Abdurrahman Wahid, who is also a Muslim scholar, reject calls for a holy war outright, saying they were likely to inflame the situation.
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