East Java Government to gather Religious Leaders

Surabaya, E Java (Antara) - East Java government will gather religious leaders and prominent figures in an effort to respond to the possible presence of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) members in the region, the provincial governor said. The East Java Governor Soekarwo said here on Tuesday that a meeting of the religious leaders and people's figures will be convened this week. "I have been receiving numerous phone calls regarding the issue since last night, and we will gather a number of religious figures to respond to this issue," he said following a religious gathering after the fasting month of Ramadan 1435-H. The governor expressed hope that the gathering will be fruitful to obtain solution with regard to the ISIS issue in East Java. According to him, if ISIS is the organization that disrupts the integrity of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia or NKRI, then the (ISIS) should be condemned. "My firm stance and that of the provincial police, the military, and the regional leaders forum is that we will reject the ISIS if it threatens the state ideology 'Pancasila' and the state constitution (UUD '45) as well as the NKRI." Earlier, Chief of the Constitutional Court (MK) Hamdan Zoelva had stated that the ISIS must not be allowed to exist in Indonesia. "ISIS must not be permitted to grow (in Indonesia), because the organization will disturb security and order, and threaten the Unitary Republic of Indonesia. The government should deal with the situation if it occurs here," Zoelva said here on Tuesday. He said ISIS was a threat in the Middle East and has been existing in Syria and Libya. "So, it must not be allowed to enter here, and ISIS must not be permitted to exist in Indonesia, because it is our country," he stressed. Indonesia has rejected the propagation of ISIS's ideology in the country because it runs contrary to "Pancasila," chief security minister Djoko Suyanto said here on Monday. (*) Reported by Indra Setiawan