Jakarta, (Antara) - The Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) is of the view that the United States Presidential candidate from the Republican Party Donald Trump has violated human rights for calling for a ban on Muslims to enter the United States.
"Trump's statement is not acceptable," PGI Chairman Jerry Sumampow told Antara on Thursday.
He said Trump's statement was an effort to attract the attention and sympathy of voters.
Yet, he said, his statement did not reflect the reality in the United States which adopted and implemented open democracy which allows the visits of all people of the world as far as they fulfill the immigration requirements.
Jerry is of the view that Trump's attitude is actually not something surprising because the noted US businessman has been known since long to be disliking Islam.
"It is worth noting that in a country which puts democracy on its high esteem like the United States there are still people who have sectarian views," the PGI chairman said.
PGI is however convinced that the polemics on Trump's speech would not trigger wide impact as the businessman is not an influential public figure.
In the meantime, the general chairman of Muhammadiyah, one of the biggest Islamic organizations, believes that the US presidential candidate Donald Trump's recent anti-Islamic statement was a reflection of a primitive stance and mindset.
"Donald Trump's statement reflects a primitive stance and mindset in a country that upholds democracy, human rights, and plurality," Haedar Nashir, the general chairman of the organization, stated when contacted by Antara to comment on the issue on Wednesday.
Nashir expressed shock over the presidential candidate's extreme Islamophobia in a world that has evolved and where talks to boost inter-faith relations have become the norm.
He agreed that there were still a few conservative and radical Muslims similar to some followers of other faiths who used their religion as a pretext to commit violence.
"However it does not mean they have to be anti-Islamic in their approach. Trump represents the orthodox elite who live in a global era," he remarked.
Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, has called for a total ban on the entry of Muslims into the United States, the most provocative statement given by him so far.
Trump's statement was made after a mass shooting incident in South California and has drawn criticism from fellow candidates.
The mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, was carried out by Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik. Farook was born in the United States, while Tashfeen was born in Pakistan and came to the country from Saudi Arabia.(*)
