The president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue received the award from the Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University. The ceremony took place yesterday in the presence of various Catholic and Muslim dignitaries, who recalled the special religious and social characteristics of Indonesia.
Yogyakarta () – Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), was invested with an honorary doctorate by the Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University (UIN) yesterday in Yogyakarta (Central Java).
The ceremony was attended by two Indonesian cardinals, Julius Darmaatmadja and Ignatius Suharyo, as well as numerous prelates, including the Archbishop of Pontianak, Monsignor Agustinus Agus, who has always maintained good relations with the largest and most moderate Muslim organization in Indonesia, the Nahdlatul Ulama. (WILDEBEEST).
Also present were UN President Kiai Hajj Yahya Cholil Staquf, Indonesian Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, University Chancellor Professor Al Makin and other senior dignitaries from the Catholic and Muslim communities, along with more of 1,500 people.
In his acceptance speech, Cardinal Guixot spoke of “wasatiyyah”, an Islamic concept usually translated as “moderation”, as a “solution” to religious fundamentalism and extremism. “Wasatiyyah has been adopted and practiced by many Islamic parties to defend their moderate character in addressing contemporary issues, while still prioritizing social justice and well-being,” the cardinal said.
For Cardinal Guixot, accepting the concept of wasatiyyah means welcoming the different religious groups and reinforcing their brotherhood: “I have always greatly admired the Indonesian pancasila as a way of life and philosophy of this nation that has been blessed by God with a wide spectrum of diversity in terms of culture, languages and religions. I also greatly admire Sunan Kalijaga – the patron of this university – an Islamic leader and nationalist preacher who firmly preserved local native wisdom,” the cardinal continued. “God created us with so many differences not to ignite social division, but to create unity among us,” he added, also recalling the signing ceremony of the Abu Dhabi Declaration between Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al Azhar Ahmad Al Tayyib in February 2015. “We have our common identity as a human family with the same rights and duties as all the inhabitants of the world. Let us not forget that we also have the same roots, which means that the dialogue will never start from scratch, but from the same humanity , which will help us to open an existential meeting space”.
Speaking to the Indonesian media ahead of the ceremony, UIN Rector Professor Al Makin explained his point of view: “The cardinal has always stressed that Indonesia finds its strengths in Islamic and local wisdom, and that the good relationship between religious communities is different from that of other nations: in Indonesia, social harmony becomes our common interest.”
In an interview granted to Paulus Tasik Galle, of the interfaith office of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, highlighted the value of the Abu Dhabi declaration, which “has shaped a new chapter of much more constructive relations between the Catholic Church and the Indonesian Islamic community.” .
“Indonesia has always been in the heart of Pope Francis,” Galle continued, recalling the solidarity expressed by the pontiff during natural disasters.
The Archbishop of Pontianak, Monsignor Agustinus Agus, who organized the meeting between the president of the Nahdlatul Ulama and Cardinal Ayuso Guixot in 2019, declared: “A strong awareness has emerged in the Catholic world that peace and justice cannot be achieved without cooperation with others.
