PEACEFUL RESOLUTION OF CONFLICT:

MEDIATION THROUGH INTERFAITH DIALOGUES

United Nations, 7 February 2012

M. Din Syamsuddin

Chairman, Muhammadiyah

Indonesia

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Assalamualaikum,

Peace be Upon All of Us,

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the President of the United Nations General Assembly and congratulate the United Nations for organizing this timely and urgent event. In that respect, my appreciation goes to His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan for taking the initiative. I do believe that the commencement of the World Interfaith Harmony Week would strengthen our determination to keep working together, based on common ground, for the common good.

I would like also to convey the message of peace from Indonesia, the largest archipelago in the world with 17.000 islands, the most populous Muslim country, and the pluralistic nation with about 500 ethnic groups and languages, yet its people live in a peaceful co-existence and harmony, based on the Five Principles of Pancasila, and the national motto of Bhineka Tunggal Ika, or Unity in Diversity. 

It is indeed a great honor for me to be here today, to share my experience and thought, through my organization, Muhammadiyah, on the topic of mediation of conflict. At the time when differences often lead to frictions, and frictions lead to conflicts, the search for peaceful ways of resolving differences and conflicts becomes imperative. In this regards, the significance of mediation as an instrument to resolve differences and to find common ground cannot be overstated.

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,