Ambassador: people in U.K. need enlightenment on Indonesian Muslims

Antara News, Friday, September 3, 2010 12:34 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - British ambassador to Indonesia Martin Alan Hatfull said that people in his country do not know much about Indonesian Muslims so it is his responsibility to convince them that Islam is not identical with violence.

British ambassador to Indonesia
Martin Alan Hatfull

Speaking to the media during a fast breaking gathering at his residence here Thursday evening, Ambassador Hatfull said that the British Embassy here has various programs aimed at convincing the British people that Islam is not identical with violence.

Some Muslim figures and clerics attended the occasion, including Syekh Habib Saggaf bin Mahdi, chairperson of the Jakarta-based al Ashriyyah Nurul Imam Islamic boarding school.

Citing the September 9 tragedy in the U.S. as a source for the incorrect idea about Islam, Hatfull added that the British people reject violence for whatever reason, including religion, and they stick to the tradition of tolerance and mutual respect.

The U.K. currently has some 2 million Muslims citizens. "They are certainly proud of being Muslims," he pointed out.

In recent years, the U.K. has moved more decisively to know Islam and Muslims and, and in the process of encouraging closer relations between Muslims and non-Muslims in many countries, including Indonesia. One of the programs is Mosaic International Summer School (MISS).

Mosaic was officially launched in November 2007 but actually started in January 2007 by the Prince of Wales who asked his charity, Business in the Community, to convene a gathering aimed at addressing Muslim community-based interests and issues.

In the UK, Mosaic helps eliminate social barriers between Muslim and non Muslim communities, through supporting young Muslims and others in deprived areas.

Nearing ending his third term in Indonesia, this country is Hatfull`s first post as British Ambassador, as the father of two, was a senior official with the British Embassy in Tokyo and Brussels.

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