Pope Francis calls for climate action during visit to Southeast Asia’s largest mosque

Special Pope Francis and Grand Imam of Istiqlal Mosque Nasaruddin Umar pose for a photo following an inter-religious gathering at the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Sept. 5, 2024. (AFP)
Pope Francis and Grand Imam of Istiqlal Mosque Nasaruddin Umar pose for a photo following an inter-religious gathering at the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Sept. 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 05 September 2024
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Pope Francis calls for climate action during visit to Southeast Asia’s largest mosque

Pope Francis and Grand Imam of Istiqlal Mosque Nasaruddin Umar pose for a photo following an inter-religious gathering.
  • Francis is the first pontiff to visit Indonesia in 35 years, after Pope John Paul II in 1989
  • Papal visit concludes on Thursday with Mass for about 70,000 people in Jakarta

JAKARTA: Pope Francis and Indonesia’s religious leaders called for joint international action to address climate change and global conflicts on Thursday, as the pontiff visited the largest mosque in Southeast Asia. 

Francis, who is in Indonesia on the first part of his four-nation tour of Asia, was at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta with representatives of Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Catholicism and Protestantism. 

The pope and the mosque’s Grand Imam, Nasaruddin Umar, signed “The Istiqlal Declaration,” a joint call highlighting “two serious crises” in the world: dehumanization and climate change.

“Religious values should be directed toward promoting a culture of respect, dignity, compassion, reconciliation and fraternal solidarity in order to overcome both dehumanization and environmental destruction,” the declaration read. 

Indonesia’s other religious representatives were present at the ceremony, but did not co-sign the document, though they are listed as having “accompanied” it by organizers. 

The declaration ended with a call for “decisive action” to protect the environment and its resources, adding that human exploitation was to blame for the climate crisis. 

“By adhering to (the declaration),we take on the responsibility to address the serious and sometimes dramatic crises that threaten the future of humanity such as wars and conflicts … and the environmental crisis, which is an obstacle to the growth and coexistence of peoples,” Francis said. 

The pope’s visit to Istiqlal was rich with symbolic meaning. Shortly after arriving, he and Umar stood at the ground-level entrance of the “Tunnel of Friendship,” an underground tunnel that connects the mosque compound with the neighboring Catholic cathedral.

Umar said that the mosque, which was designed by Christian architect Friedrich Silaban, was “not just a house of worship for Muslims, but also a great house for humanity.” 

Indonesia is home to the world’s biggest population of Muslims, with around 87 percent of its 270 million people professing Islam, while its Catholic community comprises about 3 percent. 

“Istiqlal Mosque has always called for tolerance and religious moderation,” said Bukhori Sail Attahiry, the mosque’s head of worship. 

“This is not merely about the visit of Pope Francis, as the visit also carries a lot of deeper meaning on how we build our religious life here in Indonesia. My hope is that this gathering will be able to inspire Indonesians and people across the globe that a harmonious coexistence must be nurtured and fought for, so that we can respect and understand each other.”

Francis’ visit to Indonesia concludes later on Thursday with a Mass in Jakarta’s main stadium that is expected to draw about 70,000 people. 

Anastasya, a 25-year-old Indonesian Catholic, was among those who waited to catch a glimpse of the pope in front of Istiqlal early on Thursday, as she did not have a ticket to attend the stadium celebration. 

“I’m very excited because the pope’s visit may be a once-in-a-lifetime event for us here in Indonesia,” she told Arab News. 

Francis is the first pope to visit Indonesia in 35 years. The last pontiff to visit the country was Pope John Paul II in 1989, after Pope Paul VI in 1970. 

On Friday, Francis heads to Papua New Guinea on the second leg of his Asia trip, which will also cover East Timor and Singapore. 


US dockworkers’ union suspend strike until Jan. 15 to allow time to negotiate new contract

US dockworkers’ union suspend strike until Jan. 15 to allow time to negotiate new contract
Updated 23 sec ago
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US dockworkers’ union suspend strike until Jan. 15 to allow time to negotiate new contract

US dockworkers’ union suspend strike until Jan. 15 to allow time to negotiate new contract

DETROIT: The union representing 45,000 striking US dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports has reached a deal to suspend a three-day strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract.
The union, the International Longshoremen’s Association, is to resume working immediately. Both sides also reached agreement on wages, but no details were given, according to a joint statement from the ports and union Thursday night.
The union went on strike early Tuesday after its contract expired in a dispute over pay and the automation of tasks at the ports from Maine to Texas. The strike came at the peak of the holiday shopping season at 36 ports that handle about half the cargo from ships coming into and out of the United States.
The walkout raised the risk of shortages of goods on store shelves if it lasted more than a few weeks. But most retailers had stocked up or shipped items early in anticipation of the work stoppage.
The strike came at the peak of the holiday shopping season at 36 ports that handle about half of the cargo from ships coming into and out of the United States.
It raised the risk of shortages of goods on store shelves if it lasted more than a few weeks. But most retailers had stocked up or shipped items early in anticipation of the work stoppage.


Teen arrested in Germany over alleged anti-Semitic plot

Teen arrested in Germany over alleged anti-Semitic plot
Updated 03 October 2024
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Teen arrested in Germany over alleged anti-Semitic plot

Teen arrested in Germany over alleged anti-Semitic plot

BERLIN: A teenager suspected of plotting an attack against Jews was arrested in September in western Germany, a court source and local media reports said Thursday.
The 15-year-old boy has been placed in pre-trial detention over plans to “commit a crime,” Dusseldorf prosecutors told AFP, without providing further details.
Police had previously detained the suspect in August following intelligence it had received, according to the Bild and Spiegel newspapers.
The teenager was released but arrested again after investigators discovered conversations on his phone with a suspected foreign extremist believed to have tried to talk him into perpetrating a knife attack.
The two allegedly discussed potential targets, including festivals and Jewish communities, and the teenager also reportedly posted videos on TikTok featuring Daesh flags, according to Bild and Spiegel.
The arrest came as Germany has tightened security measures after a knife attack in the western city of Solingen on August 30 that was claimed by the Daesh group.
Three people were killed and several others were injured in the Solingen attack.
A 26-year-old Syrian suspect, who had been slated for deportation but evaded law enforcement, turned himself in after a day on the run and confessed to the attack.
And in June, a German court sentenced a 15-year-old boy to four years in jail for planning an Islamist attack on a Christmas market in the western city of Leverkusen.


Thousands in Berlin call for end to Ukraine war support

Thousands in Berlin call for end to Ukraine war support
Updated 03 October 2024
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Thousands in Berlin call for end to Ukraine war support

Thousands in Berlin call for end to Ukraine war support

BERLIN: Thousands of people in Berlin on Thursday demonstrated against Germany’s military support for Ukraine as it battles to hold back invading Russian troops.
Participants answered a call by a radical left-wing collective to gather in the German capital and brandished placards reading “Negotiations! No weapons!,” “No to war” and “Pacifism is not naive.” Some also held anti-American signs.
One of their main demands was for Germany to stop sending weapons to Ukraine, which Kyiv desperately needs to defend itself from Russian aggression.
The protest came one week ahead of the first state visit by a US president to the European country since Ronald Reagan in 1985.
Joe Biden is also expected to meet with Ukraine’s allies to discuss military support to the war-torn nation, at the US army base in Ramstein, western Germany.
Far-left populist leader Sahra Wagenknecht, who attended the Berlin protest, has long called for an end to weapon deliveries to Kyiv and opposes a plan to deploy US long-range missiles in Germany.
Germany has been the second-largest contributor of military aid to Ukraine after the United States, but plans to halve its budget for that aid next year.
Wagenknecht’s pro-Russia, anti-NATO stance has contributed to her party’s positive results in three eastern state elections, securing 12 percent of the vote in Brandenburg.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in September stunned the political establishment by winning its first-ever parliamentary vote — in the eastern state of Thuringia — and coming a close second in neighboring Saxony.
The AfD’s platform relied on its usual discourse against asylum-seekers, multiculturalism and Islam, but also on critiques of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s policy of unconditional support for Ukraine.
The state leaders of Saxony and Brandenburg, where AfD came in second, as well as the head of the conservatives in Thuringia, have called for a ceasefire in Ukraine, in an article expected to be published on Friday in the Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung newspaper.
Germany and the European Union’s dioplomatic efforts so far have been “too indecisive,” they said, urging Berlin to bring Russia to the negotiating table.


Thousands rally in Austria against far right

Thousands rally in Austria against far right
Updated 03 October 2024
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Thousands rally in Austria against far right

Thousands rally in Austria against far right

VIENNA: Thousands of people protested in Austria’s capital Vienna on Thursday against a possible return to power for the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), which topped national elections on Sunday.
The FPOe won almost 29 percent of the vote in Sunday’s general election, ahead of the conservative People’s Party (OeVP) with just over 26 percent.
“The Austrian Freedom Party is a danger because it has already said that it wants to govern in the image of Hungary’s Viktor Orban,” said Rihab Toumi, a 26-year-old student, referring to the nationalist leader of Austria’s neighboring country.
Although the FPOe topped the polls, there is no guarantee that their radical leader Herbert Kickl will be given a chance to form a government since no other party is willing to work with him.
“This result was a shock and we cannot let a party that drifts so far to the right garner so much support without saying anything,” said social worker Marianne, 53, who declined to share her surname.
Organizers claimed there were 15,000 to 17,000 protesters in central Vienna, who marched toward parliament.
Demonstrators held up placards saying “Let’s defend democracy,” “No alliances with Putin’s friends” and other anti-FPOe slogans.
Kickl has criticized European Union sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Demonstrators intend to march every Thursday, having similarly done so after the far right formed part of short-lived coalition governments in 2000 and 2017.


US storm death toll surpasses 200: officials

US storm death toll surpasses 200: officials
Updated 03 October 2024
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US storm death toll surpasses 200: officials

US storm death toll surpasses 200: officials

More than 200 people are confirmed dead after Hurricane Helene carved a path of destruction through several southeastern US states, officials said Thursday, making it the second deadliest storm to hit the US mainland in more than half a century.
A compilation of official figures by AFP confirms 201 fatalities across North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia. More than half of the deaths were in flood-ravaged North Carolina.
Helene is the deadliest on the US mainland since 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, which killed 1,392 people.
Despite hundreds of rescues across six states and an enormous response including more than 10,000 federal personnel assisting local responders, the death toll from the sprawling storm is expected to rise, with many residents still unaccounted for in a mountainous region known for its pockets of isolation.
“We are continuing to find survivors,” North Carolina’s Buncombe County, the epicenter of the tragedy where more than 60 people are confirmed dead, said in its latest update, adding there are residents still cut off from the outside world due to landslides and destroyed bridges.
“Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the families of those that had just experienced this heartbreak and this tragedy,” Georgia Governor Brian Kemp told a briefing n his state, where he said the number of confirmed dead has risen to 33.
US President Joe Biden was undertaking a second straight day of visits to affected states, traveling Thursday to Florida, where Helene blew into the state’s northern Gulf shore last week as a powerful Category 4 hurricane with wind speeds of 140 miles (225 kilometers) per hour.
Biden took an aerial tour of the coast to survey the devastation, then walked past rows of destroyed homes and buildings in Keaton Beach, near where the storm made landfall.
He next heads to neighboring Georgia.