GOVERNMENT PLANNING TO CERTIFY ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS PREACHERS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Feb 4 (Antara) - The government, through the Religious Affairs Ministry, is contemplating certifying religious clerics and preachers of Friday prayers in a bid to offer standardization guidelines and to reinforce religious propagation in the country.          Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin stated that certification is necessary to maintain unity among Muslims and to foster plurality among Indonesians. However, the minister claimed that the discourse on the certification of religious preachers did not come from him but from the people.          "The government, through the Ministry of Religious Affairs, will only facilitate the people's aspirations. The idea to certify religious clerics and preachers of Friday prayers came from Islamic organizations," Minister Saifuddin noted in Jakarta on Jan 30.          The government, as the facilitator, will give authority to Ulmas (Islamic scholars) or Islamic organizations to decide the standardization guidelines. The government will not act alone in deciding the certification of preachers, as the request came from the people who are represented by the Islamic organizations.