Expected To Be Ganjar's Vice Presidential Candidate, Nasaruddin Umar: I Only Work In Mosques

Imam Besar Istiqlal Mosque Nasaruddin Umar when met at an international conference for global peace in Jakarta, Sunday (21/5/2023) (ANTARA/Lintang Budiyanti Prameswari)

JAKARTA - The Grand Imam of the Istiqlal Mosque, Nasaruddin Umar, said that he would donate for the peace of the nation.

"I will donate myself to this nation I love so that it is calm, cool, peaceful. Without calm, coolness, we cannot compete with other nations globally," Nasaruddin said when met at an international conference for global peace in Jakarta, reported by ANTARA, Sunday, May 21.

Nasaruddin admitted that he would dedicate himself to the mosque because he was enjoying his current situation.

"Anyway, I only work in my place, namely the mosque, I have enjoyed the current situation, because I am working on how to make this nation calm, it is impossible for the nation to excel if it continues to conflict," he said.

Nasaruddin also stated that so far he and the Istiqlal Mosque have had functional involvement with the government.

"So functionally I have functioned with my friends, helping the government in the development of the nation," he said.

He also said that every person, regardless of religion, has a responsibility for how to make a complete nation able to produce great achievements in the future.

"Let's see Sudan, Afghanistan, internal conflicts should not be allowed, we must have someone who plays it. I am happy because religious friends can work with me so far," he explained.

According to him, so far the Istiqlal Mosque has also been established as the home of the Indonesian nation and established communication with anyone regardless of ethnicity, religion, race and class, and even political views.

"We must not have symbols of political parties in Istiqlal, we will never allow any political parties to enter Istiqlal," he said.

"In fact, that way we can do something across religions, we can offer what we think is good without any burden," he added.

He also said that we do not need to convey what has been done during his time as Grand Imam of the Istiqlal Mosque.

"For me, it's enough for the sky to understand, there's no need for the earth to understand," said Nasaruddin Umar.