Discussing Interreligious Dialogue Plans, Indonesian Ambassador Visits Seville Mosque Foundation Leader

Muhammad Najib visits the leadership of the Seville Mosque Foundation (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Kingdom of Spain and UNWTO Muhammad Najib visited the leadership of the Seville Mosque Foundation (Fundación Mezquita de Sevilla) on Thursday, December 10 to discuss plans for interfaith dialogue activities.

Launching Antara, Saturday, the interfaith dialogue will be attended by speakers who represent different communities and come from all over the world.

After the discussion, the activity continued with a field survey to take a close look at the heritage of Islamic civilization in the city of Seville, the proposed hotel for lodging for the participants, as well as a review of the building belonging to the Seville city government that will be used for this activity.

The Seville Mosque Foundation was chosen as a local partner because this foundation is managed by native Spanish Muslims who prioritize the development of the indigenous Spanish Muslim community.

As a Muslim minority who lives peacefully in a country where the majority of the population is Catholic, it can certainly serve as an interesting example for many countries, which are still having difficulty managing their minority population.

Indonesia as a country with a majority Muslim population is expected to share experiences with all participants, especially with the host, on how to live in harmony among adherents of different religions and ethnicities.

It is hoped that the Interfaith Dialogue (interfaith dialogue) will inspire all participants present to take them to their respective countries when the delegation returns. Therefore, Indonesia and Spain can be the main motors of this activity.

The Muslim community in Seville began to grow in the 1970s, marked by the emergence of the first Spanish citizens to become Muslims. Since then, the Muslim community in Seville has continued to grow significantly, making it one of the largest and most established Muslim communities in Spain.

There are now four generations of native Spanish Muslims living in Seville, among the 30,000 Muslim population who came from various countries as immigrants.

Former footballer who played for Tottenham Hotspur in England and Sevilla FC, Malian Frederic Kanoute, has donated the bulk of his earnings, as well as raising development funds through the 2019 #Kanoute4SevilleMosque campaign, which later became the foundation's headquarters. in which there is a mosque and a place of religious study.