Prabowo Watches the Indonesian Ulema Council's Demand to Leave the Board of Peace

President Prabowo Subianto with President Donald Trump at the UN event, New York 2025 (President's Media Team doc)

JAKARTA - MPR Chairman Ahmad Muzani responded to the Indonesian Ulema Council's (MUI) demand that the Indonesian government withdraw from membership of the Board of Peace (BoP) amid the escalation of the Iran-Israel and US conflicts.

Muzani stated that President Prabowo Subianto had been aware of the pressure and was looking at various views that were developing in society.

"Yes, I think the president already knows," Muzani said when met at the Sunda Kelapa Mosque, Jakarta, Monday, March 2.

He emphasized that all public views regarding the situation in the Middle East were seriously considered by the president.

Previously, the Indonesian Ulema Council officially urged the government to withdraw Indonesia's membership from the Board of Peace. The statement was made following the attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran last weekend.

In a sermon dated March 1, MUI assessed that the role of the United States in managing the Palestinian conflict through the BoP needed to be reviewed, especially in the midst of an escalating conflict that was expanding.

MUI Chairman Anwar Iskandar and Secretary General Amirsyah Tambunan signed a tausiyah urging the government to evaluate the membership. MUI considers BoP ineffective in realizing the true independence of Palestine and has the potential to strengthen the unbalanced security architecture.

In response to this, Muzani emphasized that the president would continue to monitor the geopolitical developments in the Middle East while considering various inputs from the community.

The issue of Indonesia's membership in the Board of Peace is now in the spotlight amid rising global tensions and their implications for Indonesia's diplomatic position on the international stage.