The major Indonesian daily newspaper Republika reported on Rajmohan Gandhi's speech to the University of Muhammadiyah Prof. Dr Hamka (Uhamka) Jakarta.

The major Indonesian daily newspaper Republika reported on Rajmohan Gandhi's speech to the University of Muhammadiyah Prof. Dr Hamka (Uhamka) Jakarta, Thursday 11 March. Professor Rajmohan Gandhi, President of Intiatives of Change International, is on a ‘Voyage of Dialogue and Discovery’, which began last week in Jakarta. The journey will take Gandhi, his wife Usha, and teams accompanying them to countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle-East, Europe and the Americas, in his words, ‘with a hope for honest dialogue and a desire for collaboration’.

Rajmohan Gandhi: Islam does not equate with Terrorism
(translated from Indonesian)

Republika, Thursday, March 11, 2010

JAKARTA - Many influential people in the United States (USA) and Europe are convinced that terrorism and Islam are strongly interlinked. However this is just the negative propaganda of a small circle of people who want to tear the world apart through conflicts..

‘I and my grandfather, of course, would never agree with the wide range of arguments which say that Islam is connected with violence and identical with, or close to, Islamic terrorism,’ said Rajmohan Gandhi, grandson of Indian reformer, Mahatma Gandhi, in a public lecture at the University of Muhammadiyah Prof. Dr Hamka (Uhamka) Jakarta, Thursday 11 March.

According to Rajmohan, if his grandfather were still alive, he would certainly also recommend to all Muslims in the world to show that Islam is not linked with or related to terrorism.

Mahatma Gandhi was one of the most influential Indians in British colonial times. He had a big role in India’s freedom from the shackles of colonial rule in 1947. Gandhi was assassinated by Hindu hard-line activists in 1948.

‘The issue of Muslim communities and non-Muslims is very important in the life of the Indian people. Gandhi was assassinated because there were some Hindus who thought that he was more supportive of the Muslim community of India,’ said Rajmohan, who also serves as the President of Initiatives of Change International.

Rajmohan then reminded everyone to be aware that conflict and division in the world today is not primarily based on religious, cultural or national differences.

‘The problem lies in people’s hearts, because of the fear, hatred, and greed that exists there,’ said the former member of the Indian parliament.

Greed, said Rajmohan, is not just about money, but is also driven by lust and other factors.

‘What is important now is a determination to combat these three things: fear, hatred, and greed within ourselves,’ he said.