TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo or Jokowi declared that Indonesia condemns French President Emmanuel Macron’s statement which was considered insulting Islam.

“Indonesia strongly condemns the statement of the French President which insults Islam, which has hurt the feelings of Muslims around the world, which could divide the unity of the world's religious communities, at a time when the world needs unity in facing Covid-19,” Widodo said in a press conference on Saturday, October 31.

Emmanuel Macron previously stated the stabbing that took three lives in Nice, France, was an Islamic terrorist attack.

President Jokowi said Indonesia condemns the attack that occurred in France but he asserted that linking religion with terrorism is a huge mistake.

“Terrorism is terrorism. A terrorist is a terrorist. There’s no relation between terrorism and any religion. Indonesia asks for the world to prioritize unity and religious tolerance to build a better world,” Jokowi remarked.

Joko Widodo announced the statement after a meeting with religious figures from Muhammadiyah, Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU), the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI), the Bishops' Conference of Indonesia (KWI), the Indonesian Hindu Religious Councils (PHDI), the Indonesian Buddhist Association (Permabudhi), and the Confucian Supreme Council of Indonesia (Matakin), on Saturday, October 31.

Read: MPR Deputy: Macron Should Refer to ECtHR in Terms of Islamic Blasphemy

DEWI NURITA