Indonesia: Preachers, clerics 'should learn foreign language'

Jakarta, 3 April (AKI/Jakarta Post) - Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said on Tuesday that Jakarta needed preachers and clerics that had mastered certain skills, including foreign languages, to tackle various issues in a pluralistic environment such as Jakarta.

“Mastering foreign languages, including Chinese, German or English, is very important, especially considering the frequency of communicating in them here is quite high,” Fauzi said during the inauguration of the cleric cadre, “It will be a plus point if religious figures also speak a foreign language.”

Fauzi said that Jakarta attracted many people, both temporary visitors and permanent residents, and therefore needed religious figures who could keep up with the city’s dynamics.

“We are all demanded not only to understand the social reality but also to wisely understand the reality based on Islamic values,” he said.

He also suggested that preachers and clerics better prepare strategies in campaigning with religious messages.

“I hope preachers will play their part well in building a quality community in Jakarta,” he said as quoted by beritajakarta.com