Mike Pence Tours Indonesian Mosque, Praises Moderate Islam
Vice President Mike Pence sent a conciliatory message to Indonesia by praising its democracy and its tradition of "modern Islam." The U.S. official aired his admiration after a meeting with President Joko Widodo at the presidential palace in the capital on Thursday, April 20.
As a symbolic gesture of his sincerity, Pence toured the Istiqlal Mosque, which is the biggest in Southeast Asia. Accompanied by his wife and two daughters who were in headscarves, he toured the cavernous main prayer room and admired the vast white dome towering over downtown Jakarta.
Donald Trump had been accused of stoking Islamophobia when he rallied his supporters against "radical Islamic terrorism" during his campaign. But in his first 100 days in office, the president hosted leaders from majority-Muslim Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
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Pence carried a conciliatory tone in his speech before Widodo by praising the country's successful Muslim democracy where most practice a moderate form of Islam and coexist peacefully with substantial religious minorities.
"Indonesia's tradition of moderate Islam is frankly an inspiration to the world and we commend you and your people, he said.
Pence, an Evangelical Christian, further compared Indonesia to the United States.
"In your nation as in mine, religion unifies, it doesn't divide," he said.
He also held an interfaith dialogue behind closed doors with representatives of the Christian, Buddhist, Confucian, Hindu and Muslim faiths.
The largest and most populous Muslim nation is the third stop of Pence's 10-day Asian swing that also took him to South Korea, Japan and Australia, to reassure the Trump administration's support for regional allies. He also discussed bilateral trade issues in Indonesia during a meeting with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Pence announced at the regional bloc's headquarters in Jakarta that Trump would attend three summits in Asia in November. These are the US-ASEAN and East Asia summits in the Philippines and a gathering of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group in Vietnam, according to CNN.
