Mass peace rally in Indonesia

Mass peace rally in Indonesia

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation

Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians have taken part in a huge prayer rally against a possible war in Iraq.

The peaceful demonstration was organised by the country's largest Islamic organisation, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).

A BBC correspondent says up to 300,00 people gathered in Indonesia's second city Surabaya to hear religious leaders speak out against military action.

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, has repeatedly stated its opposition to any unilateral attack on Iraq, although it is close to the US on other issues.

I've travelled the world trying to stop the conflict - now it's up to God

Hasyim Muzadi
NU leader

A smaller rally was held in Jakarta, where thousands of people attended prayers at the grand mosque.

In Surabaya, the crowds converged at a huge military parade ground in the centre of the city, normally used to train soldiers.

Many of those attending arrived on foot or by buses, trucks and other vehicles. Some had been there since Thursday.

Many people said they were there to express their opposition to war, not to support the Iraqi regime.

Men dressed in long sarongs and white shirts and women with coloured scarves sat in ordered rows in front of a raised stage where they heard readings from the Koran, speeches and prayers throughout the day.

Ambassador

Muslim clerics from around the country, former President Abdurrahman Wahid and a number of cabinet ministers also attended.

This was the latest in a series of anti-war rallies

Iraq's ambassador to Indonesia was given pride of place at the event, our correspondent says.

The 40-million-strong NU, which is backed by the government, said it wanted to gather as many people as possible to try to prevent war and to focus minds on morality rather than violence.

The leader of NU, Hasyim Muzadi, said he was concerned that a US-led attack on Iraq might play into the hands of Islamic radicals.

"I've travelled the world trying to stop the conflict," he told the BBC's Rachel Harvey. "Now it's up to God."

One of Indonesia's most popular preachers, Abdullah Gymnastiar, addressed the crowd in Jakarta.

"I will read out the letter to US President George W Bush asking him to avert war, while the protesters will be laying on the ground as if they were killed by a bomb," Aa Gym, as he is popularly known, told the Jakarta Post before the event.