JAKARTA,
April 15 (IslamOnline) - Muslim organizations in Indonesia expressed
their concern Monday, April 15, in a rally in the Indonesian capital,
Jakarta, over Israel’s aggressive military offensive in Palestine,
news agencies reported.
The
rally, which gathered a crowd of more than 500 people from various
Islamic organizations who gathered at the National Monument (Monas)
Park on Sunday morning.
The
rally was organized by hard line Muslim organizations in Jakarta,
namely Islamic Youths Association (GPI), Islamic Defenders Front
(FPI), and Hizbulah, Antara news agency reported. The rally was
not meant to gather a huge crowd, as most of the people present were
major players and core supporters of these movements.
The
participants discussed the Israeli attacks on Palestine and tried to
find ways to assist the Palestinians.
The
speakers at the meeting urged the Jewish state to stop its invasion of
Palestinian towns.
They
also asked the United Nations to immediately send peace-keeping forces
to Palestine to prevent further victims and losses.
They
exhorted the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) member countries
to impose an oil embargo and sever trade relations with Israel, the
United States and their allies.
Indonesia,
the largest Muslim nation on earth with a population of 212 million,
refused to support an oil embargo discussed at the special OIC meeting
on terrorism held in Malaysia held in early April.
Some
Arab nations, including Iran, said they wanted to use an oil embargo
to force the world to take action against Israel. Saudi Arabia and
Indonesia, however, said they would not support such a move.
Indonesia
was criticized at home for this decision with some Muslims saying the
Indonesia was incapable of doing anything to help the Palestinians
since it was in the grip of people like George Soros and the
International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Indonesia
does not have any ties with Israel though a large chunk of foreign
investment in the road and telecommunications sectors of Indonesia
comes from George Soros, the Jewish millionaire or his associates,
according to confirmed sources in Jakarta.
On
the other hand, the Malaysian Youth Council (MYC) has launched
a humanitarian aid fund for the Palestinians to ease their sufferings
from the atrocities of the Israelis.
Its vice-president, Norizan Sharif, said fund-raising for the fund
called "Dana Kemanusiaan Rakyat Palestin - Rakan Masyarakat"
would go on for a month till the National Youth Day on May 15.
