Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar stressed the importance of strengthening the role of imams as ambassadors of peace and bridges of humanity amid conflict and global challenges. According to him, imams' closeness to their communities places religious leaders in a strategic position to build dialogue, ease tensions, and strengthen harmony.

“The presence of imams should serve as ambassadors of peace. Let us make the mosque a meeting point,” the Minister said as he opened the International Grand Imam Conference (IGIC) 2026 in Jakarta on Saturday (9/26/2026).

The Minister said the imam's role is vitally important because imams communicate intensively with the community. They meet worshippers regularly through various religious activities, which builds closeness. This can serve as a foundation for raising awareness and conveying messages of peace.

“The role of imams is very important, because imams are the ones who communicate most intensively with the community. Roughly five times a day, imams meet with worshippers, more often than the government or the leaders of other organizations meet with the people,” the Minister said.

For that reason, the Minister encouraged the imam's role to go beyond ritual leadership and extend into social and humanitarian spaces. According to him, there are problems that cannot always be resolved through formal approaches, including prolonged conflicts in various parts of the world.

“Formal diplomacy has evidently not succeeded in ending wars. Imams are trying to offer another solution, let us take a different approach. How can we approach the parties involved using the language of morality, the language of humanity,” he said.

Humanity as the Starting Point

According to the Minister, a religious approach can be one way to bring together people from different religious, ethnic, and national backgrounds. He emphasized that a sense of humanity is a common ground shared by every human being.

“We believe humanity is only one, there is no colors. Humanity is one; the sense of humanity knows no religion and no ethnicity. Everyone has a sense of humanity,” he affirmed.

The Minister expressed hope that the language of religion can be used to reach this shared humanity, particularly in responding to regional and international conflicts.

“Let us address these regional and international conflicts using the language of humanity. Hopefully the language of religion can ease conflict and ease tensions, and the presence of imams to give voice to this is very strategic and very important,” he continued.

A Center for Peace and Environmental Care

Beyond building peace among people, the Minister linked the imam's role to efforts to protect the environment. He encouraged using the language of religion to raise public awareness in preventing severe environmental destruction and the exploitation of natural resources beyond acceptable limits.

"Let us also use the language of religion to make people aware, to prevent the tremendous destruction of nature that we are witnessing. Let us use the language of religion to remind forest managers, ocean managers, and other stewards of the natural world not to go beyond limits," he said.

This idea forms part of the eco-theology discussion raised at IGIC 2026. The Minister sees the mosque as a space that can be developed to bring together religious concerns with humanitarian and environmental issues.

The Minister also shared plans to extend the spirit of IGIC through meetings with leaders of other faiths' houses of worship. This interfaith forum would be directed toward discussing humanitarian issues of common concern.

“Insya Allah, as a follow-up to this International Grand Imam Conference, we will also initiate a meeting with leaders of non-Muslim houses of worship, Catholic leaders, churches, and other houses of worship. Let us invite them to sit together, because the central theme for all of us as people of faith is the same,” the Minister said.

He added that such cooperation is important for strengthening a sense of human fraternity. The Minister even introduced the idea of ukhuwah makhluqiyah (brotherhood among fellow created beings).

“Beyond ukhuwah basyariyah (human brotherhood), ukhuwah wathaniyah (national brotherhood), and ukhuwah Islamiyah (Islamic brotherhood), there is another concept of brotherhood we may need to develop: ukhuwah makhluqiyah. Our brotherhood as fellow created beings,” he explained.

49 Delegates from 39 Countries

IGIC 2026 brings together religious leaders from various countries to discuss the contribution of religious leadership to humanitarian issues and global peace.

IGIC 2026 Organizing Committee Chair, M Sabilul Alif, said that as of the conference's opening, 49 international delegates from 39 countries had been confirmed to attend. The delegates include Grand Imams, Grand Muftis, and religious figures from various regions of the world.

“As of today, 49 international delegates from 39 countries have been confirmed, consisting of Grand Imams, Grand Muftis, and religious figures from around the world,” he said.

The presence of these religious leaders forms part of an effort to build cross-country exchange of ideas and experiences on the role of religion in responding to global challenges.

IGIC 2026 runs from September 25–28, 2026. This first-ever world-scale Grand Imam conference carries the theme “Masjid Harmony, Religious Diplomacy, and Global Peace.” Throughout the conference, participants will discuss the role of mosques in building harmony, religious diplomacy, global peace, and the potential of mosque-based economies. (Bureau of Public Relations and Public Communication)