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Following three days of multicultural and interfaith discussions, religious leaders and the people of North Maluku have agreed to put the 1999 sectarian conflicts behind them and join forces to build a better future.

Amidhan, head of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), said the dialogue, organized to strengthen bonds between residents from different religious groups, heard the opinions of residents and local leaders on how to reinstate the interreligious harmony that was once the province’s hallmark.

“The dialogue concluded that residents in the province wanted to once more live in harmony,” Amidhan said, adding that the conference was also held to identify problems in the province.

Local officials and at least 30 leaders from six faiths in North Maluku attended the conference, the first of its kind since religious violence broke out in 1999.

Violent sectarian conflict between Muslims and Christians erupted in Ambon, the capital of neighboring Maluku, in January 1999. The violence spread quickly and degenerated into mass violence that left thousands dead and tens of thousands displaced.

The conflict swept across neighboring islands, including North Maluku.

“During the discussion, residents agreed that there was no point in holding on to the conflict as it will only sever the bonds they share,” he said. “It is this thinking that will see local residents live in harmony again.”

On Thursday, Slamet Effendi Yusuf, from the MUI, said the dialogue also proposed to establish new houses of worship in certain areas across the province.

“We are going to build a temple and church in central Halmahera as there are too few praying places for the members of these religions,” he said, adding that local religious and community leaders, as well as residents, planned to continue holding regular community discussions.

He said that following the talks, locals said they wanted their local wisdom, known as pelagandong — the spirit of people from different ethnic and religious groups living in harmony — to play a key role in the return to peaceful coexistence.

The government brokered peace talks between the two sides in February 2002, but sporadic incidents of violence continued in the region.

Religious organizations that took part in the dialogue included the Supreme Council for the Confucian Religion in Indonesia, the Indonesian Bishops Conference, the Indonesian Council of Churches, the Indonesian Buddhist Representation, the Indonesian Hindu Dharma Organization, the Nahdlatul Ulama and the MUI.

The group visited the different houses of worship to meet with local leaders and residents.