New York - Indonesia's representative office in New York hosted an interfaith dialog here on Wednesday as an effort to reemphasize the importance of religious harmony and tolerance in the international community.

Representatives of six major religions - Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism attended the dialog which was  directed by Syamsi Ali, an Indonesian Muslim figure in New York.

The speakers at the dialog were figures from various religious communities in New York, namely Daisy Khan of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, Judaist priest Delphine Horvilleur of the New York Central Synagogue, Rev NJ L'Heureux Jr of the Queens Federation of Churches, Dr Uma Mysorekar of the Hindu Temple Society of North America, Venerable Kondanna of the Buddhist Council of New York, and John Kung of the Confucinist Society of New York.

Syamsi Ali said Delphine Horvilleur's presence at the dialog on Wednesday was special because, unlike Islam,  Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, Judaism  had no followers in Indonesia.

Indonesian Consul General in New York Trie Edi Mulyani said the interfaith dialog was intended to build mutual understanding among the different religious communities in New York.

"This interfaith dialog in my view is a means to develop mutual understanding among the different religious communities in New York," she said, adding  promoting inter-faith tolerance and understanding was a top priority in the agenda of  President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration  in Indonesia.

- Source : Antara News Agency, 16 May 2008