Habibie denounced sectarian violence

In this report:

• 'Indonesia is not a secular state'
• An apology to Muslims

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Indonesia's president and religious leaders condemned religious attacks and urged restraint Tuesday, in the wake of mob rampages and sectarian violence that have left churches and mosques in ruins.

On Monday, Christian mobs torched and ransacked mosques in the remote eastern town of Kupang.

The West Timor town was calm but tense on Tuesday. Unconfirmed reports said the airport remained closed.

"The situation in Kupang is under control and the people are resuming their normal activities today," national police spokesman Brigadier-General Togar Sianipar told Reuters.

The rioting erupted when hundreds of Christian students took to the streets to demonstrate against recent ethnic and religious clashes across the troubled archipelago.

Riots and violent clashes between Christians and Muslims in Jakarta's Chinatown last week left at least 13 people dead, some hacked to death.

A Bible teacher gives a sermon in a Protestant church burned in rioting

President B.J. Habibie on Tuesday condemned the violence and pleaded with religious leaders to help restore peace.

"We condemn any burning of a house of God," he told a human rights workshop.

"We condemn it, whether it is a church or a mosque or a temple. We condemn it because it is against the values of our culture, against the universal values of human rights."

Habibie, who is already beset by economic and political turmoil, said the attacks violated the values of Indonesian culture.

Religious diversity based on a belief in God is engrained in the national philosophy, known as Pancasila. Pancasila was adopted when Indonesia declared independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1945.

"Indonesia is not a secular state, but also we are not a state based on one religion," Habibie said. "We are a state reflecting the society based on a variety of religions."

More than 80 percent of Indonesia's 200 million people are Muslim, making it the world's most populous Islamic nation. But there are also strong communities of Hindus, Buddhists, Catholics and Protestants, which are also recognized by the government as official religions.

Christian and Muslim leaders urged their followers not to be provoked into revenge attacks or further violence.

Josef Suwatan, the head of the Catholic Bishops' Conference, apologized for the Kupang incident and called for restraint.

"Violence only makes things worse," he said.

"We apologize to the Muslim people who have been hurt because of the burning and destruction of their religious buildings.

"We ask Catholic people to take part in the restoration of the religious buildings in Kupang to strengthen the spirit of brotherhood."

Abdurrahman Wahid, the leader of the country's largest Muslim group Nahdlatul Ulama, said the Kupang incident was an attempt to cause strife between Christians and Muslims.

"I urge all Muslims to remain calm. This is an attempt to cause Christians and Muslims to clash with one another," he said late on Monday.

Gen. Togar said five mosques were set ablaze during Monday's riots and another four were damaged. Five shops, two houses and eight vehicles were burned, while 17 people were injured and 511 residents were evacuated.

"We urge people to restrain themselves and not be easily provoked by negative rumors," Togar said. "I want it to be known that the majority of Indonesian people want peace and not violence."

Widespread rioting in May killed more than 1,200 in the capital and helped end the 32-year autocratic rule of Habibie's predecessor and mentor, Suharto.

The violence has continued to bubble, rooted in ethnic and religious divisions, poverty and demands for more democratic political reforms.

Reuters contributed to this report.