One million candles light Indonesian temple as people pray for end to terrorism

Borobudur, Indonesia - One million candles lit up the ancient Borobudur Buddhist temple in predominantly Muslim Indonesia as people of all faiths prayed for an end to acts of terrorism, such as the deadly bombings that have rocked Egypt and Britain.

"Terrorism must be regarded as the enemy of all religions," said Dr. Syafii Maarif, a past leader of the nation's largest Islamic group, Muhammadiyah. "In the end, the forces of light, reason and hope must overpower the forces of darkness, despair and violence."

More than 5,000 people turned out for the event last Saturday at Borobudur, a massive Buddhist temple built more than 1,100 years ago _ about three centuries before the arrival of Islam. Indonesia is now the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Worshippers prayed for victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami that killed more than 170,000 people across Asia, and an end to suffering of all kinds worldwide, from poverty to war.

Indonesia has been hit by its own deadly bombings _ three since 2002, including an attack on two nightclubs on the resort island of Bali that killed 202 people, most of them foreign tourists.

The Borobudur temple complex in Central Java is about 250 miles east of the capital, Jakarta.