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Pope Francis, in Muslim-majority Indonesia, warns against religious extremism Pope Francis on Wednesday urged political leaders in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, to guard against religious extremism, which he said distorted people's religious beliefs through "deception and violence". In his first speech during an ambitious 12-day journey across Southeast Asia, where Christians are broadly a small minority of the regional population, the pontiff said the Catholic Church would increase its efforts toward inter-religious dialogue in hopes of helping tamp down extremism. "In this way, prejudices can be eliminated, and a climate of mutual respect and trust can grow," the 87-year-old pope said in an address to some 300 politicians and religious leaders at Jakarta's Merdeka Presidential Palace. read more