Interfaith Dialogue
Diversity of Religion in
Indonesia :
A Reason to Understand Rather than to Fight
By: Ulfah Mardhiah*
It was a rainy day that afternoon, in a pavement of a lecture building in Bandung Institute of Technology. The event that was supposed to be started at 4 p.m was postponed until 4.30 because all the responsible committee was endured in other place for their inability to get through the rain. But most of the speakers have already come, talking one to the other.
Finally the event was started. Mr. Indra, a lecturer from UNPAD (
Padjadjaran University ), the moderator started to open the event. The speakers are Mr. Bambang Pranggono, the representative from Islam, Romo Dr. Fabianus as Rome Catholic representative, Priest Albertus Pati from Protestan, and Mrs. Parwati that represented Hinduism. Mr. Indra rolled out the background of today’s discussion. It is widely known, that
Indonesia , due its heterogeneity has five main religions that are acknowledged by the government. The majority is Islam, followed by Protestant, the Rome Catholic, Buddhist, and Hinduism.
For most of the years
Indonesia , before and after the independence day, these different religions lived together in harmony. There has been no significant fight against one and another. The sad thing is, by entering the 21st century, somehow, the differences between one religion to the other has been exposed so deep that it caused many unnecessary fights.
Indonesia has been confused by many fights that brought the name of religion in their stake. Some to be mentioned are the fight in Ambon and Poso that caused many deaths, economy break down, and lost of trust between the people, the bombing of churches during Christmas and New Year’s Eve, the fight in Sampit, Kalimantan, the issue of Christianization is also a sensitive issue that reported to happened in many places in Indonesia, like in Sumatera Barat that is actually one of a region in Indonesia that has a strong Islam root.
It is true that most of the conflicts are actually caused by economy reasons. The case in
Ambon for instance appeared because of the economy grudge between the people of each religion. But the religion issue was then being held on fire when suddenly the fight between Islam and Christianity is sharpened when terrorist attack on WTC in
United States was being used by President Bush as a reason to fight against Islamic countries, and also by taking it as a new Crusade War. Threatened by this condition, Islamic extremist suddenly appeared to make many movements against Christianity, including in
Indonesia .
But each religion has actually being taught that their religion is the basic truth, and the only truth. Each person grown in different religion basic is being taught that their faith is the most genuine and the others’ are the wrong ones. Especially, more than a decade now, religious awareness is held in the universities, where more and more people suddenly realized what the mean of their religion and faith is. The sad thing is, the awareness has not being combined by the appreciation to other faiths that sharpened the possibility of conflict between religions.
In today’s event, some open minded religion leaders are trying to explore what is actually the cause of these differences, and whether this conflict is really held between religions. They also try to explore what is the real issue here that should be finish together rather than to be confronted one and another that might cause more severe effects.
Mr. Bambang Pranggono as the representative of Islam had his first chance. He mentioned that as a Moslem, he also had the same prejudice as most Moslems do. That Islam is the most righteous religion, and the others are wrong. But when he started to read more and more books, and also other religions’ holy book, and explore the true Islam, he started to understand, that there are truth in other religions. He mentioned that the understanding of Islam as the only truth is actually appears because of the Wahabi movements in Arabic country more that a century ago. But step by step this belief is being acknowledged as the real truth of Islam as a whole.
He reminded that back in the early decades of Islam, living together with other religions is something ordinary. Even when Salahudin Al Ayubi, or known as Saladin in western world, conquered
Jerusalem , unlike the previous conqueror, gave the citizens of
Jerusalem to held their own religion, and decided not to kill anyone of them, no matter what their religion background is. This noble of heart sadly has been forgotten by many Moslems nowadays.
Mr. Bambang also mentioned about how as a religious person, we should actually try to understand other religions. Not to do syncretism, but to have a great empathy to other religions. Not to hate directly something that is different from our own faith, but to respect it. Mr. Bambang mentioned that when he seek in Koran thoroughly he understand more that being respectful to the differences is nobler than to hate them. It is true, that in many parts of the world, many Moslem lived with repression, but other religions have that experience too. So the best thing to do, Moslems should start to have this feeling and acknowledgment of universal humanity, but still on the way, keep their faith in a sincere way. And this will only come true, when someone walk on their religion with a heart full of love.
In answering a question, Mr. Bambang said that there is nothing wrong about being radical and fundamentalist. A person should do their religion in the most righteous way. The problem is to understand the righteous way, not just take whatever it is you think is right. In Islam, this teaching is also explored in tasawuf, about how to be sincere about your belief, and respect differences by understanding it, that a religious person should build their religion both by action and heart.
The next speaker is Priest Albertus Pati. He also said that in Christianity there is a belief that Christianity is the true truth. But then he said, this belief that deepened in Christian western churches are suddenly removed when their interaction with the churches of eastern are more intense. This condition push the churches to start to open themselves, that in the world there are more diversity than as mainly thought. In
Indonesia , rather than to make other people convert Christianity, Christians are trying to “Indonesianized Christianity”. Christians nowadays try to open their eyes, and respect people due to their differences more with love than hate. They build cooperation with other religions organization, like PKS and PMII that have Islamic background. Prieast Albertus finally mentioned that due his and his followers’ faith that God has the ultimate love, it means, as a mankind, people should also gave out love rather than hatred.
And now, it is Mrs. Parwati turn. As a Hindu, she mentioned that the important thing as a religious person is to held the awareness of God. She said, that the differences between religion is a perception held in each peoples’ mind only. In
Indonesia , people are starting to be divided when each of them are being classified in different classes during taking the religion lesson in elementary school. She mentioned that in Hinduism, a life should give a chance for another life, and that each life is a way so other life could also appear. In Hinduism, symbols like the use of flowers, respect on trees, mountain, the sea, is an important symbol of being respectful to God, although this seems to be outrageous for most Moslem as a symbol of worship other than God. Mrs. Parwati mentioned that the important thing to be held is this feeling of unity of all, that to make a religious nation, people should start to make peace coexistence, because people are actually living together, not just alone by themselves. She said that one of the main teachings in Hinduism is about Ahimsa that is not to bring damage to others. That in life, the important things is not about making enemy by competition, but to make friends by cooperation.
The last speaker is from Romo Dr. Fabianus from Rome Catholic. Here he make a joke about Christianization, that in the world of Christianity, with so much diversity of sects, Christian people are trying to do Christianization from one Christian sect to another. So Moslems aren’t the only victim. He mentioned that due to this diversity of sects, there seem to be appearing that their will on making other people to convert their belief is much stronger. More and more sects want people to enter their faith, not just Moslem, but also from other Christian fellow. Romo Fabianus mentioned that nowadays, the way Catholic sees other religion is much different than what it sees centuries ago. Catholic are being wrong for over 2.000 years by thinking analytic about the differences, rather than to understand them. Rather than to stand on their own, Catholics nowadays are starting to realize that they should start to stand together. It means that they should take off their wrong perception and to take the new and the right one. In the Bible, he mentioned, one of the most important things to do, rather than to fight one and another is by making action in servicing other people. He also mentioned, that sadly, this kind of discussion aren’t getting into the mind of majority of people, common people, that are the ones easily to be provoked by little frictions between religions, when it is not supposed to be that way.
The discussion finished around 18.40, when the dawn has already fall, and most Moslems there are being anxious to do their Maghrib prayer before the time runs out. All the people came there had probably gained some new knowledge and enlightenment about how differences between religions should be taken as a way to understand one and another, and rather than take it as a reason to fight, we should all take it as a reason to be together. Thus, it is impossible to make all the people in the world to have the same perception on everything, which is why we are becoming a richer species one time to the other, because differences make us stronger, making more creativity and imagination come into life, developing our humanity one step further. Like what the Koran say in one of its verse, Al Hujurat: 13, “O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Lo! The noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Lo! Allah is Knower, Aware. “
* Writer is a student of Biology in
School Of Life Sciences and Technology, ITB, also a writer in Aksara, an organization of literary-based.
