Religious Tolerance in Indonesia

When there is friction between religious factions in Indonesia, this nation of Pancasila61, it really gets me thinking. Sometimes it feels like our motto "Unity in Diversity" is not much more than a classroom decoration. As time goes by, Indonesians are becoming more religious, but this doesn't seem to have brought with it an increased level of tolerance. My curiosity stems from the fact that my life since early childhood has been spent among a variety of people of different religions and ethnicities. My parents come from different parts of the country and different religions, so they are really opposites in many ways. Until 1980, marriage between the religions was permitted, but despite this, my mother eventually converted 23 years after she was married.

My father's family has tended to marry within their own religion and ethnicity, but he proved the exception to the rule. My mother's family is the opposite and has a history of marrying between different religions and backgrounds. Since I was small it has been normal for me to celebrate Christmas with my father's family and Lebaran with my mother's. I thought I was lucky to get more presents and more delicious food than my friends, whose families were rarely of mixed religions.

Every Lebaran, my mother's extended family, who all enjoyed travelling, celebrated by going on a trip somewhere. Since Kuala Lumpur we have been to Pekanbaru, Bali, Jogjakarta, Medan, and most recently, to Penang in 2012. Twice now, Lebaran has fallen on a Sunday. On one of those mornings in Jogjakarta we found ourselves in two rented cars, one group on the way to Id prayers, and the other headed to church both of which were located right opposite each other on Malioboro Street. After that we returned to the hotel to eat ketupat together. Isn't that peaceful and beautiful?

Noone had any problems with each other regarding their religion. One of my aunts had brought some wine along and we all toasted each other and drank together, those who preferred not to drink wine had syrup. Nobody felt pressured or offended.

When my Christian cousin got married, all of my extended family came to the church ceremony. Even my aunts wearing jilbab came too, and noone felt uncomfortable. It was the same the other way round when my Muslim cousin married. We all came to the mosque. It was the same when someone passed away. The two sides of the family joined both the burial ceremony and the prayers. Everyone was very respectful.

I am impressed with Bangka Island. It is a successful example of the assimilation of Indonesian and Malay cultures with the Chinese. They have been living side by side and intermarrying for generations and there is never any interreligious friction. But, do Indonesians really have to marry between ethnicities and cultures before they can become more tolerant? When I posted this thought on Twitter my timeline was filled with some quite nasty replies. So my conclusion is correct, there are more and more fundamentalists.

It could be that values have changed. It used to be quite normal for people of other religions to go to a Catholic school now people think it's strange. In the old days, TV programs aired shows exploring interfaith harmony. Even Unyil63 made friends with people of different races and religions, and it was much the same in other programmes. The strange thing is that films exploring the differences between us are now considered controversial. And, when people read this, I will probably get shouted at online by some of my readers.

I care deeply about the harmony of Indonesia. I think one of the best ways for the people of this country to experience other religions is to travel as much as possible, so we can keep an open mind, and, perhaps, become more tolerant in the process. When we travel we are reminded how small we are compared to the world around us. We are reminded we are not the best, nor the most important. It makes us more aware of the greatness of the Creator. This reminds me of the lyrics of Michael Franti: "Love is too big for just one nation and God is too big for just one religion."

Religious Tolerance in Indonesia 2014-03-14T20:30:00+07:00 Rating: 4.5 Diposkan Oleh: Vera