This letter is to respond to a 'By The Way' column titled "FPI too busy talking about God" by T. Sima Gunawan published on page one of The Sunday Jakarta Post on June 8.
She starts her article with a joke: "Christians are so close to God that they call him "father" in prayer, while Muslims are so far away from Allah that they need loudspeakers to talk to him".
It was stated that she couldn't tell it earlier because she was afraid. Moreover, if Rizieq Shihab had found out, she said he might have beaten her black and blue or, worse, burned down her house. Knowing he is now in a custody, it seemed like she felt free to tell the joke.
She wrote her apology at the end of her article, saying that she didn't mean to upset anyone by it. If she didn't mean it, what she mean by joking like that? Is it a wise joke to tell, contrasting religious practices in public -- where the reader could be a Muslim, a Christian, or something else? It doesn't help things become better.
In another part of her article, she wrote about the FPI attack of Playboy in 2006, commenting: "But perhaps the real reason was that they were disappointed to find the Indonesian version didn't have the same "hot" pictures as its American parent".
Again, is it a wise thing to say? I, as a Muslim -- even though I am not a member of FPI -- feel insulted by these words.
There were also many things she explained were irrelevant to the main problem, such as Muslims call to prayer, Friday prayer, FPI's activities at Ramadhan, and the joke about SBY at "Ayat-Ayat Cinta" (Verses of Love).
She said FPI was too busy talking to God. I am not going to defend FPI, but I will try to put this problem in its context.
I agree that talking to God is important but it isn't enough. We must balance our interaction, both with God and human beings.
Judging others without knowing the real situation doesn't make the situation better. What we need now is an understanding of each other as Indonesians with all our diversity.
ROCKY ADIGUNA
Yogyakarta
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