Religion in its very early form, according to those who study theology, had to do with nature. Religion, for those who hold the spirit of "positivism" under the light of European Enlightenment, served as an answer for humans to solve mysteries related to nature.

Religion was an early form of "science", which at least fulfilled the needs of human curiosity and, more importantly, of salvation.

It is therefore unsurprising that various early religious texts preserve the stories of natural disasters which involve God's intervention in human affairs. The relationship of man and God is often overshadowed by nature.

The Old Testament and the Koran are no exception to this, as various verses of both tell us that the concepts of God and nature are undivorceable.

The Koran clearly says on many occasions that nature itself stands for the sign of the existence and the greatness of God, which are as sacred as the Scripture itself. Thus, we should respect nature as carefully as we do the Bible and the Koran.

Let us recall here the great story of the Flood, which both the Bible and the Koran perpetuate. This account is even found in the older Sumerian and Babylonian texts. The Athrahasis epic, for example, tells us the deluge was caused by gods who were disturbed by the noises made by humans. However, the god Enki betrayed the plan, by revealing it to the hero, Athrahasis, who then constructed an ark to save humans.

Table eleven of the Gilgamesh records its own version. It is said that Gilgamesh, the king who sought immortality, met the hero Utnapistim, who had survived the deluge, and who then told the "secret" to the king.

Not only do the Old Testament and the Koran refer to the same hero, Noah, the two Scriptures also highlight the moral lesson behind the Flood, which is said to have been caused by the sinful deeds of man. The Koran particularly stresses that man's ignorance toward the truth brought by Noah led to God's punishment.

However, the current natural catastrophes in Indonesia should not be related to the people's sins. Do not blame us too much, for we are now in trouble. In addition, pointing at who is responsible and whom we should blame is not a solution.

It is irrelevant if the current earthquake which hit Padang - and others which previously hit Yogyakarta and Tasikmalaya - has to do with a lack of piety on the part of the local people. Nor does the tsunami, which befell Aceh, relate to the people's sins.

What is important is to build an ark to salvage the nation, as Athrahasis, Utnapistim, and Noah did as examples.

Once again, Indonesians now need an ark, which passengers can board to find salvation. The ark, however, should not be built from gopher wood, with the "length of three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits *Gen. 6: 15*." We should not interpret this message literally, particularly with regard to the Indonesian context. However, the ark should be built upon faith, science and morality. Faith here does not necessarily mean institutionalized "religions." Again, literal meanings should be avoided.

Rather, we should use our own pluralistic religious traditions, which are strongly rooted in Indonesian society, as capital to construct the ark. Instead of bringing religion into the public realm and using it as a means to achieve political goals, it is better now to use our faith in our own traditions as a foundation in building the boat.

Bear in mind that stoning the adulterer to death in the name of religion will harm our faith and traditions. Hijacking religion and bringing it into the political arena, as the result of our last general election has taught us, has yielded political distrust. Indeed, it did not surprise us that political parties using religious sentiments were defeated.

Violence in the name of religion will make religious people victims in the first place, for associating their religion with that violence. Now, do not repeat the same mistake. Do not fall into the same trap.

Thus, we should return our faith in our own religious tradition to our basic need, namely salvation, which is a psychological and private matter. Utnapistim, Athrahasis and Noah served as leaders, building arks to save their fellow humans.

Now, our current political leaders should shoulder this responsibility. They must be aware that building the ark with faith, science and morality is never an easy task.

Like Noah in the Bible and the Koran, the current newly elected leaders should set good examples to the people. When The Flood comes, they should show courage and not be afraid of getting wet. When the earthquake hits, they should give shelter to the victims. With this series of natural disasters, and perhaps with more to come, Indonesian leaders need to prepare the ark, which should connect the three important components: man, nature and God.

The writer is a lecturer at the State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta and currently a research fellow at the International Consortium for Research in the Humanities, Dynamics in the History of Religions, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany

Popular

PDI-P will likely be part of opposition: Ganjar

Indonesia one step from Olympics after beating South Korea

Bahlil leads task force to boost sugar, bioethanol production in Papua