This December, and all important events in it, has reminded me that I live in a block called L1, at number 44, the last house in the block. And the house itself is surrounded by such a microcosm of Indonesian religious plurality, that it enables us to experience diverse exposure to different cultures.
On the left, number 43 is occupied by my landlord, a Muslim family. In the house number 42, a Balinese-Chinese Hindu family lives peacefully. Across from my block, in block M1, lives a Batak family who are Christians.
Next door to the Bataks, there is a Melayu-Deli Muslim family, and in the next house to the left of Block M1 lives another family of Balinese-Hindus. Over all, amidst the Muslim dominated community in the two blocks, the number of non-Muslims is quiet significant and is all the more colorful with the presence of four Balinese Hindu-Dharma families.
Every afternoon, and during the school holidays, children of different religious backgrounds play without ever any hint of a problem. I have seen this for four years and I’ve never heard one of them even whisper a sensitive issue or shout at each other with racist expressions.
On special occasions, such as Independence Day, they work together to prepare their own parties: set up a band and practice playing their instruments or conduct fun traditional competitions. Suffice to say: there is no conflict.
Every Idul Fitri or Idul Adha, the two biggest Islamic holidays, almost all Muslims in our microcosm prepare special refreshments and share them with one another. The Hindu and Christian families visit our homes and congratulate us. We accept them warmly and again, so far, no conflict.
When it is Galungan or Nyepi, we will have special dishes made by the Balinese. My wife and I especially like the one made of sticky rice and wrapped in coconut leaves.
If they invite us into their home, they will provide us with halal food. If there is a dish made with pork, they will hide it away for certain occasions.
Now, in December, our Christian neighbors are preparing everything for Christmas. If they do not go back to their hometowns, we will enjoy Christmas cakes and candies. The Batak-Christian family across from our block are active church-goers and usually practice singing to welcome Christmas day.
The mood is then to follow their singing.
At times we worry about the latent threat to our harmony. It mostly comes from bigots. Two years ago, for example, as I taught many of the local children English at my home, one of them told me that his mother had asked him to be careful with the children from other religions. The fifth grader had been told that the religion of his family and their group is better than the others.
I knew the boy was very close friends with one of the Balinese kids, I joked that he should stop playing with him: “Don’t play soccer with him anymore,” I said. “Instead, go your separate ways and instead of playing soccer just sit and read soccer magazines.” He, of course, refused and kept his relationship with his religiously diverse friends.
The other threat is of course any kind of rumor. If there is a free me-dication conducted by certain religious organization, for example, the rumor will be that it is an effort of its followers to convert non-believers. If some people share something, the gossip will spread that they are trying to stir up certain faith. In fact, it’s often the rumor-makers who are the first to enjoy whatever it is being shared!
And here we are now in the Christmas month, which is to be celebrated by a minority in Indonesia.
Let’s whole-heartedly hope that there will be no bombings or violence on any scale. Let’s show the world how we appreciate and respect our brothers and sisters from different faiths.
Let’s show the people of the world an example of how we do not torch churches or disturb Christians performing their rituals.
It is enough to see mosques bombed and gutted by flames Palestine or innocent children and women are abandoned and tortured by wars, which to some extent are conducted in the name of God. There is no positive outcomes in these conflicts, just rubble and ruin, and the uncertain fate of the victims.
These days, at the end of the 2009th year after the death of Christ and the beginning of the 1431th Muslim calendar year, all Indonesians should realize that previous wounds and scars of intolerance and religious violence, such as Poso, should be relegated to the past.
Based on our faith in God and the way we traverse the paths towards Him, we should realize there would never be any conflict if we keep walking straight ahead. The conflicts occur when we look at the others as if they were wicked competitors when we’re actually all heading to the same destination before God. It is our forgetfulness that makes us think negatively about others.
Lastly and hopefully, in the years to come, the religiously diverse microcosm of my neighborhood will last, although my destiny may take me to another unknown neighborhood.
The writer is a teacher at Lazuardi GIS Jakarta.
