As the year 2009 neared its end, Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid departed from this world after a long illness.
Indonesia lost its best son, who dedicated the bigger part of his life to the nation. In particular, Gus Dur was a staunch defender of pluralism.
He showed great respect for people with different views, faiths and ethnicity. He reacted strongly when minority groups were deprived or their legitimate rights to exist and conduct their own activities.
Diversity, in his view, was not something to be deplored or taken as a temporary anomaly. Nowadays, nobody would deny the fact of diversity in Indonesia. Over the centuries, people throughout the archipelago have been accustomed to meeting different people and cultures.
They have been masters in maintaining harmony among different groups.
Within this context, Gus Dur was convinced every citizen had their own dignity that must be respected, and this particular attitude showed in his dealings with fellow citizens of various cultural and religious backgrounds.
His attitudes showed us what being an Indonesian should mean in practice: to live as decent citizens, respectful of what other people believe or stand for, even if this differs from our own beliefs and convictions.
And the proper way of life in the midst of this diversity is openness and dialogue.
The current problem regarding diversity seems to stem from a feeling of failure in some circles to find a common platform from which different groups can interact with one another in a meaningful way.
This alleged lack of a common platform could gradually force this centuries-old harmonious living together to degenerate into friction based upon unspoken prejudices and hidden agendas.
Hence the importance and urgency of a running dialogue between various groups. It is not enough simply to tolerate the diversity around us. Diversity is something more than just a matter of putting up with something different. What is required is to foster interaction and dialogue between the various groups that make up our society, with a view to promoting mutual understanding and esteem.
This dialogue in itself promises a rich experience of “the other”, something that can never be taken for granted. There is no need to worry about what kind of result could be achieved from such dialogue.
This kind of worry runs the risk of the dialogue becoming a suspicious manipulative action.
The life of Abdurrahman Wahid teaches us that far from standing in opposition to an inclusive attitude as a citizen, a deep faith, rooted in one’s religious tradition, becomes the inner source of moral power to speak out against any offence against human and civil rights.
Putranto
Yogyakarta
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