Letter: The promising hope of ‘Soegija’

When I was about to buy tickets at a cinema for the movie Soegija, the tickets were unexpectedly sold out, not only on that day but also on the next day as well. Furthermore, not only Christians watched this movie, but also non-Christians.

This phenomenon shows promising hope for a more intensive interreligious dialogue and tolerance. I would like to emphasize the struggle of promoting peaceful life within a humanity-based religious dialogue, based on the message given by this movie.

Mgr. Soegija said that humanity was one. It means that humanity belongs to everyone, no matter what religion he or she follows. In other words, humanity is a universal and independent value. We do not need to worry about what religion we follow, since each religion teaches humanity and other good values.

Religion as a way to attain unity with God — it persuades us to put humanity into reality. I will plainly say that humanity is a feature that lies naturally and originally within our heart, and it becomes more real in religious teachings. The more we put humanity into practice, the more we become religious people.

With the spirit of humanity, I’m quite sure that we can create a peaceful life. With this spirit, we all can work together without separating people based on their religion.

Now, religious dialogue is no longer seen as theological debate, but rather a humanity-based dialogue. In my opinion, humanity-based religious dialogue is more productive rather than theological-based religious dialogue.

To conclude, this movie encourages us to strive for a peaceful life in this beloved country. It means that we have to unite to face the problems of this country with the spirit of humanity-based religious dialogue. In a certain sense, there are no more Muslims, Christians, Buddhists or Hindus. There is only a conviction that we are all Indonesians.


Billy Aryo Nugroho
Jakarta