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Depressing irony on International Day for Tolerance
The alarming increase of religious intolerance in Indonesia recently is obviously a bitter fact that we need to fully admit to before we rush to any possible solutions. It is pointless to present excuses; Muslims in this country have failed their social responsibility as a sensible majority.
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Deep sorrow: Relatives carry the coffin of Intan Olivia at her parents’ house on Jl Cipto Mangunkusumo in Samarinda before her burial at the Phutak Christian Cemetery in Loa Duri, Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan, on Tuesday. Intan died from severe burns to her body hours after the terror attack on a church in Samarinda on Sunday. (Tribunnews/Christoper D)
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n the past few days we’ve been deeply disheartened by a bomb attack on a church in the East Kalimantan capital of Samarinda. The attack left three innocent children injured. The image of Intan Marbun, an adorable toddler who died of severe burns from the incident, has filled newspapers and timelines on social media, forcing us to question our commitment to upholding the national motto of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika — Unity in Diversity.
During the celebration of International Day for Tolerance on Nov. 16, we need to direct our thoughts and prayers to Intan and to countless other innocent lives all over the world that have been claimed by war, either directly or indirectly, wars that actually have deep roots in unchallenged ignorance and intolerance.
The alarming increase of religious intolerance in Indonesia recently is obviously a bitter fact that we need to fully admit to before we rush to any possible solutions. It is pointless to present excuses; Muslims in this country have failed their social responsibility as a sensible majority.
This time of year is a high time for every one of us to reconnect with our humanity and common sense. It should not take too much effort to put ourselves in other people’s shoes because discrimination and injustice have obviously affected, disheartened and upset us, majority and minority alike.
And most of us have actually experienced what it is like to be part of a minority in one way or another.
Reflecting on the bomb attack in Samarinda, I recalled my years living as an international student in Australia. I was an Asian Muslim woman wearing a hijab. I was an outsider to Australians.
With the rise of anti-Islam sentiment resulting from the widespread violence committed by extremist Muslims, I and other Indonesian Muslims shared the same fear of being harassed due to our religious identity for, sadly, things we did not commit.
Yet, not only were my fears unproven, the many random gestures of kindness from the majority of Australians — sometimes complete strangers — that I received, helped restore my faith in the good intentions of the vast majority of mankind.
Looking back, I fondly remember one particular day that created a strong impression on me as a member of the minority in Australia.
Sitting in the cafe of my faculty building that day, I was trying to get comfortable with a tall cup of iced coffee after a long morning struggling with my dissertation chapter.
I was about to clean up my lunch when a stranger — a young Australian man who came to refill a selfservice snackbox in the cafe — approached me with a typical summer question I often received, most of the time in a sympathetic tone: “My apologies for asking, but aren’t you feeling hot in those clothes?”
I knew what he meant: a pair of jeans, a blouse topped with a cardigan and the headscarf I was wearing in the middle of Melbourne’s summer heat. I smiled warmly and said I was perfectly fine.
My friendly response encouraged Mark, the snackbox-filler, to stay and spend his lunch break that day listening to a stranger’s little story about Muslims and hijabs.
That short encounter with Mark means many things to me. I remember telling him proudly that, in contrast to the violent expressions that are often associated with Islam, Islam in Indonesia is perceived, interpreted and practiced in a very diverse and peaceful way.
An outsider might be impressed by the way Indonesian women wear their hijabs.
Some wear very long, enveloping hijabs in dark colors, while others wear shorter, colorful ones. There are even Muslim women who do not wear hijabs but practice Islamic prayers religiously.
In Indonesia, people celebrate many different kinds of Muslims in an incredibly wide range of ways because Indonesians believe that the way people practice or do not practice their religion should not make them any less of a person than they really are.
Long after Mark said goodbye, I was still sitting with my empty coffee cup, sadly wishing that more people shared Mark’s courage to greet strangers, to dig out the truth from first-hand experience, to escape from prejudice and phobias. I cannot imagine how much hatred and religiophobia have emerged because people choose uninformed assumptions and judgments over common sense.
Today, after the Samarinda attack, I can no longer feel the warmth and pride I felt on that particular day of my encounter with Mark.
If Mark asked his questions today, I’m almost certain I would have very different answers — most likely bitter ones — as I am witnessing our Bhinneka Tunggal Ika slowly slips away.
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