That is why the stabbing of a Christian fellow in Bekasi was akin to the stabbing of me or you, Muslims or non-Muslim, and every human being on earth.

I can feel the pain of when the blade cut the tissue, the blood that wets their clothes, and the pain in their hearts.

It is not only the Hasian Lumbantoruan that bled, it is humanity that bleeds. It is not only the HKBP priest that hurts, it is humanity that hurts. Hasian has been hospitalized and is getting better, but humanity still hurts and bleeds. She still lies on the ground, calling out for a help.

The attack has left a deep wound on humanity.

As a Muslim, I believe the life of one individual is equal to the life of every human being. Respecting others, whatever their religion, is part of my faith.

Therefore, the degree of one’s faith can be measured in the degree of their tolerance.

As a Muslim I believe every human being has in him “the house of God” (baitullah), a house more sacred than any of the most sacred buildings on earth, through which God inspires and gives light. This is why every human being should respect other human beings.

The fact that an individual, whatever their belief, is a human being is enough reason for me to respect them, and what they believe, what they say and what they have built.

Despite this belief, it is very unfortunate that over there in this world, there are people who can confidently hurt others on behalf of their faith.

Once the Prophet said “later there will be Muslims who read the Koran with their throats, not their hearts”. He also says “many people fast, but they only achieve hunger and thirst”.

Islam is a religion of peace, and the violence in Bekasi should not make fellow non-Muslims think otherwise. This attack only proves the existence of narrow-minded fundamentalists and the danger they can cause.

While it is a cliché, it is true that religious violence can occur because of social and political contexts.
In Indonesia, religious violence has occurred more often lately because violence has been nurtured within our public space, and in our public imagination.

First, violence is nurtured by the pembiaran or the government allowing the paramilitary actions
of a particular organization to go unpunished.

This organization has created violence in many areas in Indonesia, and yet the government has not taken serious action against it.

This has been exacerbated by the fact that since the introduction direct elections for district chiefs, local politicians often look after such groups to gain local influence.

Indifference and apathy toward this violence suggests that such violent actions will be tolerated.

Pembiaran has transformed from what previously was ad hoc violence into a systemic “culture of violence”.

Second, violence takes place because the representation of Islam in public space heavily emphasizes legal reasoning as best reflected in halal/haram fatwas and scriptural argumentation.

The representation of Islam as legal reasoning or scriptural argumentation reduces Islam into a set of
dry and boring legal doctrines, nothing more than a KUHP or code of laws, and deprives Islam from its spiritual nature.

As a result, the public space now has many more religious symbols and fatwas (edicts), but corruption and violence have also found more sophisticated forms of expression.

What happened to Indonesian Islam? Islam as “an everyday life practice” and a living tradition
that has energized religious tolerance in Indonesia has been left out as irrelevant.

Islam as a living tradition is regarded to be less intellectual because it is more danced out than thought out.

Our public sphere is a sphere of discursive legalism. In this legalism, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI)  sees its main purpose as the guardian of Islamic doctrines in contrast to what the Prophet mandated: “I am mainly sent to beautify characters”.

In this deprivation of the public sphere, I miss the leadership, the wisdom and the courage of Abdurrahman Wahid. May Allah bless him, forgive him and elevate him to Her/His side.

Moderate Islamic organizations, such as Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, need to take courageous steps to influence the public sphere and spirituality.

To succeed, NU and Muhammadiyah need to go beyond the rhetoric that Islam is rahmatan lil alamin: They should reflect creatively and work to nurture Islam as a religion of rahmatan lil alamin.

The government, as the guardian of public space, should address its part substantively: not only the violence, but also the political culture that nurtures violence. In a democratic country, no organization and no person can enjoy impunity after so much violence.

Public officials, ulema and religious activists should recognize that every man will be accountable for their own deeds in life. Letting violence occur, and creating conditions for violence to occur is as sinful as violence itself.

Whoever claims to be religious, whether they are an individual or an organization, they should know that our primary purpose in life is to help others.

And if we can’t help others, we should make sure we don’t hurt them.

Letting violence occur, and creating conditions for violence to occur is as sinful as violence itself.


The writer, a former coordinator of Majelis Kataman Quran Canberra, is a lecturer at the School of Sociology and Anthropology, State University of Semarang.

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