Building a pluralist nation<\/p>\n
Endy M. Bayuni, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
What is pluralism? Why is it important for Indonesia's future?
\nLike every other \"ism\", pluralism is a set of values. They
\ninclude respecting our differences, and striving to work together
\non the basis of equality. Dialog is also an important part of
\npluralism in order to nurture relations between people of
\ndifferent backgrounds. And there is also cooperation to achieve
\ncommon goals.<\/p>\n
Many conservative religious leaders have denounced pluralism
\nas going against their belief.<\/p>\n
They fear that since pluralism treats all religions as equal,
\nit liberates people to choose and switch between religions.<\/p>\n
This of course is a gross misconception.<\/p>\n
Pluralism does not make all religions equal. No one has the
\nright to tell you what to believe, and similarly, if you believe
\nyour religion is superior, no one can tell you otherwise. Pluralism
\nstates that in interfaith relations, there should be equality in
\npositions between people of different faiths for any meaningful
\ndialog to take place.<\/p>\n
This requires people to go beyond tolerating \"the other\".<\/p>\n
Many religious leaders are already advocating tolerance to
\npromote interfaith dialog. But tolerance still implies one's own
\nsuperiority; that one is stronger, more powerful, or is in the
\nmajority and can therefore dictate the terms of their
\nrelationship with the others.<\/p>\n
Such a presumption makes meaningful dialog difficult if not
\nimpossible. We need to go beyond tolerating people of other
\nfaiths, and that means respecting their beliefs and restraining
\nourselves from imposing our values or beliefs on them.<\/p>\n
The argument for pluralism in religion holds true in other
\naspects that divide our nation along the lines of race,
\nethnicity, language, custom, tradition and historical background,
\nand even gender, sexual orientation, generation, social and
\neconomic status.<\/p>\n
The four main tenets of pluralism (who defined these tenets?)
\n-- mutual respect, equality, dialog and cooperation -- should be
\napplied in promoting peaceful coexistence among people of diverse
\nbackgrounds, whether within marriage, in villages or communities,
\nor in a nation.<\/p>\n
Pluralism is crucial for Indonesia because of the immense
\ndiversity of its 220 million people spread across the
\narchipelago. The people of Europe, by comparison, are far more
\nhomogeneous.<\/p>\n
* Race: There are two dominant races: Malay in the west and
\nMelanesian in the east. There are also minority groups like
\nChinese, Arabs, Indians and European\/Eurasian.<\/p>\n
* Ethnicity\/Cultural group: There are hundreds of ethnic and
\nsub-ethnic groups each with its own culture and traditions.
\nJavanese is the largest of the ethnic groups. Other major groups
\ninclude Batak, Acehnese and Minang in Sumatra, Sundanese,
\nMadurese and Balinese, Bugis and Menadonese in Sulawesi. Then
\nthere are the small and often marginalized groups like Betawi in
\nJakarta, and the Dayak in Borneo and the many tribes in Papua.<\/p>\n
* Language: Nearly 400 distinct languages and dialects are
\nspoken in Indonesia. Bahasa Indonesia is the national language
\nand is used in official functions. Most people, however, speak
\ntheir local tongue in daily activities.<\/p>\n
* Religion: All the world's major religions are represented in
\nIndonesia, and they coexist and are often practiced side by side
\nwith local and homegrown beliefs that include various forms of
\nanimism. Although the Constitution guarantees freedom of
\nreligion, the government only recognizes five faiths for the
\npurpose of population census. Islam is the largest with 88
\npercent, followed by Protestantism with 5 percent, Catholicism
\nwith 3 percent, Hinduism with 2 percent and Buddhism with 1
\npercent.<\/p>\n
There are not many other countries that are as racially,
\nethnically, culturally and religiously diverse as Indonesia.<\/p>\n
But as in other parts of the world, this diversity is
\ncomplicated by issues of gender, political ideology, rising
\nregionalism, and social and economic divisions also clamoring for
\nattention. Any debate on pluralism cannot avoid addressing these
\nissues either.<\/p>\n
While this diversity has certainly enriched Indonesia, it has
\nalso been the source of many violent conflicts, tensions,
\nprejudices and mutual suspicion.<\/p>\n
Most of the conflicts that we have seen in the nation's 60-
\nyear journey can be traced to the failure of people to overcome
\ntheir differences, whether in ideology, religion, race and
\nethnicity, custom, tradition and language, or social and economic
\ndisparity, or a combination of two or more of these factors. Even
\ntoday, one can still sense tensions rooted in the diversity of
\nthis nation. Discrimination and marginalization, as well as
\nprejudices, inflicted by one group against another in society
\nremain rampant.<\/p>\n
In the past, particularly during the Soeharto years between
\n1965 and 1998, differences that even remotely threatened to break
\nout into a conflict were suppressed, at times by violent means,
\nin the name of preserving unity. Diversity was sacrificed in
\nfavor of uniformity if not conformity, and to protect the Unitary
\nRepublic of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Today, we, as a nation are committed to democracy. And
\npromoting pluralism is a much better way of dealing with our
\ndifferences. Resorting to the use of force and intimidation, as
\nIndonesia has done in the past, only stokes resentment that would
\nexplode into violent conflicts later on. Many present conflicts
\nare legacies of past wrong policies.<\/p>\n
It is clear that the extent to which Indonesia adheres to and
\npractices pluralism, and thus addresses issues arising out of its
\ncomplex diversity, will determine the future of this country. As
\nwe celebrate our 60th anniversary of independence, we should
\nrenew our commitment to the state motto Unity in Diversity by
\nmaking pluralism part of our daily lexicon.<\/p>\n
Our survival as one nation depends on it.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/building-a-pluralist-nation-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }