'Muslims, Christians have same God'<\/p>\n
Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Will Christians join Muslims in Heaven when they die? The
\nquestion is hard to answer. But for some Indonesian Muslims,
\nespecially hard-liners, they will certainly say \"no\".<\/p>\n
But that's not the case for many Muslim scholars, including
\nJalaluddin Rahmat of Indonesia and James W. Morris from the
\nInstitute of Arab and Islamic Studies at Britain's University of
\nExeter.<\/p>\n
They say all religions are similar despite their distinctive
\nrituals because they actually derive from the same God.<\/p>\n
\"I believe that all religions come from a single God as
\nstipulated in the Koran,\" Jalaluddin, director of the Bandung-
\nbased Islamic Muthahhari Foundation, told a seminar titled
\nUnderstanding Religions and Religious Understanding in Jakarta on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
He and Morris, who spoke at the same forum, argued that God
\nrevealed Itself in many different religions, saying that many
\nbelieved human beings of different races were created from the
\nsame soul.<\/p>\n
Considering their similarities, the two scholars said the
\ndifferent beliefs should not have led to hostilities and
\nconflicts among Muslims and Christians in Indonesia or other
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
\"The differences should not be destroyed, but appreciated by
\nall religious followers,\" Morris said in the seminar, co-
\nsponsored by the Sebangsa (One Nation) Forum and the British
\nCouncil.<\/p>\n
He said religion should not be blamed for communal fighting as
\neach religion did not order or allow their followers to abuse or
\nkill others.<\/p>\n
It was political, social and economic factors as well as the
\nstruggle for power that usually incited clashes between religious
\nfollowers across the globe, he added.<\/p>\n
Jalaluddin echoed Morris' statement, saying a lot of the
\nconflicts in Indonesia, including those in the provinces of
\nMaluku and Central Sulawesi, were ignited by economic and social
\ndisparities as well as political factors.<\/p>\n
Some 6,000 people have been killed in the past three years of
\nsectarian fighting between Muslims and Christian in the country's
\neastern islands of Maluku. Another 2,000 have been killed in a
\nsimilar conflict in the Central Sulawesi town of Poso during the
\npast two years.<\/p>\n
Leaders from both warring factions have signed separate peace
\ndeals to end the fighting in Maluku and Poso, but sporadic
\noutbreaks of violence are still raging there.<\/p>\n
To prevent Muslims and Christians from being involved in
\nfurther fighting, Jalaluddin suggested more inter-religious
\ndialog and studies be held so that they would be able to
\n\"internalize their understandings of religions\" in their minds.<\/p>\n
Also, Muslims and Christians \"should not very much be pre-
\noccupied by particularities\" or religious symbols, such as an
\nIslamic dress code and campaigns for an Islamic state, in
\npracticing their religion, he said.<\/p>\n
\"We should not stop at that level. We should go further to
\nachieve the second or third level so as to understand our
\nreligious practices more deeply,\" Jalaluddin said.<\/p>\n
Trisno S. Sutanto, coordinator of the Dialog for Inter-
\nReligious Society Program, said that in reality, most Indonesians
\nfollowed the religion their parents had adhered to, prompting
\nthem to fail to understand their faith comprehensively.<\/p>\n
\"A religion only becomes a heritage, not a responsible
\nchoice,\" he told the seminar.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/muslims-christians-have-same-god-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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