Progress but no end to holy wars<\/p>\n
By Amir Sidharta<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The coming of the third millennium was
\nappropriately celebrated as a global phenomenon. Starting with
\nthe Chatnam Islands and Kiribati, moving westward at an hourly
\nrate, passing Japan, China, Indonesia, India, Egypt, Paris, the
\nUnited States and finally, Samoa.<\/p>\n
As we celebrated, occasionally watching CNN's live coverage,
\nwe reflected on the past century, and the past millennium. What
\nwas the second millennium to us? It was certainly a millennium of
\nknowledge, marked initially by the Renaissance. This cultural
\nmovement, which started in Italy and influenced much of Western
\nEurope, found its basis on science, and led to many advances in
\nscientific knowledge. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Copernicus
\nfound that the universe was heliocentric rather than geocentric;
\nGalileo discovered the laws of falling bodies from the leaning
\nTower of Pisa; and Newton formulated the laws of motion and
\ngravity.<\/p>\n
Technological progress could be seen as a result of the
\nadvances in scientific knowledge, and in the 19th century, Europe
\nenjoyed the Industrial Revolution. In the 20th century,
\nEinstein's theory of relativity advanced science significantly.<\/p>\n
It was also a millennium of exploration. In the 13th century,
\nthe Viennese Marco Polo visited China. Almost 150 years later,
\nthe Chinese Admiral Zheng He marked his presence and dominance
\nover the seas between Asia and Africa through seven voyages.
\nAfter having sailed westward instead of eastward from Spain,
\nColumbus reached the West Indies in 1492. Many great voyages
\naround the globe happened thereafter.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, the second millennium was also a millennium
\nof conquests.<\/p>\n
Starting with William the Conquer's conquest over England in
\n1066; Genghis Khan's campaign over Asia about 1200; the Ottoman
\ninvasion of the Balkans in the 14th century, and its capture of
\nConstantinople in 1453; the Aztec and Inca invasions in the
\nAmericas in the 15th century; and finally, the European
\ncolonization of Asia starting in the 16th and 17th centuries.<\/p>\n
It was a millennium plagued with war. Of course, the invasions
\nand conquests mentioned above all involved wars. In the last
\ncentury alone, the world had experienced two world wars, and many
\nothers. While we can still feel the aftermath of the Vietnam war,
\nthe wars in Bosnia have not completely ended, and as we
\ncelebrated New Year's Eve, Chechnya was still being raided.<\/p>\n
Closer to home, a few days before New Year's Eve we heard of
\nfresh clashes in Ambon. This civil war in the Maluku islands
\nleads us to reflect how significant the war of the Crusades is to
\nthis millennium.<\/p>\n
Comparatively speaking, the struggle between communism and
\ncapitalism which affected the world so much this century, and
\nalso effected politics in Indonesia, is much less significant.
\nThe communist-capitalist struggle lasted for a little over 150
\nyears, ending with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the
\ndisintegration of the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n
Started in 1095, the Crusades was a \"holy war\" in which
\nChristians from Western Europe fought to retrieve their holy land
\nfrom the Muslims. The struggle between Christians and Muslims
\ncontinued for another 400 years. The Crusades ended by the end of
\nthe 13th century, and finally the Ottoman Empire seized
\nConstantinople from the Christians in 1453.<\/p>\n
However, after the declaration of the independent state of
\nIsrael in 1948, following the partitioning of Palestine between
\nArabs and Jews, religious conflict once again surfaced as a
\nglobal issue. Every decade, wars erupted in the region, and even
\ntoday the conflict has not died down entirely. Yasser Arafat
\nvowed to declare the independent state of Palestine in 2000.<\/p>\n
While it is an avenue to peace in the region, at the same time
\nit may also become another trigger for war. Serious effort on the
\npart of Israel and Palestine will be necessary to foster peace
\nbetween the two countries.<\/p>\n
The crumbling of Yugoslavia and the wars in Bosnia alerted
\nIndonesians that following Soeharto's strong rule over the
\ncountry there would most likely be similar disintegration. Sure
\nenough, like Bosnia, it was ethno-religious conflict between the
\nChristians and the Muslims that sparked unrest in Ambon. Once
\nboasted as the most tranquil places on the planet (Sarah Ferguson
\nretreated to the province following her separation from Britain's
\nPrince Andrew a few years ago), and where religious harmony was
\nto be a model for the rest of Indonesia, now the Malukus has
\nbecome shattered with religious warring.<\/p>\n
In radio coverage just before New Year's Eve, a Halmahera
\nresident connected via telephone with the station was asked what
\nit would take to end the violence there. He answered: \"Only if
\neither one of the parties involved, whether it be the Christians
\nor the Muslims, are finished, will it all end.\"<\/p>\n
What sparked Ambon? Perhaps, most significantly, it was the
\nconflict in Ketapang, Jakarta, in November 1998. There were
\nrumors of a group of Christian Ambonese youths who intended to
\ndestroy a mosque. Hearing this, Muslim youths killed the men they
\nsuspected and vivid photographs of this incident appeared in the
\nDec. 8, 1999, issue of Time, and later the Ketapang Church was
\nburned.<\/p>\n
In an interview with CNBC in early 1999, in which he was asked
\nto comment about the amount of churches burned during his term,
\nthe then president B.J. Habibie turned to the interviewer to ask
\nhow many mosques where destroyed before his rule. Hopefully, now
\nHabibie understands that is not the point. One mosque, or one
\nchurch, destroyed or burned, is one mosque or church too many.<\/p>\n
What can be done about restoring peace between Christians and
\nMuslims? That is the point, and that should be our agenda for
\nthis third millennium. Hopefully, it does not have to take one
\nentire millennium to accomplish this; the sooner, the better. Let
\nus hope that the end of the second millennium also signifies the
\nend of religious conflicts around the globe.<\/p>\n
The writer is a museum specialist and freelance writer.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/progress-but-no-end-to-holy-wars-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }