Struggling for a nation's soul<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post on Aug. 29 carried an article titled The
\nstruggle for a nation's soul by Meidyatama Suryodiningrat. In it
\nthe writer talks about Adrian, who lives near a church.<\/p>\n
The echo of the choir praising the Holy Trinity makes him
\n\"cringe\". Adrian, being a devoted Muslim, is ill at ease at being
\nexposed to the weekly church homage to a God he cannot recognize,
\nbut in spite of that he is not intolerant and would not
\n\"confront\" the church and demand it be closed.<\/p>\n
As a Christian, I salute and appreciate his being tolerant and
\nunderstanding toward a different religion and way of worship. So,
\nat least, one place of worship is spared from being closed. But
\nAdrian has to \"endure\" the \"disturbing\" sounds coming from the
\nnearby church only once a week.<\/p>\n
People who happen to live near a mosque but who do not
\nnecessarily belong to the Muslim faith, have to hear the call to
\nprayer over loudspeakers several times a day. Also, some radio
\nand television stations interrupt their broadcasts several times
\na day to announce prayer time for Muslims. But no Christians ever
\ncomplain, especially in the media.<\/p>\n
During Ramadhan it gets even worse because everybody --
\nMuslims and non-Muslims alike -- has to wake up to the calls for
\nsahur in the early morning hours and be kept awake afterward by
\nthe deafening sound of firecrackers. As good Christians and human
\nbeings we accept and tolerate this as being part of Ramadhan.<\/p>\n
Stressing the importance of goodwill and tolerance on a
\npersonal note, I would like to add that my driver is a devout
\nMuslim who prays five times a day, no matter what. It is all
\nright with me, except when I am pressed for time and have told
\nhim so. But even then all I can do is wait patiently until he has
\nfinished praying. He is also allowed to go to the mosque every
\nweek for Friday prayers.<\/p>\n
Once I asked him to drive me to church for a Good Friday
\nservice, which is a very important part of our Easter
\ncelebration, but he flatly refused because he did not want to
\nmiss his Friday prayers, even once. If I had not been
\nunderstanding and tolerant I would have fired him, but he is
\nstill happily working for me.<\/p>\n
To really enjoy a peaceful coexistence it would be better for
\nall parties concerned to accept and respect each others' way of
\nworshiping in the true spirit of freedom of religion, as
\nprotected in the Constitution.<\/p>\n
After all, we worship the same God, albeit in different ways.<\/p>\n
L. SUPARTO, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/struggling-for-a-nations-soul-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }