Christmas and Muhammadiyah

Christmas and Muhammadiyah

Some Christians might have felt that Santa Claus came early
when Din Syamsuddin -- the chairman of the country's second
largest Muslim organization Muhammadiyah, and also vice chairman
of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) -- on Wednesday offered the
use of Muhammadiyah buildings for Christmas services. However,
most Christians feel skeptical about the offer by hard-line
group, the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), to protect churches
during the Christmas celebrations.

It is a lesser surprise to see such a friendly offer coming
from the country's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama
(NU), as this organization has had an impressive track record on
tolerance and pluralism over a long period of time.

The goodwill gestures from Muhammadiyah and the FPI are encouraging
for Christians. It is a pleasant surprise that a major Muslim
organization, and the FPI -- to be frank the FPI engenders a
strong a perception of intolerance and violence among non-Muslims
-- have offered facilities and protection to Christians in the
exercise of their religious rights as guaranteed by the 1945
Constitution.

However, like gifts from Santa Claus, which are always very
welcome but do not normally have major implications for our
lives, Christians need more than just gestures of goodwill.

Especially after the Christmas Eve disaster in 2000 where
self-proclaimed Muslim warriors bombed a number of churches
around the country, Christians feel anxious about their security
during Christmas services, despite a strong police presence at
nearly all churches.

Jesus, actually, is not a stranger to Muslims as Islam
recognizes Jesus as a prophet and messenger. Islam, however, does
not recognize Jesus as the Son of God and his crucifixion as the
salvation of mankind.

The offer from Muhamadiyah is especially heartening. Many
Christians have lost their places to worship over the last
several years following forced closures by radical Muslim groups,
particularly in West Java, with the excuse normally being a lack
of official permits. In reality, most closures are due to the
fact that Muslim groups cannot accept the presence of churches in
their neighborhoods. Many of the places of worship that were
forcibly shut did, in fact, have official permits.

There is a strong fear of "Christianization" among Muslims as
Christians are perceived as being wealthier, and because of the
imperative of spreading the Christian message. Although about 90
percent of the population is Muslim, worries about the
proselytizing issue remain high.

Many Muslims do not understand why there are so many churches
in the country compared to the number of Christians. Many of
them, perhaps, do not realize that the Christian religion is made
up of very many different churches.

While the 1945 Constitution firmly guarantees the freedom of
religion, the government is often weak, if not actually
unwilling, in carrying out its constitutional obligations.

Non-Muslims often complain about what they feel is
increasingly discriminatory treatment from state institutions.
They feel they are being treated as second class citizens just
because their faith is different from that of the majority of the
population. On the other hand, the majority sees the minority as
suffering from a persecution complex, especially given the
economic power of the Christian section of the community.

Of course, Christians must try to comprehend the sentiments of
other people and stop practices that could upset Muslims,
especially as regards proselytizing

We sincerely hope that the Muhammadiyah offer is the starting
point toward discussing a more substantial issue: the protection
of Christians and other non-Muslims in the performance of their
religious obligations in their daily lives, not just at
Christmas, while also ensuring the freedom of Muslims to exercise
their rights.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation and is
often cited as a model for its relatively tolerant, moderate and
pluralistic character. It is matter of pride and honor that we
preserve this character, especially given the current situation
where many in the West perceive Islam as an intolerant and
violent religion.

On this Christmas Eve, it comes as a big surprise to hear
Christmas carols being sung in Muhammadiyah buildings. This
should be seen as concrete evidence of tolerance and pluralism, a
perception that would be reinforced should it be followed by more
concrete actions by all sides in this country.

What would be more significant would be for organizations like
Muhammadiyah to start fighting against discriminatory treatment
not only against Christians, but even against non-conformist
Muslim groups like, for example, the Ahmadiyahs.

The real problem in Indonesia in the fact that people need to
be protected while praying. Thus, the most important thing is to
eliminate the need for physical protection for worshipers as this
need flies in the face of all the values espoused by the
"Pancasila" state.

In conclusion, it only remains for us to wish all our readers
a very merry Christmas!