Dilemmas for Indonesian Muslims in U.S.

Djoko Susilo, Legislator, Jakarta

The aftermath of the Sept. 11 tragedy in the U.S. continues, and Indonesian Muslims in the U.S. are among those adjusting to the reality.

Along with arrests of a number of Indonesian citizens in the U.S., as suspicion of links to the al Qaeda networks in Indonesia are raised, a degree of fear has spread among Indonesians in the U.S., particularly Muslims living there.

As a person who lived for almost four years (1988-1992) in Washington DC as a newspaper correspondent, I had the opportunity of meeting various Indonesian Muslims in America.

One reality of being a Muslim in the American context is having to decide whether to celebrate holidays that are part of the American -- and often Christian -- calendar. The Islamic new year, of course, is part of the lunar cycle and thus does not coincide with New Year's celebration in the U.S.

Most of the persons I met, however, saw no reason not to observe the Western new year as long as it did not mean joining the celebration "with a lot of alcohol and a lot of dancing and a lot of other non-Islamic behavior. "

Interestingly, many Indonesian Muslims also observe American holidays that stress family relationships, such as Valentine's Day and particularly Mother's Day and Father's Day. In large part, this reflects an interest in participating in customs that are particularly American. As one man who regularly celebrates all the three holidays, he said he does it "for their symbolic sense, because it is an American custom, and you are living in a Western environment."

And an Indonesian Muslim woman reflected her appreciation of the chance to show a little family consideration in a number of American celebrations. "On Valentine's Day we exchange presents. My husband has never missed Valentine's Day. All these years he has brought home a big heart-shaped chocolate." Several others applauded the idea of Mother's Day and Father's Day because the Koran enjoins respect and honor for one's parents.

The Indonesians, both Muslims and non-Muslims in Washington DC generally observe the two major national holidays, Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, by attending fireworks or parades, putting flowers on tombs, having picnics, and relaxing. The area around the Washington National Monument is a favorite place to watch the fireworks.

"I celebrate Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. Being an Indonesian who lives in America I think it is befitting to celebrate. The reason I celebrate July Fourth is that I want to be like other Americans. I am living here, I make my living in this country, I am with everybody who is for freedom," said Yusuf, an old friend who works as a taxi driver in Maryland.

Almost all Indonesian Muslims who were parents said that their children celebrate Halloween with the other children in their neighborhood, dressing up in costumes and going door to door for "trick or treats". Most of the adults gladly handing out candy and other goodies to the young children who come to their doorsteps on Halloween.

An Indonesian woman who said she was from Bandung, WestJava, said that they used to have Halloween parties for the children in the social hall of the mosque until a Muslim from a Middle Eastern country complained that it was inappropriate both for a mosque and a Muslim.

"I don't think it is a Christian custom either for a child to dress up and go door to door and ask for candy!" she remarked.

Generally those interviewed on the subject of Halloween, however, were happy to say, "Halloween is fun for the kids ... I always liked Halloween. I love children and that is an occasion to show those children that we care about them."

Many Indonesians also celebrate Thanksgiving with turkey at gatherings of family and friends. A few think of Thanksgiving as a "Christian Holiday" but I never met anyone who objected to the celebration of "Thanksgiving Day" among our community. We feel that while Thanksgiving is a religious as well as a social occasion, it is an American custom that transcends individual religions and can be used as an opportunity for those of all religions to give thanks to God.

My family and I at least attended one or two thanksgiving parties each year. One which was very memorable for me was held at the house of Richard Schicorza, an official from the Foreign Press Center. We reached his home in the suburb of Virginia under heavy snow.

A friend, Imam, referred to the historical background of Thanksgiving, when the pilgrims offered their thanks for God's blessing. "So it is not in conflict with Islam," he said.

However, of all the widely celebrated holidays in America, Christmas seems to provide the greatest dilemma for Muslim families. Although it is clearly a Christian holiday, it now has become a very secular social and commercial holiday as well. Even the religious aspect of the occasion is not irrelevant to Muslims, who recognize Jesus as a very important prophet whose birthday should be respected. However, a great deal of confusion and divided opinions have been expressed over the degree to which they should celebrate Christmas.

One Indonesian said they celebrate Christmas for two reasons. "It is important to get involved with American society, and if you don't celebrate Christmas and Thanksgiving, you are telling those people you are not part of American society, you are something else."

"How can you be effective, how can you affect those people if they think that you are completely different? You cannot," said Andi, a student at the American University who regularly comes to Friday prayer at the Indonesian Embassy.

"First of all you have to make them understand that you are just like them. OK, they are not better than you. Then you can do your own thing, that is fine. So you have to celebrate Christmas, which is very important to them."

The second reason, Andi said, is that Muslims do believe in Jesus, as one of God's prophets.

Indonesian Muslims said they just come and join celebrations after religious ceremonies are over.

Given their efforts to adapt, it is hard for me to believe that my fellow citizens living in the United States would and could join a terrorist network to do such barbaric and horrible things. Indonesians there are happy to become good Muslims as well as American residents.