Hindus and Muslims live in harmony in Serangan

Hindus and Muslims live in harmony in Serangan

Anton Muhajir, Contributor, Serangan, Bali

One day during Ramadhan several people were breaking the fast at a food stall in front of the Asy-Syuhada Mosque in Serangan, South Denpasar, when two women clad in traditional Balinese outfits with flowers above their ears and grains of rice on their foreheads entered.

The women had just prayed at a Hindu temple. They were holding a bamboo container, in which they placed their offerings. They stopped by the food stall, on one wall of which there was Muslim calligraphy, to buy some dinner.

At the same time, the sound of a man reciting the Koran was heard coming from the loudspeaker of the mosque. The only mosque in Serangan village, it stands in the middle of Kampung Bugis on Serangan Island.

On this 120-hectare island, Hindus and Muslims live together in harmony and mutual respect.

It is not clear when Muslims first arrived in Serangan. Haji Mansyur, 60, a public figure from Kampung Bugis, said his ancestors first arrived in the 18th century.

At that time about 40 Bugis fishermen from Sulawesi were stranded in Bali. They were arrested by the king of Badung, who then ruled the area and lived at Pemecutan Palace, Denpasar.

When the Badung Kingdom went to war with the Mengwi Kingdom, the king of Badung asked the fishermen to join the battle. The Mengwi troops were defeated and the king of Badung awarded the Bugis several plots of land in different areas of Badung, including Tuban (near Kuta), Kepaon, Suwung, Tanjung Benoa and Serangan.

You can still find today kampung Bugis in all of these areas, where many Bugis people live. The Bugis are usually Muslim.

A book titled Bali pada abad XIX (Bali in the 19th century), by Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung, states that the Bugis were either fishermen or traders, depending on where they lived. In Serangan, where there was a coast, the Bugis were all fishermen. But now, many work in tourism or in trading.

One of the first Bugis men who arrived in Serangan and became chief of the Kampung Bugis was Syekh Haji Mukmin, who was also known as Puak Metua or Puak Gede.

Kampung Bugis, Serangan island, is physically and administratively separated from other areas. Unlike Kampung Bugis in Tuban, Kepaon or Tanjung Benoa, the one in Serangan is not included in any banjar (the smallest unit in the traditional Balinese village setup).

A one-meter-high wall separates Kampung Bugis from the nearby banjar. The wall was built at the northern and southern parts of Kampung Bugis. The distance between the two walls is about 200 meters.

Serangan island and Bali island are separated by a one- kilometer strait. But in 1996 the two islands became one after a highway was built by PT Bali Turtle Island Development (BTID) to connect them.

Even though the Muslim community in Serangan is physically separated from the Balinese community by a wall, they mingle with each other. They may go fishing together or do the same communal work.

"We have no problem in our daily socializing," said Azis, a Muslim man in Serangan.

Acculturation is also seen in the language. The Bugis speak both Bugis and Balinese. There are also some Balinese who have become Muslim, or who have married Bugis.

The Balinese refer to Bugis Muslims as nyama selam (Muslim siblings). Despite their different religions, the people respect each other. During the Hindu Day of Silence, for example, Muslims refrain from using the loudspeaker on the mosque.

Living in the midst of Balinese Hindus, the Muslim community in Kampung Bugis has its own traditions, like Megelicik Al- Qur'an.

Once a year, on the ninth day of Muharram, according to the Arabic calendar, they carry the Holy Koran and parade it around the kampong.

One day before the start of Ramadhan, teenagers beat a drum at the mosque to mark the beginning of the holy month. During Idul Fitri they read certain verses from the Koran in residents' houses.

About six years ago, however, some Muslim scholars stated that the traditions were bid'ah (forbidden).

"Since then, the spiritual life of Muslims here has been somewhat lacking," said Haji Mansyur, an executive of the Asy- Syuhada Mosque.

A meeting was then held and it was agreed that the traditions should be maintained in order to liven up spiritual life.

Even though the Bugis and Balinese generally lead a harmonious life, Mansyur admitted that sometimes there was some tension between them, but that it never lasted long.

"We are open to discussing anything, including religion," he said.

Muslims are also able to live peacefully on the predominantly Hindu island because the Balinese respect them for their ancestors' contributions to the Badung Kingdom.

No wonder, then, the people in Kampung Bugis and those at Pemecutan Palace get along very well with each other. If Pemecutan Palace has a big ceremony, the residents of Kampung Bugis in Serangan and Kepaon are always invited. Cokorda Pemecutan, the head of the palace, even has a Muslim name, Abdullah.