Interfaith Forum: Bridging religious differences for peace
Interfaith Forum: Bridging religious differences for peace
By Asip Agus Hasani
YOGYAKARTA (JP): A young woman with a headscarf (jilbab) was
seen riding a motorcycle with a nun to attend the recent mass
prayers at Pakualaman Palace here to pray for peace in the riot-
torn Maluku Islands.
Hundreds of people of different faiths attended the prayer
that evening, held by the Forum of Interfaith (FPUB) Yogyakarta.
They sat on mats on the palace floor while leading figures of
various religions said prayers in turn.
"May God make our brothers and sisters in Maluku realize that
their God, who is also ours, never allows humans to engage in any
kind of violence," one preacher cried.
This was among many similar events held by the Forum, up to
two or three times a month.
Followers of Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism,
Confucianism, Javanese mysticism and many others gather to pray
or to share spiritualistic experiences.
They gather at mosques or at Islamic boarding schools
(pesantren), churches, Buddhist wihara and Hindu (pura)
temples. Funds and logistics are provided on a voluntary basis,
Forum representatives say.
"For instance people from the pesantren in Sleman (regency)
will bring 50 boxes of snacks and another group from Kulonprogo
will bring 75 boxes (of snacks) and the host provides the
drinks," Father Y. Suyatno, one of the Forum founders, said.
At the height of the crisis in 1998, the Forum organized the
distribution of rice and other goods to the poor. Many students
joined in the Forum's work by collecting rice from the rich, to
be delivered to many areas in Yogyakarta.
A few months after Soeharto resigned from the presidency,
there were strong rumors that provocateurs were already sent to
Yogyakarta to instigate unrest in the city, which is known for
its religious diversity and tolerance.
The provocateurs were, reportedly, deployed in areas with
large differences with regard to income, religion and race.
The Forum activists then immediately focused their attention
to four areas in Yogyakarta -- Tepus and Siti Mulyo in Gunung
Kidul regency, Kali Kuning in Kulonprogo and Bebeng in Sleman.
These areas on Yogyakarta's outskirts have a relatively larger
population of non-Muslims.
"I think it was true that provocateurs had already begun their
work," Suyatno told The Jakarta Post.
"When we first arrived in one of the four villages, villagers
there abruptly asked us if the rice we brought was from the
church," he said.
Villagers, he added, charged Forum activists as Christian
missionaries or Islamic kyai (religious teacher) intent on either
converting them into Christians or Muslims.
"I said that the rice doesn't have any religion and I let them
see that I have come to their village along with a kyai and other
religious leaders," Suyatno said.
However, forum members were surprised by the warm reception
they received as soon as villagers knew that FPUB represented
various faiths.
The Forum has helped to maintain the city's trademark of
harmony and it has also played a role in preventing conflicts.
Yogyakarta's renowned "March of a Million" in May 1998 sent a
message of peace, in contrast to Jakarta, where a similar march
was called off. The Forum was among the parties which mobilized
the crowds led by the city's governor, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.
In recognition of its role in promoting tolerance, the Forum
this year was awarded the Tasrif Award by the Alliance of
Independent Journalists.
A jury member, Kamala Chandrakirana, of the National
Commission of Violence against Women, had said that the award to
the Forum last month "sends a message to journalists themselves."
Its work, she had said, "is not the headline-grabbing type" of
religious strife and political intrigue.
The Forum indeed represents rare but urgently needed effort to
prevent more hate in what has become a very fragile society.
The Forum was founded by leading figures from various
religions in Yogyakarta in February 1997, following meetings
among religious figures, student activists and intellectuals.
They were united in deep concern over religious and racial
unrest which has continued in many areas since late 1996, such as
in Situbondo in East Java, Tasikmalaya in West Java and Sanggau
Ledo, Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan.
Peace has yet to be fully restored in the Maluku islands where
at least 3,000 have died in clashes since January 1999.
The Forum has emerged as a moral movement and founders include
the late Y.B. Mangunwijaya, who was known for his work with the
poor, apart from being a novelist.
Other founders were a kyai, Abdul Muhaimin from Kota Gede,
Protestant priest Bambang Subagyo, Interfidei Organization
director Th. Sumartana, I Nyoman Sudarsana from the Hindu Ashram
Gandhiin Bali, Buddhist priest Sri Pannyavaro from the Maha
Theara Mendut Vihara and Totok Baroto from the Sapta Dharma
belief.
In the beginning, the Forum received a cool response from the
public. Its first prayer gathering only recorded 23 participants.
Some people even cynically said that the participants were trying
to create a new religion.
Suyatno said the Forum did not even try to respond to such
allegations "because they (the public) just don't know what we
do. They don't know that we appreciate each other in diversity."
In time the prayer gatherings drew more people until the
events had become a regular part of the activities in Yogyakarta.
There are still obstacles, however. For instance, many Muslims
refrain from joining the gatherings, saying they cannot enter a
church. Muhaimin said their Muslims participants mostly came from
Nahdlatul Ulama, known to represent "traditional Islam" compared
to the more strict schools of Islam in the country.
Muhaimin said bringing people to the places of worship of
different religions helps to make them "know one another better."
There is a perception among Muslims, he said, that praying in
churches involves lavish spending and much merrymaking.
A student from Lamongan, East Java, said he had joined the
Forum gatherings about seven times. Mohammad Fatah, 28, said he
now had more appreciation for people of different faiths.
His upbringing in a village where almost all residents were
Muslims and followers of Nahdlatul Ulama, he said, led him to
believe that "people of different faiths weren't entirely
human ... they would all go to hell and they were all lost
people."
The student of economics said he joins the gatherings not only
to pray ("I can do that anywhere") but "to show others that
differences in religions is no reason against us living in
harmony."
Most gatherings are held in public places which can be used
for free.
Among Christians, Suyatno cited a "minority syndrome"
indicated by their tendency to be exclusive.
Such an attitude may reflect feelings of insecurity, he said.
However Muhaimin said the Forum did not seek to influence
anyone's interpretation of religion.
The moral call for peace, he said, would eventually affect
people "like water permeates the earth."
"Because we believe that all of us hunger for true brotherhood
with those from other religions, without any restraint."