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."