JP/6/EDS5

Business as usual?

After the celebration of Idul Fitri, business as usual is the last thing we want. Fitri refers to a state of being cleansed, a life begun anew with a clean slate after a month of fasting and trying not to give in to worldly desires. Needless to say, the earthly human may struggle mightily to leave all sins and bad habits behind, but relatively few will likely manage to claim that they feel they have progressed spiritually, at least by their own standards, by the time they reach the "day of victory", as Idul Fitri is also known.

This year's Ramadhan, in particular, was a showcase of chilling contrast: the spirit of calm contemplation and intensified worship on the one hand, and the lengths to which certain people will go to in order to remind us how uncivilized and barbaric humans can be on the other hand.

One heinous crime after another occurred throughout the month. From the Bali terror attacks at the beginning of the month to the savage schoolgirl beheadings at the end of the month.

Among the Balinese, religious divisions between Hindus and Muslims were at least partially blamed for the violence that occurred days before their important religious commemoration of Galungan. Muslims continued to maintain that such acts could not have come from people with a true understanding of their teachings.

Days before Idul Fitri, the beheading of three Christian schoolgirls in Poso, Central Sulawesi brought condemnation again from around the world; even from Pope Benedict XVI. Some local leaders and even parents of one of the victims in Poso, however, indicated that they did not believe it was the act of their Muslim neighbors. Andreas Yewangoe who heads the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) aptly summed up the pain of the entire community -- still grieving from the communal violence a few years ago: "Why did the killings take place as both the Muslim and Christian communities were successfully improving their relationship, moving away from hostility?"

Authorities called for restraint, reminding the public of the likely provocation which could, if unchecked, lead to similar bloodbaths that occurred both in Poso and, earlier, the Maluku islands.

Business as usual would mean the mere dismissal of violent acts as those carried out by a small, unimportant "minority" or, in the words of the chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council, Din Syamsuddin, "atheists."

Such statements may aim to appease many among the faithful that the bad guys who were clearly made for hell and were not one of "us"; they must have been one of "them." Surely men in masks chopping off children's heads could not in any way be decent people no matter what their religion was and regardless of whether they had one.

But our leaders cannot stop there. Every one of us continues to remain a potential victim of violence as long as the twisted masterminds aim to exploit our diversity, even though the motivation of the terrorist acts may be specific to each location. The PGI chairman pointed out that he felt local leaders in Poso had done enough to try and heal the feelings of revenge among the different religious communities, but that law enforcement was grossly lacking.

Would the same apply on a national scale? Have spiritual leaders and those chairing the religious organizations done enough to stress the need to respect one another and live together in peace? Have they really gone all out to show what tolerance implies?

One look at the ongoing squabble between Christians in Bekasi who until last week had resorted to holding mass on the street since their church was blocked by a group of Muslims -- is yet another absurd, but saddening example of how far we have to go.

Each incident of violence splashes on to the headlines before fading away. But following each case of bloodletting that seems related to our diversity, survivors such as the millions in Maluku and Bali were left painfully pondering whether they could continue to live side by side with their neighbors.

If we are to live up to one message of Idul Fitri to cleanse ourselves and begin anew before one's Maker and one's neighbors, we would like to see much more from our leaders of religious communities in taking up the crucial role of public education -- assuming that most Indonesians are religious, as we have been told, rather than "atheistic."