Spirit of Ramadhan, Christmas ideal to bolster harmony

Spirit of Ramadhan, Christmas ideal to bolster harmony

By Andy Jauhari

JAKARTA (Antara): This year Muslims in Indonesia will start
fasting on Dec. 20. It is also in this fasting month (Ramadhan)
that Christians will celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25.

The two different religious events have surely an important
and strategic value at this time that the nation is being
strangled by various crises.

The Ketapang tragedy in Jakarta marked by the torching and
vandalizing of churches, then the Kupang tragedy in East Nusa
Tenggara with the retaliatory burning of mosques and other
buildings, are clearly black pages in the nation's history.

The two highly deplorable cases of violence have resulted in
the disruption of harmonious relations among religions,
especially those between Muslims and Christians.

With these two cases the opinion that Indonesia is a country
with high religious tolerance is now put into question.
Pessimists say that the harmonious coexistence among religious
believers is a mere "concept" which has yet to be put into
practice.

Now people nervously hope that similar tragedies will not
occur again in the future.

Amid the spirit of reform, commitment should be made in
religious circles to really putting an end to any conflict.

Disproving claims

Minister of Religious Affairs Malik Fadjar stated in a
meeting with Commission VII of the House of Representatives on
religious affairs on Dec. 9 that conflicts related to ethnicity,
religion, race and intergroup interests had stained the image of
the Indonesian nation, which loves to claim to be religious.

"We need to question why the clashes and brutalities have
happened in our country known as it is for its religious people
with refined culture," he said.

He noted that the Ketapang and Kupang incidents were signs
that the harmonious religious coexistence in Indonesia was "in a
critical state."

He said also that the worrisome condition was increasingly
tangible because here and there tensions and clashes emerge,
causing physical damage and material losses.

He admitted that the cases of violence undermined the
credibility of government officials and religious leaders' claim
that there was no problem with inter-religious relations at any
level.

"Various acts of violence and brutality have raised serious
questions about religious education and government efforts to
promote religion," he said.

"We need to ask ourselves what's wrong or if there is any
cause that gives rise to mob brutality."

Appeal

To cool the atmosphere and reconcile the spirit of Ramadhan
and Christmas, a number of religious organizations have appealed
for peace. The Communion of Indonesian Churches (PGI), for
example, appealed to all Christians in Indonesia to respect
Ramadhan.

In a statement from its chairman the Rev. Sularso Sopater and
deputy secretary general the Rev. Weinata Sairin, PGI has also
asked Christians to celebrate Christmas modestly so as not to
invoke social envy.

"It would be improper to hold an extravagant party while many
people in the community are struggling to make ends meet," the
statement said.

In the same vein, the central board of Muhammadiyah has
launched an appeal to all sides, particularly community leaders,
mass organizations and political party leaders and state
officials to respect the holy month of Ramadhan.

"Everyone is required to show restraint and to cool down the
political situation by refraining from doing anything that may
offend others. People should keep their heads," says chairman of
the Muhammadiyah central board A. Syafi'i Ma'arif.

Meanwhile, the community in North Sulawesi has taken practical
steps in building an atmosphere of harmony among religious
groups. Leaders of religious groups, i.e. Protestant, Catholic,
Hindu, Muslim and Buddhist, have conducted joint prayers for the
nation's safety.

The religious believers gathered in the auditorium of the
North Sulawesi gubernatorial office, absorbed in joint prayers
according to their respective faiths, implored God to lead the
Indonesian nation out of the current crisis soon.

In the present condition it becomes increasingly clear that
harmony in religious life needs to be continuously enhanced. The
spirits of Ramadhan and Christmas are expected to strengthen
religious coexistence.