Struggling for a nation's soul
Struggling for a nation's soul
The Jakarta Post on Aug. 29 carried an article titled The
struggle for a nation's soul by Meidyatama Suryodiningrat. In it
the writer talks about Adrian, who lives near a church.
The echo of the choir praising the Holy Trinity makes him
"cringe". Adrian, being a devoted Muslim, is ill at ease at being
exposed to the weekly church homage to a God he cannot recognize,
but in spite of that he is not intolerant and would not
"confront" the church and demand it be closed.
As a Christian, I salute and appreciate his being tolerant and
understanding toward a different religion and way of worship. So,
at least, one place of worship is spared from being closed. But
Adrian has to "endure" the "disturbing" sounds coming from the
nearby church only once a week.
People who happen to live near a mosque but who do not
necessarily belong to the Muslim faith, have to hear the call to
prayer over loudspeakers several times a day. Also, some radio
and television stations interrupt their broadcasts several times
a day to announce prayer time for Muslims. But no Christians ever
complain, especially in the media.
During Ramadhan it gets even worse because everybody --
Muslims and non-Muslims alike -- has to wake up to the calls for
sahur in the early morning hours and be kept awake afterward by
the deafening sound of firecrackers. As good Christians and human
beings we accept and tolerate this as being part of Ramadhan.
Stressing the importance of goodwill and tolerance on a
personal note, I would like to add that my driver is a devout
Muslim who prays five times a day, no matter what. It is all
right with me, except when I am pressed for time and have told
him so. But even then all I can do is wait patiently until he has
finished praying. He is also allowed to go to the mosque every
week for Friday prayers.
Once I asked him to drive me to church for a Good Friday
service, which is a very important part of our Easter
celebration, but he flatly refused because he did not want to
miss his Friday prayers, even once. If I had not been
understanding and tolerant I would have fired him, but he is
still happily working for me.
To really enjoy a peaceful coexistence it would be better for
all parties concerned to accept and respect each others' way of
worshiping in the true spirit of freedom of religion, as
protected in the Constitution.
After all, we worship the same God, albeit in different ways.
L. SUPARTO, Jakarta