This will change how we report on Islam
This will change how we report on Islam
Lisa Clausen of Time hesitated briefly before taking off her
shoes and entered a modest mosque at the center of Taruna Al
Quran, an Islamic boarding school in the heart of a village in
Bantul outside of Yogyakarta.
"Is this some sort of meeting hall?" she whispered, still wary
of the rejection that she and the other non-Muslims in the group
experienced when custodians of the mosques in East Java barred
them from setting foot inside.
"No, this is the pesantren's mosque," an Indonesian
participant said, gesturing toward the mats spread on the floor
for the guests to sit on. Lisa's face lit up, "Oh, I've never
been to one." "Welcome to the house of Allah, then," the
Indonesian said.
The exchange proved to be one of the many highlights of the
Journey Into Islam in Indonesia study tour. "Our understanding of
Islam is less than nothing," said Diana Bagnall of the Bulletin,
who, in her youth, was active in the Evangelical Christian
Church. "We came here to understand."
"What I can't understand," said Trudy Harris of the
Australian, "is why is it so difficult for you, for Indonesian
Muslims, to accept that Muslims are capable of committing
violence. Such as what happened in Bali and in Jakarta. Why the
denial?"
"Why did the ustadz (teacher) refuse to answer my questions
about military training in the pesantren?" said another
Australian participant. "Why was the kyai so defensive when we
asked him about fundamentalism?" asked yet another participant.
Led by Asia Pacific Journalism Center (APJC) Program Director
John Wallace, the Australian participants found their Indonesian
participants (from Femina, Suara Pembaruan, Gatra, Radio 68H and
Suara Hidayatullah) to be good sparring partners and sources of
information.
The Australians, for instance, wanted to know what was the
singsong voice they heard at dawn their first morning in
Surabaya. It was adzan, the call to prayer, and Lisa found it to
have a "calming" effect on her.
Islam is one, but its practices in Indonesia and elsewhere are
many. The social, political, cultural and economic manifestations
of the religion are countless.
The APJC program was meant to present to the Australian
journalists a picture of Islam that is as faithful as possible to
the many-faceted Muslim communities here.
They got to learn that Islam is not a mere political force
keen on taking part in international power wrestling, but it is
also about honoring one's parents, having good manners --
including when visiting a sick person -- offering prayers as an
expression of submission toward God, loving your children, being
gentle toward one's spouse during lovemaking, being charitable
and generous, keeping one's promises, and defending one's rights
and honor with death if necessary.
It is also about mukenah, the white cloth covering that
Indonesian-Muslim women wear when they say their prayers, and
about jilbab or Muslim women's head scarves, and many other
questions about women and gender.
"One thing for sure, this program will change our way of
reporting Islam," said Marcus Cheek of ABC Asia Pacific TV, to
which Michael Kenny of SBS Radio agreed. Philippa McDonald, ABC
Radio, said, "This has been a life-changing experience..." --
Santi W.E. Soekanto