We are colonized in many respects

We are colonized in many respects

From Pikiran Rakyat

The celebration of our Independence Day on Aug. 17 this year
was not as festive as it was in the past three years. This is
understandable considering the acute economic crisis gripping the
country. Since the onset of the crisis in mid-1997 there has been
a lot of uncertainty; from the declining quality of life of the
people up to the sad incidents in Aceh and Ambon.

It seems that we must again contemplate the essence of our
independence and see the reality currently around us.

We, no matter our religion, must ask ourselves whether we are
really free, if we still allow ourselves to be fettered by our
desires, make ourselves slaves to material goods and do things
contrary to our acknowledgement of the oneness of God.

Upon introspection, we will see that our country is still
shackled in many ways. In the economic spectrum, we have huge
debts and cannot imagine how we will repay them. Besides this, we
are very much economically dependent on Western countries and the
International Monetary Fund. In the legal sector, many of our
laws and legislation have their origins in Western laws and
legislation. We are proud to be free from Dutch colonial rule,
but we don't hesitate to employ the laws enacted by the Dutch
colonial administration.

In the sociocultural world, pornography, crime, student brawls
and drug trafficking are rampant as a result, whether we are
aware of it or not, of the globalization imported from the West.
Every day we are fed with Western ways of thinking, lifestyles
and behavior. We have therefore lost our own identity as Muslims.

It is true that the colonial rulers have gone, but their
legacy is still with us in our daily lives. Well, the colonial
rulers are still with us, after all, albeit with different faces.
All Muslims should gain the awareness that essential freedom must
be translated into reality.

LINA HIMARDANI

Bandung