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