Yogya, safe haven for religious diversity

Yogya, safe haven for religious diversity

Intan Darmawati, Contributor, Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta has of late been the talk of the international
community for allegedly harboring terrorists. The U.S. has gone
as far as calling on its citizens to leave the city.

The word "terrorist" brings to mind armed and aggressive
people that terrorize peace-loving residents. Does Yogyakarta
present this picture?

Regardless of the veracity of the allegations, if you take a
walk around Yogyakarta you will likely see men wearing Arabic
Muslim garb in shops or other public places. They have beards and
wear turbans and loose robes.

In the area of Kauman or around the State Institute of Islamic
Studies, you can also find people wearing Muslim garb (usually
the men do not wear robes and turbans, but rather rimless caps of
black velvet and sarongs, while the women wear conventional veils
that do not cover their faces). They often get together to
discuss matters from religiosity to post-modernism.

There is a different atmosphere on the campuses of
Muhammadiyah University and the Indonesian Islamic University
(UII). On these campuses, usually just the women wear Muslim garb
-- in a different style and fashion, of course.

In the same city, you can find young people putting on their
"modern-style" clothes, or other young people without any sign of
their religion riding motorbikes together or just sitting
around.

Yogyakarta, the area of Muntilan in particular, was among the
first areas in the country for Catholic missionaries. Seminaries,
monasteries, pilgrimage sites and churches, as well as Catholics,
are all here. There are quite a lot of strongly rooted
missionaries. Recognized or not, the role of the Catholic mission
and the activities of Catholics in general are important to
social life in Yogyakarta. In Sengkan area we can find roads
using uniquely Christian names.

The same phenomenon is also found among the Protestants. Kiai
Sadrah is not an alien name, and the work of the Javanese
Christian Church cannot be negated. Some members, for example,
are interested in introducing the Bible to others, while others
undertake humanitarian work.

Meanwhile, despite subordination to the various religions,
Kejawen, an indigenous and traditional belief, is undeniably
still deeply rooted in its varied forms. The Kejawen philosophy
has become part and parcel with the Javanese way of life in
Yogyakarta and therefore plays an important role in everyday life
here.

Buddhism has also developed in Yogyakarta and its immediate
surroundings. In Magelang, a cool town north of Yogyakarta, there
are still remnants indicating the former glory of Buddhism. The
Borobudur Temple, a Buddhist temple, has become the pride of
Indonesians. Other beliefs, like Hinduism and Confucianism, also
have their followers.

Yogyakarta provides an atmosphere conducive to the growth of
various religions, despite the strong feudalism inherent in this
city. It must be said that Yogya is a haven for various kinds of
expressions about the relationship between humans and God. Often,
feudalism is positioned as the opposite of democracy, which
respects diversity and freedom. Fortunately, Yogyakarta shows it
is not simply black and white.

All kinds of expressions of this kind abound in Yogya:
starting from the tolerant ones, those liking liberal dialog, up
to those wishing to "go to the battle". Laskar Jihad, which
dissolved itself recently, had its headquarters in Yogyakarta.

There are expressions by those often categorized as
fundamentalists, hard-liners, the religious and the ulemas,
Islamic school students, abangan (Javanese syncriticism), the
sufi, those who have faith but profess no religion, those
professing a religion but having no faith and even atheists. They
are all there. Many of them readily say who they are and what
their choices are. There is no more hiding about these.

In the past few months, there have been boarding houses openly
putting up notices reading that these places are restricted only
to a particular religion. However, the city can also boast
interreligious groups fighting for a life with a healthy
religious pluralism.

Dian Interfidei and The Inter-Religious Community Brotherhood
Forum (FPUB) -- where leaders of different religions and faiths
get together -- and the Tikar Pandan Group (KTP) are examples of
this good intention.

KTP, for example, brings together young men from various
religious traditions and faiths to fight for theological
equality, particularly through pluralist songs. In addition, they
also try to establish a counter-cultural discourse on faith
through cross-religion and cross-faith reflection, discussions
and friendship.

Friendship is built not on lip-service or just at the level of
dialog alone, but it is allowed to be fluid and flowing, like the
rhythm of the music they offer. The partition of the symbolism of
religious tradition is no longer relevant while the legitimacy of
religious hierarchy crumbles.

A discourse on pluralist and tolerant faiths and religions
replaces religious dogmatism and doctrines. The Holy Book has
begun to be reinterpreted. Legitimacy through religious figures
or elites have been questioned. It is no longer taboo to come up
with criticisms and questions about each religion as such
criticisms, for example, are not intended to disadvantage or
corner other parties but to remove prejudices that have been
formed.

If you are in Yogyakarta and walk along Gejayan, in Gang
Kuwera, you will find a comfortable house built by the late YB
Mangunwijaya, who, during his lifetime, initiated pluralist
religious education.

Over here, on Wednesday nights, you will be carried away by
the sound of religious songs. They are devoid of uniformity but
are rather self-enriching. They never wish to hold dominance over
the others, but they are side by side and equal. If you like
discussion, come here on Saturday afternoon and experience the
friendship offered here.

Finally, Yogyakarta remains in its image a city of students.
It is a city of intellectuals, both secular and theological. You
have IAIN, UII and Muhammadiyah, Catholic University of Sanata
Dharma and the Duta Wacana Christian University (UKDW) -- all
with their schools of theology/religion.

Even at UGM there is a post-graduate program for interreligion
studies. If you wish to experience religiosity mixed with
intellectuality and culture, Yogyakarta is the right place to
visit.

The writer is a post-graduate student at the Sanata Dharma
University, Yogyakarta.