An Interfaith Bond of Friendship
Illustration: Didie SW
Several credible agencies have recorded that the number of cases of religious intolerance across the nation is reaching an alarming level.
There are even signs that an intolerance perspective on religious differences have seeped into the minds of many of our students, from the elementary school level up to universities. Many are becoming more “wary” of intermingling with friends of different religions.
This situation poses a serious challenge for our nation’s future. If this continues to develop, there are concerns that it will turn into full-blown, religion-based sectarianism in the next 10 or 20 years, much like what happened in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.
The most important thing right now is to build awareness among the groups in which this problem exists. This is a serious matter and it threatens our nation’s social cohesion. Afterwards, everyone must be involved in the search for concrete and sustainable solutions. The involvement of parents, teachers, the government and other policy stakeholders – including the media – are highly crucial.
As a lecturer in an Islamic university, I have many experiences in this area that I wish to share through this article. For 14 years, I have taught the subject of Religion at the School of Humanities at Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University in Yogyakarta. Realizing the conditions above, I implement various ways to build awareness and commitment among students on the importance of togetherness and diversity.
Based on my experience, one way to build such awareness is an interfaith silaturahim (bond of friendship). Silaturahim transcends dialogues as it is present through a deeper, yet more fluid form of motivation, namely brotherhood. Silaturahim is a “dialogue” to experience and feel things that transcend one’s boundaries.
Such a method turns out to be highly effective – even if it needs to be done slowly – in eroding stereotypes and prejudices that can sometimes be too entrenched in the students’ minds. Stereotypes on adherents of other religions are often supported by certain religious understandings espoused by teachers, parents and even wider communities over long periods of time that it is often difficult to tear down. However, experiences of interfaith silaturahim evidently help in slowly eroding these prejudices.
An interfaith silaturahim can also help in building students’ awareness and commitment to accept and be thankful for diversity. Based on the numerous responses, comments, writings and “sharp” discussions among students, I feel that the silaturahim has deeply affected them. Sometimes, there are unforeseen positive effects of this interfaith silaturahim, even if people often voice their concerns that the activity may have “negative effects.”
In the activity, students in one class are divided into several groups. Each group is tasked with conducting silaturahim with certain religious adherents – Christians, Catholics, Hindu, Buddhists or Confucians. In several occasions, I accompanied the students in their silaturahim activities.
Finding solutions
The message I give to my students, all of whom are Muslims, is this: Perform silaturahim with, for instance, Buddhists. Go to them with all your hearts and minds; realize that you are visiting your brothers and sisters who just happen to adhere to a different religion. You can go to religious leaders or to a worshipper. The most important thing is that, as a form of silaturahim, you seek to create bonds of friendship.
You do not go to them to find who is right and who is wrong; you do not go to them to compare religions. You express your intention of silaturahim and if you have the chance to chat, just chat about anything that comes to mind. Talk about your families, your daily activities or your religions if you wish. Do not forget to make it clear that you are Muslims students wishing to establish bonds of friendship with them.
Some students objected to the task due to “religious” reasons, and I did not force them to complete the task. Some were highly enthusiastic due to their deep curiosity on finding out about other religions directly from the adherents. Others might have been indifferent and only performed the task to get the necessary grades.
As a result, the silaturahim meetings ended up becoming more memorable and effective for the students, compared to complicated classroom discussions on theories of inter-religious relations.
I then took detailed notes of the students’ comments from their silaturahim experiences. Among these comments were the following: “After the silaturahim, my views on Christians – both Protestants and Catholics – changed. Before, I was so afraid and so unknowledgeable about them. Now I understand them better.”
“After the silaturahim with Buddhists, we all gained unforgettable experiences and knowledge. Many of us adhere to the narrow understanding that our religion is the most righteous and that other religions are wrong. All religions are righteous according to their respective adherents.”
Another student said: “By visiting a vihara and having dialogue with Buddhists, we did not apostate and follow their religion. Instead, it strengthened my faith as a Muslim. However, I can still take many examples of good deeds from them to be applied in creating a better life for all of us.”
In one instance, I was so impressed with one of my students who had taken part in the silaturahim assignment around 10 years ago. This student said the assignment had completely changed his views on other religious adherents. Nowadays, he teaches in a state Islamic university and conducts the same activity in his class.
In this praxis of learning, I was inspired by the ideas of John B Cobb Jr., in his book Transforming Christianity and the World,” of Jamal al-Bana in al-Ta’addudiyyah fi Mujtama’ Islamiy, and of Machasin in Silaturahmi Kebudayaan (Cultural Bond of Friendship).
Amid the spirit to preserve the ideas of celebrated cleric and former president Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid in the nation, this simple way can be an alternative method in teaching about tolerance amid strengthening intolerance in our communities. It can be applied in classes on Religion, Civics, Pancasila or other subjects.
IBNU BURDAH
Observer of the Middle-East and Islam; a post-graduate lecturer at Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University
