Tolerance Reverberates from Remote Regions
In several remote regions across the nation, tolerance reverberates harmoniously. Tolerance has become part of locals’ everyday life. They live side-by-side amiably despite differences.
Such tolerance can be found in Buneng hamlet, Boro village, Selorejo district, Blitar regency, East Java, and Kampung (hamlet) Sawah, Pondok Melati district, Bekasi city, West Java, among other places. In these two locations, peaceful life amid diversity has been inherited through generations.
In this year’s Ramadan, diverse banners could be seen in Buneng village. A banner with the words “Happy Fasting and Happy Idul Fitri Holiday 1440 Hijri” was side-by-side with another one with the words “Happy Vesak Day”. This was because this year’s Vesak Day on May 19, fell on Ramadan.
Other than in people’s homes, banners of Idul Fitri greetins adorned local churches and viharas. “The banner was put up ahead of the fasting month. This year’s fasting took place concurrently with Vesak Day,” said Rusmiati, 63, a Muslim resident, on Monday (27/5/2019).
Christian resident Tekat Harjoutomo, 90, put up a banner with Idul Fitri and Vesak greetings on his front fence. He said that he did this as a form of respect for adherents of other religions.
Tekat’s family is religiously diverse. He has Muslim sibling. During Idul Fitri or Lebaran, Tekat’s and his sibling’s families visited one another.
In fasting month, non-Muslim residents donated iftar (breakfasting) snacks to local mosques. On Idul Fitri day, Christians, Buddhists and Hindus visited their Muslim neighbors’ homes. They extended Idul Fitri greetings to their Muslim neighbors and joined them in asking one another for forgiveness.
Rusmiati said that, during the construction of the Quran learning place on the south side of the Miftahul Huda mosque, non-Muslim residents took part in pouring concrete. Similar collective work was also seen in the construction of houses of worship for other religions.
Boro village, located on Selorejo Dam, comprised four hamlets, namely Buneng, Jarangan, Boro and Mintoragan. The village has around 5,000 residents, 70-80 percent of which are Muslims. The rest are Christians, Catholics, Buddhists and Hindus. Buneng hamlet has two mosques, four mushala (small mosques), two churches and one vihara.
Kampung Sawah
Tolerance is also in the air in Kampung Sawah, Bekasi, especially on Idul Fitri day. Catholic residents helped their Muslim neighbors hold Idul Fitri prayers.
Richardus Jacobus Napiun, 63, was among the locals busily preparing the Idul Fitri prayer at the Al Jauhar Yasfi Grand Mosque in Kampung Sawah on Wednesday (5/6). He helped manage traffic and parking near the area used for the prayer.
While holding on to a handy talkie (HT), Jacobus was seen on the roadside since dawn. “I have helped for 20 years. There is an inner satisfaction from helping my Muslim friends on Kampung Sawah. This is in line with what the ancestors of Kampung Sawah taught us about harmony,” Jacobus said.
Muslims coming to the mosque approached Jacobus and shook his hands in a gesture of mutual forgiveness.
Andreas Yuniar, 51, another Kampung Sawah resident, also joined in the Idul Fitri preparation. He woke up early in the morning and helped prepare the Idul Fitri prayer. Before leaving for the mosque, he participated in the morning mass at the Santo Servatius church.
Harmony has been a unique characteristic of the hamlet. It was an ancestral legacy inherited through generations. “Harmony is nothing special. This is a part of our daily life,” Jacobus said.
Living together in harmony is also reflected from the proximity of houses of worships. The Al Jauhar Yasfi mosque, built in 1972, stands beside the Sundanese Christian Church built in 1874. Around 100 meters from the Al Jauhar Yasfi mosque, there is the Santo Servatius Church built in 1896.
Al Jauhar Yasfi mosque caretaker Sholahudin Malik said that the presence of an interfaith society was very important for him. He said that he saw residents of other faiths not as neighbors or friends, but as brothers and sisters.
Many residents of Kampung Sawah have family relationship with one another. There are 62 families related by blood in the hamlet, such as Baiin, Niman, Rikin, Dani, Kaiin, Sairin, Pepe and Napiun.
When frictions occur, community leaders will gather and discuss the problems. They will try to find out what the causes are. “If people are making troubles not in line with local traditions, we will reject them,” Jacobus said.
Kampung Sawah Muslim leader Rachmadin Afif, 74, said that he saw the harmony as nothing special. There is no excuse not to live in harmony. A peaceful life will lead to peaceful minds.
“Many are asking ‘How can people in Kampung Sawah live in harmony?’ It’s not us they should be questioning. It should be themselves. Why don’t they live in harmony?” Rachmadin said.
The stories of people in Kampung Sawah and Buneng are oases in a desert. The two communities live in harmony and celebrate diversity in everyday life.
(SKA/DIV/WER)