The attack on Batak Protestant Church (HKBP) elder Hasian Lumbantoruan Sihombing and pastor Luspida Simanjuntak in Ciketing, Bekasi, during Ramadan shows that we as Muslims, or at least the perpetrators, failed to fulfill the objectives of our one month fast.
By fasting, we not only abstain from food and drink and sex during the daytime, but we also commit to refraining from any wrongdoing. Stabbing Luspida Simanjuntak and assaulting Hasian Lumbantoruan Sihombing are in total violation of Islamic philosophy.
By fasting, we train ourselves to become more aware of temptation and more attentive to injustice and sins against others, such as violence, oppression, cruelty, corruption and tax evasion.
Violence against people of other faiths is sinful, and we must be fully aware of this. We do not condone sinful acts, and we should not let our brothers and sisters act as criminals.
The Ciketing incident is an example of violence falsely justified by a religious pretext — a blatant abuse of religion. It shows that some followers of Islam have not accepted the fact that Indonesia is a pluralist society. Some of the same people even renounce pluralism, which in my opinion is one of God’s greatest gifts to mankind.
Denial of pluralism by some Muslims is one reason why violent acts like the unfortunate incidents in Ciketing repeatedly occur in Indonesia.
What makes it worse is that the government and its security officers seem to condone violence committed by hard-line groups.
We have not only witnessed the stabbing of a priest, but also blatant daylight attacks on followers of Ahmadiyah.
Our constitution guarantees freedom of religion as a fundamental human right. But we also acknowledge that our constitution does not go into details, which are further articulated in laws, bylaws and regulations.
What happened in the Ciketing area is in essence a conflict between Muslims and Christians over the latter’s plan to build a place of worship.
The Bekasi administration failed to resolve this simple problem, and instead opted to allow the situation to drag on for an unnecessarily long period. The conflict became more complicated and tensions escalated as a result.
To prevent tension from escalating into violence, we have to understand the elements of conflict.
Harvard professor Richard E. Walton explains in his book Conflict, Interpersonal Dialogue and Third-Party Roles (1987) that a conflict has four elements; an issue, a trigger, the behavior of people around the conflict and the consequence.
We can apply Walton’s approach to the Ciketing incident, where the issue is attempts by Muslims and the Bekasi administration to prevent HKBP followers from gathering for prayer and building their own place of worship in Ciketing.
The trigger was the stabbing of Hasian Lumbantoruan Sihombing and the attack on pastor Luspida Simanjuntak. This violent behavior escalated the conflict, and as a result, it becomes apparent that we have to do more to convince the public that violence is an improper response that usually only begets more violence.
All religious leaders in Indonesia, especially Muslims, must spread the message of peace among their followers, especially during the sacred month of Syawal. To make our campaign effective, violence cannot be tolerated.
Law enforcement officials must uphold the law and punish those who commit violent acts, including those who attacked the two HKPB leaders.
Let peace prevail.
source: The Jakarta Posti Wednesday 29th September 2010
by: Rohmad Hadiwijoyo (the writer is executive director of Center for information and Development Studies (CIDES)
