KNOWLEDGE is good and useful. But it is much more effective to create and to boost the spirit of tolerance and mutual respect among fellow Indonesians from different background in religious beliefs, ethnicity, cultural identities and languages through a series of experiencing the true real “diversity” of the Indonesian society.
Experiencing the true “Indonesian diversity” in the multi ethnic, multi religious and multi language society of Indonesia on the ground is much more fruitful. This could effectively “creates” the spirit of tolerance.
Experiencing rather than knowing
This is what Kyai Hajj Susilo Eko Pramono or known as Sheikh Muhammad Hidayatulloh Al Andalasy) said to Sesawi.Net on Thursday, 25 August 2016. He is from a local Muslim boarding educational school known as Pesanten Sunan Kalijaga in Dengkeng, Wedi, Klaten District, Central Java.
Kyai Hajj Susilo’s comments do not appear as his thoughts or views, but mostly express his personal reflection on how to have become a good host for some certain years in his own “pesantren”. He is used to warmly welcoming scores of guests from various different ethnic and religious groups including the Catholics and the Chinese Indonesian to learn and to experience the spirit of tolerance from their Muslim counterparts.
In 2015 and some weeks ago, Kyai Susilo also hosted some seminarians from the Minor Seminary of Mertoyudan in Magelang to stay in his “pesantren” to experience the true “Indonesian diversity” in Dengkeng, Wedi, Klaten.
Earlier, he also hosted different catholic groups from the Catholic University of Atma Jaya in Yogyakarta, retreat and leadership program participants from the local catholic retreat house of Sangkal Putung in Klaten, some youth groups both from St. Mary Virgin the Mother of Christ from Wedi and some other Christian protestant communities.
“Together with other Muslim tolerant figures in Yogyakarta and Central Java, I am used to host such “interfaith live in program” to boost the spirit of tolerance and pluralism among the whole participants. This is not only a social gathering among the community leaders, but together with their respective community members, we are sitting together to discuss matters related with our true Indonesian diversity, to experience the fact of Indonesian diversity , to perform interfaith activities and to socialize with people without any social preference,” Kyai Susilo shares with Sesawi.Net days ago from Klaten in Central Java.
Experiencing the true “face” of the Indonesian pluralism and its diversity, explained Kyai Susilo, is not only practiced by Muslim leaders, but also involve his ‘santri’ (the Islamic students in the pesantren) and the local Muslim community.
“This happens naturally without any political designed manners to promote certain people for a marketing gimmick, but to promote interfaith spirit and to boost morale among local people to adopt the true Indonesian community: diversity. The spirit of egalitarianism is also boosted through these several of social gathering and programs,” he said.
This happens not only in the high level of social community, but it is mostly boosted and practiced among the grass-root level society.
Gathering and discussions with other interfaith communities are also frequently performed to “analyze” social phenomena in the society as he had practiced with some catholic priests in Semarang Archdiocese, Christian protestant pastors, Muslim clerics in Yogyakarta and Central Java.
Personal experiences
Simon Widodo, a social communication activist from Christ the King Parish Church in Benhil, Central Jakarta, confirms about the fruitful activity of any social interfaith gathering. He has personally ever chaired a small group of catholic youth from Bayat and Wedi to visit Kyai Susilo’s boarding school in Dengkeng in 2014.
“I was with 50 catholic young people from Bayat and Wedi to make a courtesy visit to Kyai Susilo’s pesantren to boost mutual understanding between young Catholics and his santri students. This visit was done during the month of Ramadan in 2014,” shared Widodo.
Early August 2016, scores of Jesuit seminarians from the High Institute of Philosophy Driyarkara School in Central Jakarta also performed their live in program in a local pesantren in Garut, Tasikmalaya in West Java. Together with local Muslim students in the local pesantren, these Jesuit seminarians were boosted their morale to work together in scores of activities including to do some agricultural works in the fields. “We learn from our muslim counterparts how to cultivate the soil,” explained Agung, a Jesuit seminarian in an internal social media mailing list.
“Our social gathering with our local Muslim students in Garut was very fruitful as they taught us how to show love and respect to the Earth (as morally fuelled by Laudato Si) while cultivating the soil, they perform some Islamic rituals by humming some Quran verses,” he continued.
Some university students from Sanata Dharma Yogyakarta have also performed this same program in a local Islamic pesantren in Garut.
Priests to experience the true Indonesian interfaith society
Speaking with Sesawi.Net earlier, the Rector of St. Paul High Seminary Yogyakarta Father Joseph Kristanto Suratman Pr confirmed the important mission of the practiced “live in” in the real social pluralistic society of Indonesia.
“I have personally endorsed our faculty program called SITI (Intensive Studies of Islam and Their Community) where scores of our diocesan major seminarians together with some theological protestant students to live in among Muslim communities,” the priest said.
“SITI is commonly practiced first with a live in program for 10 days where seminarians are expected to stay with local pesantren students. This program has been so fruitful to minimize unexpected “bad feelings” among Catholics and protestant people about their Muslim communities. The more they know each other, the more they share both in commons: the spirit of pluralism,” he added.
He strongly appreciates this program mostly to enhance seminarians’ strong respect to other different groups of communities in the real Indonesian society. “As candidates to priesthood, our seminarians are expected to have strong respect and love to their different groups –mostly Muslim communities—since we live in the predominantly muslim nation,” he said.
A Jesuit priest in expert in Islamology Fr. Heru Prakosa SJ confirmed that such a program has been practiced in the Catholic University of Sanata Dharma since 2009 to this present time.
AG Dwiyantoro, a diocesan priest from Purwokerto Diocese, wrote a story early this week that an interfaith social gathering has also just been performed in Purwokerto where Gusdurians –the tolerant Islamic community to promote peace among social community and adopt the name of “Gus Dur” referring the nickname of the nation’s number one interfaith icon the late President Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid) hosted a meeting among high figures from different religious group in Banyumas Regency.
From Manado in North Sulawesi Province, a MSC seminarian Stephanus Ardi Watuseke shared his by hands-on experience on live in program where an interfaith university students in Manado exchanged their “place of living” simultaneously.
It happened in April 2016 where major MSC seminarians from Pineleng were dispatched to stay in a local Muslim university campus, while at the same time some Muslim and protestant Christian student were expected to stay in their Pineleng Seminary. The program which took place six days aimed to promote the spirit of love, tolerance and strong respect on pluralism among different religious university students in Manado, North Sulawesi Province.
