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2.
INTERFAITH SLEEP-OVERS HELP HEAL AMBON'S WOUNDS
Dozens
of Christian priests were worried when their church assigned them to spend
the night in pesantren Islamic boarding schools and the homes of
Muslim residents in Ambon, Maluku.
They
were still haunted by frightening images from when the area was rocked by
sectarian conflict in 1999. The violence, which continued on and off until
2002, left thousands of Muslims and Christians dead as well as forcing
hundreds of thousands of others to flee their homes.
The
Maluku Protestant Church (GPM) recently instructed 40 clergymen to spend
the night with other religious communities as part of the so-called
live-in program, a course designed to enhance their capacities as
clergymen organized by the GPM synod.
As
part of the program, participants stayed in Islamic pesantren,
Catholic monasteries and in Muslim resident's homes. Traumatized by the
conflict, some suggested to the synod that the live-in period be limited
from morning until evening.
However,
Rev. Jacky Manuputty and Muslim cleric Ustad Abidin Wakano from the Maluku
Inter-faith Council, which initiated the program, convinced participants
that staying with a community of another faith was something they no
longer had to be afraid of.
"It's
useless to talk about pluralism, trust building and holding inter-faith
dialogues if we lack confidence to break through the barriers of religious
difference," said Manuputty.
He
recalled during a trip to Batumerah, a predominately Muslim area in Ambon,
clergymen busily calling their worried families at home. "When the
condition in Ambon returned to normal, people only interacted in public
places. They had never experienced the feeling of staying the night in the
homes of those from different faiths. We purposely initiated the live-in
program to break the ice and eliminate the sense of suspicion," he
said.
However,
after staying a night in a Muslim or Catholic home, the clerics were not
satisfied. "A night is too short and not enough," said Rev.
Douglas Aponno, who spent the night at the Ahuru pesantren, led by
H. Thaib.
He
said that initially he felt insecure because during the conflict Ahuru was
the scene of fierce fighting in which more than 500 homes and places of
worship were gutted by fire. He said he imagined strange things about the pesantren
before going there, but the moment he set foot inside and held discussions
with its members, he felt a cordial atmosphere and his sense of mistrust
disappeared.
Wenno,
a female reverend who stayed at the home of Muslim activist Mariam
Sangadji in Kebun Cengkih, Batumerah, had initially felt worried because
Batumerah is an area dominated by Muslims.
However,
her worries were put at ease when she learned Mariam had many Christian
friends who frequently visited. "Mariam has a good relationship with
many Christian activists. The amiable atmosphere at her home made me feel
at ease," she said.
Priests
who stayed in the Muslim community said that Ambon Muslims had a similar
desire to forge dialogues with the Christian community. They had invited
the clerics to stay with them again.
Leader
of the Rumahtiga Parish, Rev. Alex Uhy, had the opportunity to stay at the
Catholic monastery in Mardika. He was impressed with the spirituality of
the brothers. "They greet each other like brothers. There is no
senior or junior," said Alex.
GPM
synod head Rev. John Ruhulessin said religious leaders played an important
role in the relationship between faiths. He said he had a good rapport
with the head of the Maluku chapter of the Indonesian Ulema's Council and
Amboina Diocese Bishop Mgr. P.C. Mandagi, but he felt that grass roots
dialogue was still limited.
Ruhulessin
was impressed with the efforts of clergymen to build direct dialogue with
the Muslim and Catholic communities. He hoped the clerics would use the
live-in experience as a means to spearhead dialogue at the congregation
level. (The Jakarta Post, 26/3/2007)
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