Apart from the hundreds of different ethnic speaking different languages within its archipelago, Indonesia has 5 official religions: Islam, Christianity, Catholicism, Hindu and Buddha. Therefore, Indonesia’s state motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Sanskrit) meaning “University” – Unity in Diversity, really has to be uphold dearly during its nation building period which could take more than two centuries as in case of the United States which has not grown up yet – as shown by the fact that they never had a female or non-white president, until Barack Obama.
While racial issues concerning Chinese foreign population, Ambonese and Papuan Dutch supporters, Javanese and Madurese migrants, etc. have not been completely sorted out; religion diversity has become a new challenge during the difficult time post the prolonging monetary, financial, economic and social crises.
The tension between its Muslim and Christian populations has reached its critical points, not only because missionary churches built in a 100% Muslim housing complex, or missionary activities targeting poor Muslim families, but also Christian private schools forcing Christianity RE on their Muslim students. IMHO the last case was absolute stupidity on behalf of the Muslim parents sending their students to expensive Christian private schools, while Islamic private schools are available in abundant with excellent quality as well.
It is not easy to create harmony – not to mention unity – among the religious diversity, but it is actually not as impossible just like what John Lennon wrote implicitly in his song Imagine :
Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say that I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say that I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one.
The song is just for intermezzo, so that you can be relaxed a bit in reading whatever I’m going to write here. Because it is actually parents’ human right to send their children to any school that they think would be the best for their children education, we cannot tell these confused parents to be more pragmatic in their selection. On the other hand it is also unfair to burden Christian schools by asking them to hire a Muslim RE teacher to cater their minority Muslim students need.
My suggestion is to ban any exclusive religious teaching – theory and practice – at any school. RE should be taught as inclusive as possible, covering all the 5 official state religions. Doing this all the children will learn to appreciate other religious teachings. From this young age appreciation and understanding, children will be able to respect and accept others having different religions than themselves. Once they respect each other, harmony will come automatically. With social harmony, it will be easy – or at least less difficult – for the Government to promote unity.
While this idea is just daydreaming notion, I would like to try to create harmony and eventually unity among the 5 official religious population of Indonesia by writing about the roots that connect all the 5 state official religions into one.
The root of Judaism, Christianity and Islam can clearly be traced from Prophet Abraham PBUH (Peace be upon him). His great grand children from Sarah – the first wife – made up the Jewish population of today. From Prophet Isaac PBUH arrived great prophets of Solomon PBUH, David PBUH, Moses PBUH, and Jesus PBUH. While, his great grand children from Hagar – the second wife – made up the Arab population of today. No great prophet descended from Prophet Ismael PBUH, until the greatest last prophet of Muhammad PBUH. Therefore it is downright stupidity that the Jewish and Arab population have to fight over Palestine, while they are all originated from the same great prophet of Abraham PBUH. Anyway, it’s actually politics that split them apart.
What politics? Apartheid? Racism? Well, it is a well known fact that Jews do not consider other human races as equal, and name them as Gentiles. Christians, knowing that Jesus PBUH is a 100% Jew who was circumcised and did not consume pork, still broke all the rules by eating pork and rejecting circumcision, just because the Romans told them that Jesus PBUH died to pay for all their sins. Hence, it is free for any Christians to commit any sins, as Jesus PBUH paid their sins in advance with his life. No wonder, adultery, alcohol abuse, gambling, and so on – you name it! – are so rampant among Christians. Can’t they see that this is just an excuse to avoid retaliation due to the Romans had their hand dirty with the crucifixion? It is so illogical that sins can be transferred from one to another, even if they are from the riches and nobles to the peasants involving some transfer fee – just like footballers 
. Therefore the conflict of Israel-Palestine will not be resolved until the Israelis can accept the Arabs as equal human being.
I’m sorry to have written out of context, my excuse for you to forgive me is that the above complains are actually the truth and the only truth. Anyway, let’s return to investigating the roots of all the 5 religions. We have pointed out that between Islam and Christianity (both Catholicism and Protestant) the connecting roots are very clear:
(1) all the prophets in Christianity (and Judaism) are respected as true God’s prophets by Muslims. In my experience, most Christians do not know or are confused about their prophets and hence the seemingly non respecting attitudes towards them. This is probably emphasized by the slightly ‘immoral’ stories about them in the Bible. Again, please, I am trying to be objective here. At least they admit the existence of Adam PBUH, Noah PBUH, Abraham PBUH, Solomon PBUH, David PBUH, Joseph PBUH, Moses PBUH, John PBUH and Jesus PBUH – but not their prophethoods.
(2) in one of the Hindiusm religions, Brahma (Brahmeen), is taken as a form of God in the shape of men, the idea is slightly confusing, but the point is Prophet Abrahan PBUH once traveled through India and did some baptizing bath in the Gangga River, a tradition that is kept up to now.
(3) Many Muslim scholars believe that surah At-Tien is actually comparing the spiritual experience enjoyed by three great prophets: Buddha Gautama PBUH (under the tree of Tien), Jesus PBUH (under the tree of Zaitun) and Moses PBUH (on the mountain of Tursina). At least, I still remember the khatib of a Friday Prayer at a mosque in Colombo, reinstated this opinion.
(4) According to both Nahdatul Ulama (traditionalist) and Muhammadiyah (modernist), Shia belongs to Islam. Many prayers done by NU followers are praising the Ahlil Bayt. While the leader of the majority school of tought in Indonesia, Imam Syafii himself, clearly showed his love toward the Ahlil Bayt. Personally, I found that most of them are very religious, they go to Mecca for pilgrimage, and I haven’t found a modern leader with integrity as high as the humble Shiite Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Unfortunately, he has a big mouth about Israel which financially, militarily, politically is the US last state in Middle East. Well, nobody’s perfect, even a prophet can make mistakes.
(5) Ahmadiyyah is not Muslim, but Ahmadi. This is due to the fact that they are now taking Ghulam Ahmad as their last prophet, even though Ghulam himself never proclaimed his prophethood. They go to pilgrimage in India or Pakistan, depending on their branches, but not to Mecca. This in part is a history made by the British colonialism in India, so the head quarter of such misleading organisation must be established somewhere in the UK, if not in London, its capital city.
