The Asahi Shimbun, December 03, 2005
In Ambon, a mosque bind once-bitter foes
By TAKESHI FUJITANI, The Asahi Shimbun
AMBON, Indonesia--While Muslims and Christians in the Maluku islands of Indonesia
today live in fear of each other, hope springs eternal that some day they can once
again be peaceful neighbors.
Their fears are a legacy of three years of violent religious conflict that have left about
6,000 peop! le dead since 1999.
In Ambon, cooperation is returning. Muslims and Christians have put their differences
aside to reconstruct a mosque together.
The two groups are upholding a tradition of mutual aid that their ancestors began five
centuries ago. The decision to work together has given district leaders hope that the
communities can peacefully coexist.
Both Christians and Muslims formerly lived in Batu Merah, a district in Ambon.
However, under threat of death, the Christians fled, making Batu Merah now
predominantly Muslim.
The An Nur Mosque in Batu Merah is Ambon's oldest, and evening prayers are held
there daily in the Ramadan period.
In that mosque, work to refurbish and expand the building continues, in part funded by
Christians from the Paso district, about 15 kilometers away. In addition, dozens of
residents from the Christian district travel regularly to the mosque to help with the
project.
"Thanks to the Christians in Paso, work on the mosque is going smoothly," said
Salim, 52, one of the site's caretakers.
An intriguing tale of basic human caring and cooperation inspired the efforts. About
500 years ago, so the story goes, a boat filled with people from Paso overturned at
sea, threatening all aboard with drowning. A ship from Batu Merah came to the
rescue, and many souls were saved that day.
Since that time, the two districts have continued to come to each other's aid, holding
fast to a feeling of being "sister districts."
"It has always been accepted that Christians would help build the mosques and
Muslims would help build churches," said Theresia Maitem, 59, a leader from Paso.
When religious conflict broke out across Ambon in January 1999, it soon spread.
About 500,000 people took refuge on other islands. It wasn't until February 2002 that
leaders of the two groups signed a peace accord, effectively ending the attacks.
Yet, despite leaders' best efforts, residents belonging to both groups are still
mistrustful; little exchange goes on between them.
In fact, about 40,000 refugees from Ambon still live on Sulawesi and Java islands,
unable to return safely to their former homes.
Since the violence, most Muslims and Christians are segregated. Few say they would
return to their old homes because they would be in the minority.
But now leaders around the Malukus, including Ambon Mayor Yopie Max Papilaya,
are trying to encourage a similar trend toward cooperation and tolerance.
"I want to once again see a community where people of different religions can live
together," he said. (IHT/Asahi: December 3,2005)
Copyright 2005 © The Asahi Shimbun Company.All rights reserved.
|
