The Jakarta Post, March 26, 2007
Interfaith sleep-overs help heal Ambon's wounds
M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon
Dozens of Christian priests were worried when their church assigned them to spend
the night in pesantren Islamic boarding schools and 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 hold 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.
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