Ramadhan peace

Seeding religious tolerance in Ramadhan

Mohamad Abdun Nasir*

It was on last Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. I was sitting on the chair, right in the front of the Emory university library’s lawn, waiting for Friday praying. Suddenly, the minaret of the campus chanted adzan, a call for praying very loudly. Every one passing through in the campus halts their step for a moment, turning their head to the place where the sound came from. It was of course a tremendous surprise, not only for me, as a Muslim, but also for the whole academia. What went on? None is unsurprised.

Previously, in the beginning of the fasting month (9/18), the weekly university’s newspaper, the Emory Wheel, carried a headline to welcome Ramadhan. It also ran two veiled Muslim female student pictures on its front-page, making it more heartedly touching. A few days later, in the university center, Muslim Student Association held a breakfasting. What do all these mean?

These consecutive events were not incidental. They were all well prepared and fully supported by the university. The university is much aware of its status as an international hosting high education institution. There are approximately a thousand new international students coming from, according to the data of intentional student office, more than eighty countries. Therefore, such events were partly aimed among other things at creating a peacefully inter religious community and maintain multicultural society within an academic milieu.

All freshmen bring their own mind-set comprising of various norms, faiths, traditions and different academic background and field of studies. This complex situation can bring about dilemma if no prudent and wise policies are taken into consideration. Of these factors, religion is still seen as the most significant element of human being creating worldview and ethos that can lead in this new situation into inconveniencies, misunderstandings or even troublesome if not well managed. Therefore, accommodating religious observances is one of the best ways to eradicate prejudices and prevent potencies of hostility among people of different faith. Once such a sphere can be created, solidarity and tolerance will be strongly established.

Did the university seek to please to Muslim students? The answer is of course yes. For me chanting adzan in this private university is unthinkable, something beyond my imagination, but it did happen. This can invoke a deep psychological emotion that can change the perception about religious life here. How beautiful life is if such a thing happens, especially in our country in which inter religious conflicts and violence still become the most serious and major threat of social interaction.

But why did the university do so? There could be a hidden, economical, political or perhaps psychological, agenda by giving full supports behind all these events. It could be, but I believe their agenda is much directed on psychological devotion. If they did it in terms of economical point of view, then it seems so silly. Because the number of Muslim student is very small, compared to the total number of the students.

By acknowledging and accommodating Muslim student activities into its inseparable part, the university thus dispels disparities and subsequently creates favorable impression and forges Muslim student’s sense of belonging to it. As a result, they never feel as strangers, discredited or being away from home since their basic need of spirituality are fulfilled and integrated into the university’s agenda. They feel nowhere, but at their own home.

Perhaps the adzan was only chanted at once, or become an annual rite to mark and respect Ramadhan, or even will be never heard again. But the impression is so deep that is difficult to throw it away. When listening to the adzan at that time, my feeling was so cheerful and almost could not help to drop my tears. It is really worth remembering for it was, according to the people here, the first time the adzan was voiced in the university since its establishment in 1836. More surprisingly is that the university holds religious affiliation with the Christian Methodist. If people of different religion trust and esteem each other, giving a proportional chance and space to observe their religious rituals and expressions freely, I do believe, mutual trust will emerge among them.

At this point, two things are in fact grasped together at once by the university that is student’s religious freedom and psychological stability, two things playing most important role in obtaining successful degree of studying abroad.

This approach could become a role model in establishing religious tolerance in our country. The ways and methods do not necessarily mean to be always exactly the same, because of different socio-historical setting. The theories can be formulated in accordance with their own challenges. Universities or colleges as high education institutions should initiate this process by at least reorienting religious teaching method and reforming curriculum that encourage toward religious tolerance and mutual understanding. Because campus inhabitants are civilized, well-educated people, and rationale human being who must be non-violence, putting dialogue at first rather than physical quarrels whenever disputes confront them. It needs time indeed to realize it, but when will do we start, if not now. Ramadhan should become a turning point to change it.

The government should also give full support to this idea, providing all structural and infra structural tools in realizing it. Make Indonesians feel save to do their services at their own country. If this succeeds, we will never listen again a shameful story about a group of people who sought for asylum abroad just because they could not able to observe their belief freely. That was a blatant sign of the government’s failure in protecting citizens and in making them feel psychologically comfortable to live in their own land.