I am Roman Catholic. (Granted I am not the typical Catholic just as there is no typical Buddhist or Muslim.) I say this not to offend but rather as an indicator of my position in the world, my social orientation, my worldview. I happen to be Catholic because I accept certain truths about myself and my relation to the world to be true. This is a source of my self-understanding, but not my only source, and I learn through interactions with every person I meet.
We are never alone in the world but always in relation to someone else we can know in compassion and friendship if only we try.
Though the streets are emptier this time of year because of IDUL FITRI (cf.EID al-FITR or LEBARAN, meaning festival of breaking of the sawm or fast in Indonesian), which marks the end of the month of Ramadan, Jakarta remains very active spiritually. Millions of “Jakartans” head to their hometowns and villages to be with family (MUDIK) and yet the people’s faith and goodheartedness remains in the city.
A story from last week I hope illustrates what I mean
Last week I grabbed a cab at 2 AM after the Euro 2016 match between Spain and Italy. The driver asked me, “And Indonesia? What do you think?” Drivers love asking this question as soon as you get comfortable, but I hadn’t even finished adjusting my seatbelt.
“Indonesians are the friendliest people I’ve ever met,” I responded.
“It’s because we’re Muslim,” he replied quickly. “Islam unites us.”
I sat back in silence. I thought about it for a bit and realized that it could be true, but I wasn’t sold. Curiously enough a brigade of twenty or so young men and women on motorcycles blocked the main streets of MENTENG, CENTRAL JAKARTA. They waved huge black and red flags with slogans printed in giant handwritten font.
I asked the driver, “What is this? A demo politik?” in my broken Indonesian.
“No, no, no — It’s nothing. It’s a call to eat. We won’t be able to eat much longer. You know — PUASA (fasting) — we have to fast.”
Then the driver asked me about Christianity because I told him earlier that I was Catholic. “How often do Christians go to church?”
“Not often. Most Christians I think just go on Sundays to be honest, especially in the west. Not good, huh? Sometimes just for Christmas or Easter.” He shook his head and chuckled. “I mean, that’s not true of all Christians, but it’s about right.”
“What is the difference between Catholics and Protestants?” he asked.
“It’s largely a matter of biblical interpretation and hierarchy. People want to hold on to the truth and claim it as theirs.”
We were arriving at my apartment complex and I could see my driver really thinking this through. I never got a response from him. I got a gregarious selamat pagi, but that was about it.
Though the streets are emptier this time of year because of IDUL FITRI (cf.EID al-FITR or LEBARAN, meaning festival of breaking of the sawm or fast in Indonesian), which marks the end of the month of Ramadan, Jakarta remains very active spiritually. Millions of “Jakartans” head to their hometowns and villages to be with family (MUDIK) and yet the people’s faith and goodheartedness remains in the city.
A story from last week I hope illustrates what I mean
Last week I grabbed a cab at 2 AM after the Euro 2016 match between Spain and Italy. The driver asked me, “And Indonesia? What do you think?” Drivers love asking this question as soon as you get comfortable, but I hadn’t even finished adjusting my seatbelt.
“Indonesians are the friendliest people I’ve ever met,” I responded.
“It’s because we’re Muslim,” he replied quickly. “Islam unites us.”
I sat back in silence. I thought about it for a bit and realized that it could be true, but I wasn’t sold. Curiously enough a brigade of twenty or so young men and women on motorcycles blocked the main streets of MENTENG, CENTRAL JAKARTA. They waved huge black and red flags with slogans printed in giant handwritten font.
I asked the driver, “What is this? A demo politik?” in my broken Indonesian.
“No, no, no — It’s nothing. It’s a call to eat. We won’t be able to eat much longer. You know — PUASA (fasting) — we have to fast.”
Then the driver asked me about Christianity because I told him earlier that I was Catholic. “How often do Christians go to church?”
“Not often. Most Christians I think just go on Sundays to be honest, especially in the west. Not good, huh? Sometimes just for Christmas or Easter.” He shook his head and chuckled. “I mean, that’s not true of all Christians, but it’s about right.”
“What is the difference between Catholics and Protestants?” he asked.
“It’s largely a matter of biblical interpretation and hierarchy. People want to hold on to the truth and claim it as theirs.”
We were arriving at my apartment complex and I could see my driver really thinking this through. I never got a response from him. I got a gregarious selamat pagi, but that was about it.
Upon further reflection I learned something from my cab ride that night despite my disappointment over Spain’s loss. I learned that we are not alone in our personal journeys to understand ourselves in relation to others. Just as I was interested about learning from other faith traditions and cultures in my own way, the cab driver too wanted to learn something from me. What sometimes disappoints me, however, is that people in the west associate this with research findings. (This is the cause for ORIENTALISM, but we need not go there.) However, this is life plain and simple.
In an increasingly polarized world we must begin to observe our surroundings not in fear of what can happen next but rather in compassion and friendship to understand why the world is the way it is. The answers may not always be clear cut or satisfactory, but it is the only hope we have to improve our current social and political situations.
In an increasingly polarized world we must begin to observe our surroundings not in fear of what can happen next but rather in compassion and friendship to understand why the world is the way it is. The answers may not always be clear cut or satisfactory, but it is the only hope we have to improve our current social and political situations.
*I first wrote this on my Medium page before posting here.