Monday, October 18, 2010

Stand Up Against Radicals

 Most Muslims in Indonesia adopt moderate ways of thinking and living, in the sense that they adapt with local traditions and customs, and tolerate differences with people from other religions.

This can be seen from the fact that two of the largest Muslim organizations in Indonesia, i.e. Nahdathul Ulama and Muhammadiyah are moderates.

Unfortunately, this majority tend to be very silent compared to the very few minority i.e. fanatic people  who are very vocal in expressing themselves i.e. all Muslims should think and live exactly the same way as those in countries with authoritarian regimes like Saudi Arabia. Their females wear dresses that close every parts of their bodies except for their eyes, while their men wear beard and short cut trousers.

Personally, I don't really care what other people think or do, as long as they do not bother other people.

The problem with these fanatics is that they tend to force others to follow them. Some of them would not hesitate to act violently and chaotically, some are even willing to kill others who are different from them.

The saddest thing is that the government and law enforcement agencies tend to be silent and almost do nothing.
Considering this fact, I was rather surprised and very glad when I read the news that Vice President Boediono has urged Indonesians to stand up against those radicals.

Please find below an article about this that I have quoted from The Jakarta Globe. 

Indonesian Vice President: Stand Up Against Radicals
Ulma Haryanto & Anita Rachman | October 18, 2010

Jakarta. Vice President Boediono has received cautious praise after calling on the “silent majority” to take a stand against a growing radicalism that he describes as threatening to take the country down a path of destruction.

“Once we allow radicalism to take over our way of thinking, it will lead us toward destruction,” the vice president said in a speech on Saturday at the opening of the Global Peace Leadership Conference, organized by Nahdlatul Ulama.  READ MORE ..

Photo: Courtesy of Wharton

11 comments:

Nice Veloso said...

Interestingly this matter.It's great to know about the culture of another country. Now I'm following you on Twitter: @ nicevelosoya

ReBorn said...

there is no more inter-religious tolerance in a place where i live. I've had enough with the clash between this belief. government should reacting more to solve this issue. yet, this is a good news.

colson said...

I believe Boediono(and Multibrand) are the genuine Indonesia of sense and moderation :) !

(I really hope Boediono's encouraging words - which are in accordance with his reputation- will be followed by acts to put the intolerant opponents in their place)

TUKANG CoLoNG said...

kayak semboyan pesta blogger, meriahnya keberagaman. beragam dalama agama juga.:)

Ferdinand said...

smoga gak terjadi anarki di tanggal 20 bsk.... masa Presiden milih2 sendiri ... sekarang gak suka dan mau demo besar2an.... mending biarin aja SBY nyelesain masa jabatannya... berbeda itu indah.....apalagi soal agama... kayanya bukan perang solusinya....

Sukses slalu Sob..

boyin said...

as long as the majority of indonesian does not prosperous, this kind of thing will raise on the new format.

Unknown said...

And many of these people wish to adopt Sharia law as well. A man had his hand amputated in Iran, I think, for stealing. I am told that the Muslim religion is a peaceful religion, but some societies confuse their culture with their religion, and their acts are not support by the Quran.

dee said...

yah.. the vice president was right.. if we allowing liberalism to control our nation,, it's gonna be disaster.

Thanks 4 share Multibrand! Sukses sll H. Nizam:) always keep in touch

Unknown said...

behavior of concern ..

wah sori lambat respon sob...artikel anda bagus bagus...sukses ye slm

Unknown said...

@Nice Veloso,
I am glad you like my blog, thank you for following on Twitter.

@Reborn,
Let's be positive and hope that things will improve soon.

@Colson,
Yes let's hope that this is not some sort of NATO (no action talk only), otherwise things would get worse.

@TUKANG CoLoNG,
Iya, harusnya Bhineka Tunggal Eka bukan sekedar semboyan belaka.

@Ferdinand,
Tepat sekali, biarkanlah hasil pilihan lebih dari 60% pemilih bekerja sampai akhir masa jabatan.

@Boyin,
I agree that the root of this and most problems in Indonesia is deep rooted poverty plus injustice and weak law enforcement.

@Peter/Kiwi,
Islam is a peaceful religion, things became bad if there are people who wrongly interpreted it for their own agenda.

@Dee,
Let's hope that things will get better very soon.
Thank you for the kind words.

Unknown said...

@ASPemusik,
Terima kasih atas pujian anda.