Sagara Kusuma, Jakarta – Whether you are Muslim, Catholic, Buddhist or an agnostic Indonesian student, today you can be a part of any clique. Barring high school drama, students now make friends and help each other out regardless of faith and religious beliefs.
At least this was the message gleaned from a discussion at the British School Jakarta on Sept. 9 at the inaugural Inspire Me conference, which featured slogans such as "internationalism through nationalism" and "nationalism and tolerance".
The students invited Yenny Wahid, daughter of former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, who quoted her father's teachings, "it does not matter what religious beliefs you hold [...] if you can do something good for everyone, no one will ask about your religion."
She also cited the nation's motto, bhinneka tunggal ika (unity in diversity) and struck a chord with students like Samantha Fitzgerald, 13, a student of SMPK2 Penabur, suggesting that the children must become "soldiers of love with bullets of compassion". Yenny questioned whether the new generation could "get rid of religious prejudice".
Samantha said she "never saw intolerance or prejudice as having a big role in [her] life," and was shocked to learn that she will later be forced to identify with a religion on her KTP (ID card).
"I never realized how big a deal the religious identification is on our KTP and passports. To be honest, I don't know what I'll do when I have to get a KTP." She said her parents encouraged her to learn the best from all faiths.
The speeches from the conference also touched on the upcoming Jakarta gubernatorial race, where opponents of the incumbent Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama say Muslims should not vote for Ahok, a Christian.
Katherine Rhone, 15, from the Jakarta Intercultural School, said she was confused as to why religion should matter to political candidates. "The religious affiliation of political leaders shouldn't matter to citizens," she said.
Aminah Shreve, 16, of the British School Jakarta said the students at her school had "tons of friends of different religions, and [they] all get along; religion doesn't get in the way of that."
Aminah said, "my generation has been more exposed to different religions through social media and news." While this younger generation has become more aware of different faiths, wide exposure has also made them "ready to ignore false information and exaggerations from people like [US presidential candidate] Donald Trump", she said.
Whether influenced by social media, the evolution of tolerance or freedom of the press, the youth today seem to "exist peacefully and contribute as much as they can to Indonesia without fear that they're going to be judged for their beliefs", Katherine said.
Indonesia's youth delegate to Unesco and the granddaughter of Mohammad Hatta, Gustika Jusuf Hatta, attended the event and said the students made her feel "very secure about Indonesia's future". She studies history and warfare at London's King's College.
Other event attendees and speakers were British Ambassador to Indonesia Moazzam Malik, former foreign minister and permanent Indonesian delegate to the UN Marty Natalegawa, former military commander Gen. Moeldoko and former environment minister Nabiel Makarim.
[The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post.]
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/09/17/students-surprised-religious-discrimination.html