Lilian Budianto, Jakarta – Violence is not rooted in Islam or any other religion, but is often linked to religions by those seeking to further their own political and economic interests, an interfaith seminar heard here Thursday.
The one-day event was co-hosted by the New York-based Church Work Service (CWS) and the Communication Forum for Jakarta Christians (FKKJ) to promote interreligious dialogue in the predominantly Muslim Indonesia.
Ruth Wangkai, a Protestant priest who is pursuing her doctorate in Islamology at the Southeast Asian Graduate School of Theology in Yogyakarta, said most communal conflicts were rooted in social injustice or economic disparity, not religious tensions.
However, she said these conflicts often seemed to be sparked by religious sentiments because that was the most observable factor, and because religious issues were often exploited for politically driven purposes.
The seminar was held amid the ongoing debate over the anti-Islam film Fitna by Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders. The film has sparked outrage in Muslim and some Western nations, including the Netherlands.
The 17-minute movie equates Islam with violence, featuring violent imagery of terrorist attacks in New York and Madrid intermixed with Koranic verses.
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said the film did not represent the views of the Western world, and expressed regret the film had been aired. Ruth said the decision by Wilders to produce and air the film should be seen as a political maneuver instead of simply a religious attack.
"He must have considered the political impact he would receive by making such a movie, and only he himself knows what he is actually expecting," she said.
Wilders told AFP in a recent interview that he was seeking to stop Islamization by banning the immigration of people from Muslim countries to the Netherlands, which he said had resulted in cultural tensions. The Dutch Freedom Party leader claimed he had no particular hatred toward Muslim nations.
Father Benny Susetyo of the Indonesian Bishops Council (KWI), speaking at Thursday's seminar, said religion was often made a scapegoat in any communal tension and conflict by people seeking political gain.
He said although theological misinterpretations and religious misperceptions could lead to societal friction, it would not turn into violence unless fueled by economic and political injustice or manipulated by political elite.
"We agree all religions teach us peace but it will be deprived of our life when people no longer see justice, truth and freedom," he said. "We cannot preach peace to people suffering injustice."
Benny said the government should create prosperity and uphold justice for everybody in order to ensure peace among followers of different religions. "If justice and prosperity are secured, people will not easily be exploited and distorted by the reading of religious dogma."
Confucian priest Rip Tock said, "We should avoid discriminating against followers of a certain religion because of their theological differences." "Everybody claiming themselves to be religious must demonstrate their religious tolerance to those from other beliefs. This will avoid unnecessary tensions," he said.