Author : Fera Indasari (Lecturer at Raden Fatah State Islamic University, Palembang)
Indonesia is a country with a variety of religions and cultures, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika as a motto that delivers Indonesia as a country full of tolerance is still not able to eradicate the tolerance crisis that exists in Indonesia, many conflicts occurred between religious communities, that has resulted in in harmonious relationships in communities with different cultural and religious backgrounds. As we know, the religions recognized by the Indonesian government today include Islam, Christianity, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism, and with the diversity of cultures and religions people in Indonesia are accustomed to living side by side and accepting one another. But in reality, it is not enough to form a high tolerance between religious communities.
Since, the unavoidable plurality in the world, religious diversity exists in Indonesia both culturally and religiously which should be appreciated, because Indonesia has shown that in the midst of diversity and differences in perspective, Indonesia is able to run religious life and governance in a balanced manner. It should be in a religious society that humans have goals and guidelines to have an attitude of mutual compassion and love instead of the opposite (attacking and hurting each other).
Inter-religious conflicts in Indonesia should be minimized if there is a good understanding of religious moderation, but due to the lack of understanding of the people in Indonesia about religious moderation, as a material to continue to increase tolerance, cases involving differences in views between religious believers become more vulnerable. According to Yunus in his research entitled Religious Conflict in Indonesia Problems and Solutions (2014) stated that conflict between religious communities is as old as the religious community itself, in the sense that as long as humans adhere to certain religions, the possibility of conflict between religious communities will always exist, therefore to overcome this it is necessary to understand the basics that can make people realize the importance of understanding religious moderation for mutual harmony.
In addition to the major problems highlighted by the public such as the case of disputes over private houses in Aceh in 2015, the Poso clash in 2000 which claimed many victims, the Tanjung Balai conflict in 2016 which destroyed several private houses, the Sampang conflict in 2004 which involved differences in religious views, inter-religious conflicts in Papua and a number of other inter-religious conflicts that do not look like a high level of justification and feel that the religion they adhere to is the most correct religion and others are not.
There are several triggers in inter-religious conflict, including binding truth claims, where every religious adherent feels that what is taught by his religion is the most correct and cannot be tolerated, even though the religious adherent does not really explore the teachings of his religion more broadly so that an attitude arises that feels higher and forces his understanding to also be adopted by others, Thus, there are several things that are considered to undermine tolerance, including absolutism (intellectual arrogance), exclusivism (social arrogance), fanaticism (emotional arrogance), extremism (excessive) aggressiveness (excessive to physical action) (Yunus, 2014).
The government’s program to form a high tolerance character among religious communities by conducting socialization of materials related to religious moderation is the right policy, the government’s policy providing an understanding of religious moderation will provide appropriate values and practices for the sake of national unity and integrity by increasing moderate, fair and balanced attitudes within each religious community as citizens of Indonesia.
The character of tolerance itself is an attitude and action regarding respect for differences, whether religious, tribal, ethnic, opinions, attitudes and actions of other people who are different from one another (Syafri, 2014). Furthermore, Hasyim also said that tolerance is the provision of freedom to fellow humans to carry out what they believe is right as long as it does not conflict with the rules of peace in society (1979). In addition, Supriyanto et al (2017) stated several indicators that can be used as reference material in the socialization of religious moderation regarding increasing attitudes of tolerance in society as follows:
- Care
- Love
- Mutual respect
- Respect differences with one another
- Self-respect
- Appreciate the kindness of others regardless of the inherent differences in cultural background, religion, ethnicity, and so on.
- Open
- Convenience in life
- And comfort in society
Indicators in building tolerance are very important to be understood and implemented by all Indonesian citizens who live amidst diversity, both religion and behavior that is motivated by cultural factors. If socialization regarding religious moderation can pressure the community to implement it, the crisis of tolerance will be minimized and conflict between religions or cultures in Indonesia can also be overcome, this will be a foundation for people’s attitude to relate to each other, and in the end, the motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika can remain the motto that characterizes Indonesian citizens amidst the existing diversity.
References
Hasyim, Umar. 1979. Toleransi dan Kemerdekaan Beragama dalam Islam sebagai Dasar Menuju Dialog dan Kerukunan Antar Umat Beragama.
Surabaya: Bina Ilmu Syafri, Ulil Amri. 2014. Pendidikan Karakter Berbasi Al-Quran. Jakarta: Rajawali Pers
Yunus. M.F. 2014. Konflik Agama di Indonesia Problem dan Solusi Pemecahannya. Substantial journal. Vol 16 No . Oktober
Nasional Kompas. 2022. PBNU Beberkan Kenapa Konflik Agama di Indonesia tidak Pernah Selesai. Di akses pada tanggan 3 Desember 2021, pukul 12.48 (https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2021/10/12/1856 5321/pbnu-beberkan-kenapa-konflik-agamadi-indonesia-tak-pernah-selesai-dikirim)