It has become a truth that the ASEAN community consists of various cultures, ethnicities and beliefs. Understanding the ASEAN community is clearly inseparable from the differences that exist. In this case, trust that grows and develops becomes part of the community inherent in their lives.
ASEAN became a gathering area and the development of a number of beliefs through trade channels and through colonization in the past. But basically, the ASEAN community itself has existed and has developed a number of beliefs since hundreds or thousands of years before, even its existence continues to be maintained as in indigenous peoples who have faith in nature.
In the past, a School of Peace (SOP) program carried out by the Interfaith Coordinator Forum (ICF) involved 15 participants from the Asian region, dominated by participants from the Southeast Asian region. The activity which was held for three months at Seam Reap, Cambodia has a focus on justice and peace by looking at the differences in beliefs held by the community, especially those in the ASEAN region. The author himself became one of the participants in the program. This activity itself is an interesting program in seeing the diversity of the ASEAN community.
Talking about religion and belief can lead to a number of differences and similarities. Religion and belief itself is an identity of the community or personal self. As an identity, sometimes religion and trust can cause conflict. Then the conflict led to the understanding that religion was the cause of the conflict, which then led to cynicism between religious groups and existing beliefs. At this stage, then the conflict will expand and involve many masses by arguing to defend their religion and beliefs. However, the religion and beliefs that exist basically never teach hatred and hostility. Religion and belief are born from the value of harmonization that is pure in seeing the relationship between humans and humans, humans and nature, and humans with God.
Interfaith Dialogue
The process of deep understanding between religions may not be enough to only be done in seminar rooms or meetings. Similarly, efforts to create a harmonious life are not only enough with tolerance, but the most important aspect is attachment. The extent to which everyone or a group feels part of another group. Like what has been kept up to now, “everyone’s brother”. Dialogue should return to its basic essence of bringing together people in the private sphere, who are more familial in nature and are more concerned with not arguing.
So far, it is possible that interfaith conflicts are trapped in a false understanding or it can be said that understanding is completely wrong. This arises because of a lack of deep and complete understanding of different religions and beliefs. To make matters worse, the process of understanding the understanding in the form of dialogue activities carried out in the seminar room which took two and three hours and has been claimed as a process that is considered sufficient in understanding the differences between religions and beliefs. If it returns to the notion of dialogue, it is a listening process that cannot be resolved in a short time. There is a long process that must be passed to then draw conclusions. In dialogue, everyone must come with a sincere heart and mind. Everyone involved is not looking for reproach, but rather understanding why there are differences. From there then gives birth to a correct understanding. Here, what is equally important is that each person must be able to cultivate a sense of empathy in him, thus giving birth to a feeling of mutual respect based on love.
Engagement: Tolerance is not enough
Indonesia has long argued that in developing a harmonious and peaceful society, we must live in tolerance. Between one community and another community respect and eliminate existing barriers. It seems that tolerance has become a part of people’s lives. But the question that arises is whether tolerance is enough? To what extent does tolerance last if it does not encourage everyone to be bound to one another in a more harmonious life?
By looking at the various conflicts that have arisen in the ASEAN region, including in Indonesia, in the name of religion it seems necessary to emphasize that the conflict is not based on religion. Conflict community groups do not necessarily represent a particular religion. This needs to be clarified, including in the news by the mass media which easily gives labels to certain religious groups in the case of conflicts that occur.
On one occasion, the author visited Cilacap Regency. The district city located in Central Java has diversity in religion and belief. Not only are religions recognized in the law but there are also beliefs of Javanese people such as Javanese Javanese. Then what is interesting is that the people who live in these differences are bound together in harmonious relationships. At one meeting, differences were discussed casually in a family atmosphere.
Indonesia, which is the most Muslim country in the world, at least some people feel angry with Rohingya Muslim brothers in Mianmar. News reports show the unfair treatment of the Mianmar government and even Buddhists against them. SOP then conducts many interfaith dialogues by understanding the teachings of Buddhism itself. Here then it becomes clear, that Buddhist teachings never taught to hate what hurts and nourishes. Buddhist teachings are full of compassion and love for sentient beings. Violence that occurred against Rohingya Islam is clearly a mistake. Religion is used as a background to justify the absence of violence which has never been taught at all in religion itself.
If it returns to the ASEAN community, then the ASEAN community is born as a community that has a number of different religions and beliefs. From these differences, the community is then able to foster a sense of empathy that sees harmonious attachments without any boundaries and prejudices. Thus, to understand the ASEAN community it should be started from the basic things that become their philosophy of life and on the aspects that are closest to the community itself, namely religion and belief. So, we really understand that the people who live in the Southeast Asian region have their own color which is their trademark, an identity that is different from the people in other hemispheres.