Entering Jakarta: God or God?
In order to enter the country as an official visitor—indeed to be a documented citizen in Indonesia at all—everyone must declare a religion. Understanding this to be a question of direct practical significance, we squinted at the form as though puzzling over a menu and asked our guide, “Which would you recommend?”
With an ecumenical shrug she answered, “Either one.”
What she really meant was “any one” of the 5 accepted monotheistic religions: Islam, Buddhism, Hindu, Protestant, & Catholic. No blanks allowed. Atheism is not an option. (Neither is Cylon) For this is much less a declaration of creed than an instance of politics: note that while Hinduism with its myriad gods makes the list, Judaism—arguably the oldest monotheistic religion of the bunch—is not an option at all. Jews may be a little like leprechauns here: while the average person may know legends from the Arab news, by and large most people have never actually met a Jew.
So what’s the deal with declaring yourself for God or God? Back in 1945, Indonesia was struggling for independence from the Dutch. And to be its own coherent country. Then, as now, Islam was a huge force rivaling that nationalist movement. Indonesia includes an enormous range of ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious groups, so the founding principles needed to be inclusive and general, uniting rich & poor, Muslim & Christian…while paying respects to the powers that be. So the new leader, Soekarno, created Panca Sila: the Five Pillars (its language echoing the Five Pillars of Islam). These are, in order: nationalism, internationalism, government by consent, social justice, and belief in one God. One nation under God.
As I write this, the muezzins are calling evening prayers across the city. On some evenings this is lovely: a true call, lilting and layered, leading one inward and upward; other times the voices seem to compete, their vibrato flights up and down scales broadcast over a thousand loudspeakers from mosque towers in every direction: a cacophony of haunted-house ghosts.
What if the Christians rang their bells here, too, and broadcast (as is done) the Liturgy of the Hours? Lauds & Vespers (& Terce & Sext & None: the other five daily calls to prayer). And what if the Buddhists, and the Hindu, and the lonely Jew added their own calls to God, and all the gods (and the shrill silence of the Atheist) all at once? All at once, in a free, inclusive, just society. Heaven help us! Would we ever find God through our cries for Him?
With an ecumenical shrug she answered, “Either one.”
What she really meant was “any one” of the 5 accepted monotheistic religions: Islam, Buddhism, Hindu, Protestant, & Catholic. No blanks allowed. Atheism is not an option. (Neither is Cylon) For this is much less a declaration of creed than an instance of politics: note that while Hinduism with its myriad gods makes the list, Judaism—arguably the oldest monotheistic religion of the bunch—is not an option at all. Jews may be a little like leprechauns here: while the average person may know legends from the Arab news, by and large most people have never actually met a Jew.
So what’s the deal with declaring yourself for God or God? Back in 1945, Indonesia was struggling for independence from the Dutch. And to be its own coherent country. Then, as now, Islam was a huge force rivaling that nationalist movement. Indonesia includes an enormous range of ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious groups, so the founding principles needed to be inclusive and general, uniting rich & poor, Muslim & Christian…while paying respects to the powers that be. So the new leader, Soekarno, created Panca Sila: the Five Pillars (its language echoing the Five Pillars of Islam). These are, in order: nationalism, internationalism, government by consent, social justice, and belief in one God. One nation under God.
As I write this, the muezzins are calling evening prayers across the city. On some evenings this is lovely: a true call, lilting and layered, leading one inward and upward; other times the voices seem to compete, their vibrato flights up and down scales broadcast over a thousand loudspeakers from mosque towers in every direction: a cacophony of haunted-house ghosts.
What if the Christians rang their bells here, too, and broadcast (as is done) the Liturgy of the Hours? Lauds & Vespers (& Terce & Sext & None: the other five daily calls to prayer). And what if the Buddhists, and the Hindu, and the lonely Jew added their own calls to God, and all the gods (and the shrill silence of the Atheist) all at once? All at once, in a free, inclusive, just society. Heaven help us! Would we ever find God through our cries for Him?
posted by Anne E. Campisi at 9:28 PM
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