Opinion
Adrianus Ngongo*

The Bali bomb blast on October 12 suggests to foreigners, including Australians, that relations between Muslims and Christians in Indonesia are getting worse.
Western news reports stress that in Indonesia, Christians are oppressed by Muslims. Christians are pushed from their land, and many are killed. Statistics are clear. In the last three years, thousands of Christians have been forced from their fields, farms and homes.
So, if there is bad news abroad about religious life in Indonesia, it’s understandable.
But the bad news is not the whole story. Relations between Muslims and Christians in Indonesia has some bright spots.
In many places, the people of Islam and Christianity respect each other and help each other.
In the past three years, in East Nusa Tenggara, a province of Indonesia that borders East Timor, Muslims and Christians hold joint celebrations for Christmas and Ramadan. Usually, the governor gives a speech, asking people to stay calm and preserve the peace. Throughout the year there are many meetings aimed at improving relationships.
There are dangerous situations, but these are mainly in another areas, such as Java, Sulawesi or Sumatra. The concern among elders is to prevent the danger spreading.

I was recently selected as a delegate for the Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange Program (AIYEP). I was thrilled, and saw this as a once in a lifetime opportunity.
During the pre-departure training, I grew worried and many questions arose. How would I adapt to my colleagues? We are different in religion, attitude, culture, and so on. They are Muslims and I am Christian. How could I relate to them? These worries made me uncomfortable.
At first, it was hard to adapt. Our style and customs were very different. I was astonished when they asked me to join a ‘sholat’ (a Muslim service of prayer) in our dormitory room. I told them that I couldn’t join with them because I am a Christian.
It was then that I found there were two other Christians in the group. The three of us were able to stay in the bedroom during the sholat without disturbing our Muslim colleagues.
In the following days, we respected each other in running our religious life. Everyone used the room to pray freely. Our main concern was not to disturb each other while praying. My Muslim friends reminded me to pray if they knew I hadn’t yet.
My experience taught me to respect others and to let other religious believers practice their beliefs their own way, as the Muslims did for us Christians. This is a very important attitude in building good relationships among all different religious believers in Indonesia.
We lived harmoniously during our stay in Jakarta and in Sydney, proving relationships between Muslims and Christians in Indonesia are not always bad.
When we heard about the Bali bombing, we prayed together for the victims. Our group didn’t blame any religion for causing the bomb blast; we knew it was caused by people who hate peace.
The news brought us closer because we came from the same country that we love so much. We didn’t want anything bad to happen to our land again.
We shouldn’t see the religious beliefs of other people as a hindrance to building up a good relationship with them. We must show love to all people, whatever their religion. Does everyone in Indonesia do this? Some do but, sadly, some don’t.

*This article was written in response to reporting in last month’s Southern Cross.
Adrianus Ngongo visited Australia in October with AIYEP. He lives in West Timor, where he attends a Roman Catholic Church.