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THE IMAGE

Trafford Publishing

Contents

Acknowledgements...............................................viiPreface........................................................xvThe Image......................................................1Bleeding Ambon ................................................5Violence Against Chinese ......................................7Indonesian Government Issues ..................................9Religious Diversification in Indonesia.........................11Muslims Arrive in Indonesia....................................15The Indonesian Government......................................17Indonesia and the Global Economy...............................19A Bit of My Own Story..........................................23A Changed Perspective..........................................27A Cracked Wall Portrait → the Image.......................29

Chapter One

I must begin this book with a word about my bitter experience: It happened in the area of Bumi Serpong Damai where I lived at that time, because it was a new real estate residential area. There were not many Christians and hence not many denominations of Christians were represented. I proposed to make a fellowship for Christian people which could be accepted by many denominational groups so that we did not need to travel far to worship the LORD. The existing governmental regulations necessitated the development of a church in that area that was ecumenical in nature because there were not enough people from any one denomination to form a church on its own. Hence the Gereja Kristen Oikumene (GKO)—Ecumenical Christian Church was formed. This name means it was not attached to one denomination either in terms of the worship service style or the person who was the pastor leading any particular service. The church remained flexible, while waiting for the arrival of new people that could meet the criteria and offer the financial stability of certain denominations so that the various members of the GKO could separate themselves and stand on their own. This temporary church (GKO) served to nurture mutually good relationships amongst the various denominations. This set the stage for the future to create a harmonized relationship between the different denominations that exist. It is important to remember that humans can only provide an openness to this kind of relationship, but the Lord is the one who offers the real unity.

Now as I continue to share with you my story, I must tell you that remembering what happened brings tears to my eyes that I do not have the power to stop, so deep is the anguish in my memory. It is as though my heart is being sliced with a knife each time I recall how I watched the front yard of the church turned into white like snow, as our church was attacked by Muslim neighbors and were ripped out our Bible from Genesis through Revelation and thrown to the ground. The covers of the New Testament and the Old Testament were thrown into a sewer that was in front of the church. The church building itself which had just been completed through hard work and prayer and fasting, was also destroyed.

Each time December approaches, my heart breaks and tears fill my eyes. I remember the humiliation and mockery and my inability to reply to such violence that destroyed the dignity and pride of the Christian people I served. I have always felt proud of my Christian faith and expressed this by placing the bible itself in a special place. The tearing of the Bible pages in front of me and the people I served, tore at my heart. Even more painful was the fact that the security officers whose responsibility it was to protect us, stood idly by with a look in their eyes that said, "Nothing will protect or defend you."

The ache of our hearts was multiplied as we watched our attackers break our musical keyboard into two pieces. The building itself was dismantled, the front being torn down, and three roof tiles removed one by one and thrown until each was broken into pieces. The window glass on the front wall was shattered.

To be honest, I felt as though I was no longer in the country of my birth because there was not compensation or defense, even though I tried to report this violence to the authorities. I was told it was a crowd action and there was nothing that could be done.

We held a Christmas service on December 25TH on the piles of the remaining building of our church. Heavy rains soaked the earth as well as our Christmas outfits, for there was no longer any roof that could protect us from the rain. I personally could not tell if it was the rain or my tears that soaked my outfit. Our singing of Christmas carols like "Silent Night" eased my sadness a bit and lessened the million questions carried by my congregation—"Why is this happening? Where is God?" As a leader I could not answer at the moment because those same questions arose in my own heart. "How could they do this to us? Why would they do this to us?" I realized that life is too short to hold onto my hurt. I had to forgive. I was not the only one that experienced such discrimination. There are still so many events that are more brutal and harder to forgive and certainly hard to forget.

BLEEDING AMBON ...

I have a sample story taken from the city of Ambon in Indonesia. The name of the event has come to be known as "Bleeding Ambon". This particular story is very impressive as it shares about the courage and obedience of a student in a Sunday school. This student was in a church that was attacked by Muslim rioters. One rioter called this child out in front of his class and ordered him to renounce Jesus. The child refused to renounce Jesus and thus his arms and legs were amputated one by one. The child bled to death, but did not deny Jesus.

It is important to know that "Bleeding Ambon" was not about religion, but more about a certain political agenda that was trying to replace the current president of thirty-three years.

For some time there were those who strategized about this goal of removing the president. The real victim in this matter was religion and how it was used to separate the Indonesian people from each other. A deeper analysis of the situation reveals that there were some who were interested in provoking discord in the country so that the current government would be destabilized. This was done by introducing conflict in the name of religion. This involved spreading lies to Muslims and Christians about each other's religion.

Violence Against Chinese ...

There is another occurrence of violence that may help the reader to understand the situation in Indonesia. It involves the raping of Chinese ethnic women. Due to the success of Chinese ethnics, who are known for their hard work ethic, their "fighting spirit and their "never give up" attitude, a social jealousy developed among other Indonesians. Almost every line of the economy was controlled by Chinese ethnics such that they represented four percent of the total population yet controlled almost 80% of the existing businesses. Even though there was a depressing economic situation at that time, the Chinese ethnics would drive fancy new cars while so many others around them lived under bamboo roofs and some even along the dirty riverside. This practice of flaunting their material success caused a high level of conflict.

Other issues of injustice also existed, such as when a group called Pribumi (local native citizens) worked in similar positions to the Chinese ethnics, the Pribumi would earn 50% less salary than the Chinese ethnic, if they worked in a company run by someone of Chinese descent. Such unfair treatment in business transactions and through racial discrimination created an environment where Chinese ethnics were deemed exclusive or arrogant.

This situation also led to the rape of Chinese-ethnic women that took place in main roads and open space. Stopping cars or motorcycles and public transportation women and girls were kidnapped from their husbands and families. They were stripped of their clothes in public and collectively raped and finally killed.

Another way of attacking was done by breaking into residences and condos and stores and stealing property and raping the women and girls and afterwards killing them. In several locations houses and stores were also burned to the ground.

Such cases are difficult to prove, especially in the case of sexual harassment, because they require facts and evidence that victims feel reluctant to share in public. There were many more issues that triggered the mass rapes such as various issues where business or political competition existed or where there was conflict of interest.

While it is true that 90% of this Chinese ethnic group are Christian, and 90% of the Indonesian population is Muslim, the mass rapes were not about religion, but about politics and economics. The primary agenda was to bring down the ruling leader at that time.

INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT ISSUES ...

There is yet more information that the reader must know in order to understand the situation in Indonesia. There was an event widely known as the G30S (committed by the PKI Indonesian Communist Party). In this event, the PKI kidnapped a number of high-ranking Generals, tortured and killed them, and threw seven of their bodies into an alligator's hole (namely lubang buaya). This became a concern of the ruling leader at that time. He set aside September 30th as a special day of commemoration to remember and honor the Pancasila the five commands of Indonesia. Through that event there was a formation of the Left extremist and the Right extremist. The Left wanted to establish a communist country while the Right wanted to build an Islamic country. Both became the enemies of the national government and of the Indonesian people.

From this time forward, Ambon City was divided into two different areas, one for Muslims and one for Christians. If you did not have a religion the government considered you communist.

RELIGIOUS DIVERSIFICATION IN INDONESIA

To understand how Islam became the majority religion in Indonesia, one must go back to the time before Islam came to Indonesia. Before Islam and before Christianity, the primary religions of Indonesia were Buddhist and Hindu. In fact, Indonesians to this day take great pride in the beauty of the Hindu Borobudur temple which is amongt the Seven Wonders of the World. There are even more temples such as Prambanan Temple and Mendut Temple, which are popularly known in the international community. In addition, Bali City, is very well known beyond the borders of Indonesia. An understanding of Indonesia must include an appreciation of the natural wonders of the country. The most beautiful sea park in the world namely Bunaken in North Sulawesi in the city of Manado must be visited so that one can witness the glory of Indonesia's natural beauty and also experience the peaceful relationship which people of Muslim and Christian faith carry for each other. In fact, Manado, in North Sulawesi is known as the city of smiling faces. It is the birth place of my two parents, Timbuleng-Sumolang. The friendliness of its population can be sensed by observing the harmony between different religious groups. For example, Christian people can build a church with the assistance of Muslims, and Muslims can build a Mosque with the assistance of Christians. Though outsiders may find it hard to believe, this is the true nature of native Indonesian people who have not been contaminated by the people who want to bring the current government down, and thus create a government of the ruling elite based on self-interest and not the interests of the wider population.

The presence of Borobudur Temple reminds one that the main religions of ancient Indonesia were Hindu and Buddhist. There were also animists and atheists. One must also remember that the culture of Indonesia was shaped by people from different countries including India, China, and Arabia. This gave rise to such communities that later came to be known as Arab Village and Chinatown. The Indian influence can be most easily seen through work of the movie production company and school in Pasar Baru.

The Dutch arrived and ruled Indonesia for a very long period of 350 years, followed by the Japanese occupation that lasted three and a half years. The Indonesian hatred towards Christianity was due to the occupation and subjugation by the Dutch who in the name of Christianity oppressed the Indonesian people for 350 years. In the name of Christianity, the Dutch spoke of love and compassion, but actually practiced colonialism and forced labor. A deeper discussion of this will follow in a later chapter.

Another hatred developed against the Chinese, many of whom were landlords who coerced Indonesians to sell their rice fields at a low price. Those who resisted selling their land to the Chinese were killed. Additionally, the Chinese committed terrible acts of violence in the city streets. All of these started a root of hatred toward the Chinese that was passed from generation to generation.

MUSLIMS ARRIVE IN INDONESIA....

It is because of this history with the Dutch and the Chinese, that Christians and Chinese came to be hated in Indonesia. This situation created an opening for Islamic people to come into Indonesia's coastal area and unite the Indonesian nation by dealing with the injustice caused by the Dutch Christians and the abusive treatment from babah ong or Chinese ethnics. Islam spread over all of Indonesia.

THE INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT

On August 17, 1945, Indonesia was freed from the colonialism of the Dutch and the Japanese. In 1945 a five point Pancasila (decree) was enacted. The first point of the decree called for belief in God and a clause require Sharia law to be obeyed. This rule calling on people to follow Sharia law was rejected after only a few months. However, in 1966 a group called the "Sixty-Sixers" came into power and developed a new Pancasila (decree), respecting other religions by defending a country under the umbrella of belief in one supreme God. This meant all citizens were free to choose and believe in any religion. The only thing that was prohibited was having no religion or being communist. This meant that the Islamic undertones of the 1945 Pancasila were removed.

INDONESIA AND THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

An important economic turning point for Indonesia (one might say the point of no return) had to do with whether Indonesia was going to remain prosperous but isolated from the rest of the world, or whether it would choose to engage the global economy.

The decision to engage the global economy created a separation of economic class in Indonesia such that some became very wealthy and many became very poor. Some had the means and the desire to invest large sums of money in risky ventures. However, not everyone could do this. Hence an inequality of opportunity emerged. The real opportunities only belonged to those who were very wealthy. This was the beginning of the social gap that happened in the aftermath of colonialism. The thing that separated people was no longer Christianity or being Chinese, but the rather whether one had the ability to invest, and the ability to speak a foreign language and thus engage the global economy with is possibilities for increasing one's wealth.

Private and state-owned enterprise sectors became wealthy while the Cooperative sector did not. Program Bapak Angkat (assistance provided by private and state-owned sectors) was established but there was corruption such that the Cooperative sector did not receive what it was due.

The largest percentage of Indonesians are farmers and cattlemen so the Cooperative sector plays an important role in Indonesia. However, the money that is supposed to support farmers and cattlemen, is often siphoned off by "middle men" who take their cut and reduce the amount of financial support that is due to those working in agriculture (farmers, cattlemen, and those working in fisheries).

The thirty-three year leadership of the New Order which succeeded in defending Indonesia in terms of the freedom to choose religion, namely Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism came to an end in 1998. Up to that time all were protected under a set of applicable laws, that were taken from the Principle Basis, namely the Pancasila, as indicated in its first principle: Belief in one supreme God. It defended this country's belief in God, by prohibiting any communist activities and insisting that each individual name his or her religious preference. Such a glorious achievement deserves high tribute and appreciation.

The leadership of the New Order, despite the fact that there were a lot of weaknesses, generally succeeded in ruling the country of the largest Muslim population, without becoming a Muslim country. During the New Order there were no church burnings, destruction, or significant numbers of cases of rape.

It was provocateurs that brought down the strong and solid New Order government by creating conflicts between religious groups, especially Islamic and Christian. That in the end has made chaos in Indonesia and has led to the raping of Chinese ethnics and also the burning of church buildings.

A BIT OF MY OWN STORY....

It all started when I studied in a kindergarten with a close friend. Through high school and even now we remain good friends. We even worked together in carrying out a contractor business that took tenders from the DKI government offices. At that time while we worked together, I was already married with three children. Although we lived far from each other I frequently visited his house and stayed over, perhaps because his family considered me as their own son. Through this family the Lord spoke to me verbally. He reminded me that I have had a close Muslim friend for 30 years. My memory of this friend brought tears to my eyes. For thirty years I had eaten at their house, on occasion slept at their house, joined in their picnics, and even built a joint construction business. Only one time in thirty years did the father of my friend ask me about becoming a Muslim. He said to me half-jokingly, "Timbuleng, Islam is the last religion, so why don't' you convert to Islam?" While he was still smiling I told him in a normal tone of voice, "No, Uncle." I cried because in the 30 years of knowing that family, this was the only time I had ever been asked about converting to Islam. Never had I been mocked or harassed or heard any negative talk about my Christianity. My Islamic friends never spoke ill of my Christian faith, even though they were a respectable and noble family in Indonesian society at the time. One of the members of the family was a four-star general and later became a minister in the government for 25 years. Even though they were Muslim and famous, they did not speak ill of Christianity either in front of me or behind my back.

For some time, the experience of my church being destroyed by a group of Muslims caused me to lump all Muslims together, as extremist terrorists. But then, God opened my memory and my heart. I remembered my Muslim childhood friend and his family and their gracious hospitality towards me, even though they knew I was a Christian. In all that time, I had never experienced any violence or hurt from Muslim people. What I hope the reader will understand is that inter-faith relationships are vital to the health of the whole human family. This means that we must understand the history and nuances of the faith experiences of others. It is vital that we understand that extremism is not the whole story when it comes to Muslims. Quite the opposite, I have been privileged to know Muslims who live lives of love and generosity.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from THE IMAGEby Handri Timbuleng Copyright © 2012 by Handri Timbuleng. Excerpted by permission of Trafford Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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