BREAK INTO THOUSANDS EVEN MILLIONS OF HEADS
By: Arum Faizatul Umami
(IG: arumfaiz, FB: arum faiza, email:
arumfaizatul@gmail.com)
Indonesia is united by the slogan Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, unity in diversity.
A nation that has the biggest number of islands in the world, 17.504 islands.
There are 6 religions that are officially accepted in Indonesia: Islam,
Christianity, Catholic, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Konghucu. Indonesia is popular
with its kind people as well as its people’s high tolerance within diversity. Despite
living in the 4th largest country in the world, every follower of a particular religion is able to peacefully
coexist. The government allows every
follower to have days off so that they can commemorate their holidays. The
Hindus have the day of Nyepi (day of silence), Kong Hu Cu have Chinese new year,
Christians and Catholics have Christmas and Easter. Buddhists have the day of
Vesak, and Muslims have the day Eid al Fitr and Eid al Adha. Statistically, the
biggest Muslim population is found in
Indonesia.
Germany has
the same phenomena. Even though the
number of Muslims in Germany is no more
than 5% of the whole population, the German
society successfully embraces diversity
and lives peacefully side by side. Germany is a secular state where the talk
about religion should be neutral; it favors neither the people of religion nor the
people with no religion. A secular state also claims that the constitution should treat the
countrymen equally, as long as they do not violate the law or flouting others’
right.
Furthermore, some universities in Germany have
put the study of Islamic theology into their curriculum. The minister of
religious affairs, Annette Schavan, has established 4 centers for Islamic
theology study in Münster/Osnabrück,
Tübingen, Frankfurt/Giessen, and
Nürnberg/Erlangen. These centers have been operating since 2010 and 2011. This provides us
with the evidence that the concept of secularism does exist.
In Berlin,
there is Al Falah mosque which is the
only one mosque that was founded and developed by Indonesian Muslims in the capital of Germany. It is also
the only mosque that is solely managed by Indonesian Muslims in Germany, both the building and the Islamic activities.
However,
undeniably, the acts of terrorism committed by ISIS have been contributing to
the growth of Islamophobia in Germany. Some
of my friends in Germany reported that since the bombing of the football match between France and
Germany in France, their mosque has always
been poured with water.
I personally have experienced the life as a minority
when I was studying in France. I know how hard it was to find halal food, how
difficult it was to perform the obligatory prayers, how tiring it was to find a
place to make my obligatory prayers, how much I missed the sound of azan (call of prayer) because the masjid
was soundproofed, and how complicated it was to just get the permission to join
Eid al Adha prayer. Things got worse when ISIS exploded a bomb in Paris on November 13,
2015. A number of mosques were closed and protest against Muslims was made all over the country. The
military action became much stricter. Armed soldiers were everywhere and ready
to do an inspection to anyone suspicious.
What drew people’s attention the most was the
issue of hijab (headscarf). In France and in Germany, the existence of hijab has gained a series of never-ending controversies. Some of my Muslim women friends had to undergo
discrimination because of their hijab. Hijab was deemed as a religious symbol
that should be banned in France. My professor suggested me to take off my hijab
just because I could not find any companies that would accept me to do my
internship. I was about to give up to find myself being rejected by 80
companies. My experience in pursuing my degree as a Muslim minority in France had been written into a book entitled
“Untukmu Wahai Pejuang Ilmu”, specially dedicated to all knowledge seekers,
published by Quanta, Elexmedia in July 2017. This book of mine has been imbuing
inspiration upon a lot of students/ learners to conquer their fear of studying
abroad, particularly in Europe,
regardless of the interfaith tribulation.
I personally assume that Islamophobia will always be found in France,
Germany, and any other European countries. Islamophobia is a state of mind that
causes someone to be overwrought with Islam or Muslims.
Hence I have been actively popularizing the notion that Islam needs to be
embraced, not feared of. This action is proven by the issuance of my novel
under the title “Azimah: Derita Gadis Aleppo” which was published by Tiga
Serangkai in November 2017. This novel was inspired
by my close friend, Ihab Mohamed, who was verbally bullied as a terrorist by
his friends in school, just because he was a Syrian. This 416-page book is
aimed to change the perception of the normative society that Islam is not a
religion of terrorism, rather a religion
of peace. So far, I have been writing 20 books, and 80% of them is promoting the
Islamic motivation.
I look
forward to seeing myself being one of the participants chosen to take part in
this program. I would be pleased to have the opportunity to explore the
preserved world’s cultural heritage in Berlin, such as Humboldt Forum, Islamic
Arts Museum, and Orient Department in
Berlin library. I would passionate to broaden
my horizon about Islam by directly discussing with some experts in Islamic
history. It would also be so profound to meet many new friends to discuss with,
or to be my co-writer in promoting Islam as a religion of peace.
My ultimate goal, as the program draws to an end, is
that to revive the global empathy for all Muslims and humanity. I hope of writing a nonfiction book about Muslims in Germany
and one novel that can illuminate people’s mind about the Islamic civilization, like Hanum Rais’ novel “99 Cahaya di Langit
Eropa” which was inspired by her trips visiting European countries and
collecting the debris of Islamic civilization in the past. I would be pleased
to share my experience with the wider
community directly or through my writings. As narrated by Sayyid Quthb, “A bullet can only break into one head,
but a work of writing is far superior in
that it can break into thousands even millions of heads.”
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar