Learning Tolerance from Bali
It has a beautiful natural panorama. Strong culture. Has a thousand temples. The name of the island of Bali. Although the majority of the people are Hindus, the tolerance between religious communities in Bali is very high.
Real evidence of religious harmony in Bali is the existence of the Puja Mandala Worship Center in the Nusa Dua area. This place has 5 places of worship at once in one place.
The center of worship includes the Great Mosque of Ibn Battuta, the Catholic Church of Mary Mother of All Nations, Vihara Budhida Guna, the Protestant Christian Church of Bukit Doa, and Jagatnatha Temple.
Quoted from phinemo.com, Puja Mandala Worship Center Built on a 2-hectare land, these 5 buildings were erected fairly. The buildings have the same area and height.
There is no barrier between one building to another. Having 1 courtyard with the same entrance, they can mingle with each other even though they go to different places to worship.
An example of tolerance in this place is when before entering the call to prayer for the midday prayer, you will hear the bells ringing first from the church. After the bell really stops, then the muezzin will immediately call the call to prayer. Buildings of worship with each other will not compete with each other. Go hand in hand and respect each other. Another proof of tolerance is that Bali is used as a place for learning for the youth of ASEAN countries. Quoted from Republika, as many as 22 youths visited Dalung village, North Kuta, Badung in November 2018. They were participants in the 2018 ASEAN Youth Interfaith Camp (AYIC) who came to learn how tolerance works in the village.
The youths, mostly students, were gathered at the Banjar Bhineka Nusa Kauh Multipurpose Building, which is also a sports hall (GOR) with several badminton courts.
Even though everything seemed simple, the AYIC participants seemed enthusiastic about participating in the discussion led by Community Leader I Made Ngurah. They seemed enthusiastic about observing the statues around the building to the cohesiveness of the pecalang who secured their event.
The event took place, the ASEAN youth listened to the explanations given by Ngurah and other community leaders. Ngurah conveyed how Dalung village can live in harmony even though it consists of various religions and ethnic groups.
"Here all six religions (religions) exist, even those with beliefs, so we live together, why can we coexist, because we are all family," said Ngurah.
This togetherness, said Ngurah, is shown by community activities that are always carried out together, for example when someone dies of any religion.
In fact, he said, pecalang or village guards who in other Balinese villages are Hindu, in Dalung the pecalang have a different religion.
The youths were also given the opportunity to ask questions. The young people from this Southeast Asian country did not pass up the opportunity.
The questions asked were varied, ranging from questions about decoration in Bali to how social life is in Dulung village.
There is much more evidence that the island of Bali is indeed a very comfortable place for us to live. Beautiful nature, high tolerance make people live in peace.
Bali Becomes a Real Example to Promote Inter-religious Tolerance
MPR Chairman Bambang Soesatyo considered Bali to be a real example that by prioritizing tolerance, equality and cooperation between religious communities can be realized. So that the followers of religion can live in peace.
“The harmony in the lives of religious adherents in Bali is also reflected in the existence of the Puja Mandala Worship Center. In this area there are five places of worship that actively carry out worship activities, as a symbol of affirmation of tolerance and religious harmony in Bali," said Bamsoet while visiting Puja Mandala, together with the Bali Religious Harmony Forum (FKUB) led by the Chairperson of the Indonesian FKUB Association, Ida Pangelisir Agung Putra Sukahet, Wednesday (12/23/2020).
The chairman of the 20th DPR RI explained that the Religious Harmony Index (IKB) in Bali has always been above the National IKB. For example, in 2018 when the national IKB was at 70.90, the IKB in Bali reached 75.4. Whereas in 2019, when the national IKB reached 73.83, Bali's IKB reached 80.1.
“Religious harmony in a heterogeneous society such as in Indonesia in general, and Bali in particular, is a necessity that cannot be negotiated. This religious harmony does not present itself as something that is given, but must be built and realized through joint awareness and commitment from all elements of the nation," said Bamsoet.
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