FIRST INTERFAITH DIALOGUE BETWEEN SERBIA AND INDONESIA
In Belgrade, in the period from April 7 to April 9, Ministry of Religion and Diaspora of the Republic of Serbia, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia organized an interfaith dialogue between Serbia and Indonesia
In the Palace of the Republic of Serbia, on 7 April, a historic conference started. It was estimated as historic by Mr. Srdjan Sreckovic, Minister for Religious Affairs and Diaspora of the Republic of Serbia, because it was the first dialogue on religious subjects between representatives of Serbia, the westernmost country in the world with Orthodox majority and the Indonesian easternmost country in which followers of the Islamic religion make the majority. It was the first time in the territory of the former Yugoslavia that religious topics were discussed at the scientific and professional manner. Opening the meeting, Minister Sreckovic emphasized that in forthcoming years the interfaith dialogue between Serbia and Indonesia will be one of the priorities of the Ministry of Religion and Diaspora, and that it will contribute to deepening relations in all fields. Mr. Sreckovic said that Indonesia was a big partner of Serbia in terms of preserving the territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Not only that Indonesia has not recognized the independence of Kosovo and Metohija, but its attitude is important for the whole of Southeast Asia, the Minister said. Mr. Sreckovic added that the two countries are also leaders in important regional organizations; Serbia is the largest economy in the CEFTA (Central European Free Trade Agreement), and Indonesia in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). It is therefore very important that the signing of commercial agreements with manufacturers of halal food in Serbia, as well as other agreements on cooperation, took place during the visit of interfaith delegation of Indonesia, said the Minister. He said that the interfaith dialogue between Serbia and Indonesia is a meeting between distant civilizations and cultures, with a common view that sharing knowledge deepens understanding. “The facts indicate the great interest in religious-scientific and religious-educational cooperation which would provide Citizens of the Orthodox and Muslim religions in our country with the opportunity to meet with Indonesian religion and culture at their universities, as well as it would help students from Indonesia gain knowledge about the Orthodox church, Serbian culture and history of the Balkans at our universities, “said Sreckovic.
Conference participants were also greeted by the Serbian Patriarch Irinej, who said that he hoped the interfaith dialogue with representatives of the populous Indonesia will bring two people together and enable closer cooperation between the two countries in the fields of religion, culture and economy.
With a population of more than 240 million people, Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world. Indonesia is culturally and religiously probably the most diverse country in the world. 741 different languages are spoken, racial differences are significant, and although a significant majority of Indonesians profess Islam (more than 85 percent), about 10 percent are Christians (2 / 3 Protestant, 1 / 3 Catholic) and 1.5 percent is Hindus (the original inhabitants of the island of Bali), Buddhists, Confucians, members of indigenous religions and others.
Director General of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Andri Hadi said that interfaith dialogue between the two countries is necessary, and one of the reasons being the fact that these two countries and two people share common values and mutual friendship from the time of the former Yugoslavia, friendship that exists not only among the leaders, but also between the two nations. The goal of interfaith dialogue is also the promotion of the common values that we share, such as tolerance, mutual respect and diversity, said a senior Indonesian official.
Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia in Serbia, Mr. Samuel Samson said he was satisfied that two representatives of civil societies from different religions, finally had the opportunity to meet and exchange experiences on the first interfaith dialogue between Serbia and Indonesia. Ambassador said that Serbia was 15th country to host interfaith dialogue and that Indonesia had already organized such meetings with the partners in Vatican, Russia, Austria, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, the United States, Spain, Germany, Holland, Lebanon …, on regional, multilateral and global conferences.
Members of the Indonesia delegation were: Andri Hadi, Director General of Information and Public Diplomacy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bahrul Hayat Ph.D, Secretary General of the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia; Riaz J.P. Saehu, Deputy Director of Public Diplomacy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Elvis Napitupulu, an official of the Directorate of Public Diplomacy Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Adbul Muchit Fatah, head of the Center for Inter-religious harmony of the Ministry of Religion.
Also present were prof. Dr. I Made Titib, Rector of the Institute of Hindu Dharma from Bali, Reverend Dr. Heru Prakosa, Lecturer at the Institute of Philosophy of Sanata Dharma from Yogyakarta; Reverend, Dr. Maria Margaretha Hendriks-Ririmasse, professor of The Moluccan Christian University of Indonesia in Ambon; Adolfina Koamesakh, MTH, MHum from Orthodox Church; Komaruddin Hidayat Ph.D, Rector of the Islamic State University of Syarif Hidayatulah from Jakarta; Ferimeldi Muslim Kudi, Ph.D lHead of Division, Center for inter-religious harmony, Ministry of Religious affairs.
Trias Kuncahyono, Deputy Chief Editor of the “Kompass” daily paper, one of the most popular media in Indonesia was reporting on interfaith dialogue all time during the interfaith dialogue. Beside Minister Srećković, the participants from Serbia were: prof. Bogoljub Šijaković, State Secretary the Ministry of Religion and Diaspora of the Republic of Serbia; Ambassador Vladislav Mladenovic and Ambassador Radomir Zivkovic from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Aleksandar Rakovic, Advisor for International Cooperation, Ministry of Religion and Diaspora.
Also present were Dr Irinej Bulovic Bishop of Backa, Archbishop Porfirije Simic, Reis-ul-ulema Adem Zilkić, President of the Islamic Community of Serbia, Serbian Mufti Muhammad Jusufspahic, Archbishop of Belgrade Stanislav Hocevar; Rabbi Isaac Asil, prof. Dr., Serbian historian, Professor of Philosophy, University of Belgrade.
The conference was also attended by fifty members of the Association of Serbian-Indonesian Friendship “Nusantara”, Mr. Dusan Rakitic, the assistant at the University of Belgrade and Ivica Mlađenović, the architect, had their exposures.
On 8 April, guests from Indonesia visited the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, where they were welcomed by Meho Omerovic, the Chairman, and Gordana Comic, Gabor Lodi and Zoran Antic the members of the Indonesia-Serbia parliamentary group of friendship. In cordial and open dialogue the traditional friendship between the two countries was confirmed and belief expressed that their mutual relations shall improve further. Cooperation between the parliaments of Serbia and Indonesia can be a significant stimulus to overall bilateral relations, wherein parliamentary groups of friendship should play a significant part, it was pointed out on this occasion. After discussion, members of the Indonesian delegation visited the National Assembly, where the first conference of nonaligned countries was held50 years ago.
Delegation also visited the Islamic community in Belgrade, where they were welcomed by Reis ul-ulema Adem Zilkić and his associates, and had a discussion on halal products, and opportunities for inter-university cooperation.
Representatives of the University of Islam of Serbia in Belgrade and the Islamic State University in Jakarta signed, in Belgrade on 8 April, the Protocol on cooperation between the two higher education institutions. In days of interfaith dialogue between Serbia and Indonesia a Protocol was signed by the Muhamed Jusufspahic, Deputy Reis-ul Ulum of the Islamic Community of Serbia and Komarudin Hidayat Rector from one of the most famous and largest state universities in the capital of Indonesia.
On the Orthodox Theological Faculty of the University of Belgrade, reverend Dr Margaretha Hendriks-Ririmasse Maria, father Dr. Huru Prakoso and prof. Dr Komaruddin Hidayat gave the lectures.
On Saturday, 9 April, the delegation visited the Museum of Yugoslav History, and “House of Flowers”, and in the evening, at the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, there was a meeting with members of the Indonesian community in Belgrade, which was attended by executives of the “Nusantara” Association.
Interfaith dialogue between Serbia and Indonesia, which brought together dozens of high officials of two religious communities, representative theologians and representatives of Serbian civil societies of different religions, at the meeting of distant civilizations and cultures, close by their attitude, was an opportunity for sharing knowledge and experiences, and deepening mutual understanding.
On that occasion, it was said that national unity was the most important challenge the founders of Indonesia were experiencing from the very beginning: how to unite rich diversity of ethnic groups, races, languages, cultures and religious orientations? In the preamble to the Constitution of the free Republic of Indonesia in 1945, the most significant was their decision emphasizing that this country was built on five pillars, called Pansasila, the first being their belief in God. Thus they wanted to emphasize that Indonesians of all religious confessions were the citizens of that state in the full sense of the word, that it would not be any discrimination on religious grounds. For a country with Muslim majority that was a generous and insightful decision, officials in Djakarta point out.
When the founders of Indonesia laid the foundations of the state, the value and tradition of the “Musyawarah untuk Mufakat” principle or “by consultations towards consensus” were already deeply embedded into the consciousness of local people. This tradition has evolved in response to the Indonesians reality that they are a pluralistic society. Such a tradition does not allow the domination of the majority, but requires that the voice of the minority should be heard, Indonesian officials say.
Before a satisfactory consensus is reached, all aspects must be presented and all interests, including those of minorities, taken into account. The culture of dialogue is fundamentally important and is highly valued in Indonesian society.
When in 2004 Indonesians experienced the first fully democratic general, presidential and regional elections, the state was recognized by the international community as the third most populous democratic state in the world, after India and the U.S. . In Jakarta, Indonesia it was indicated that, as a nation with the largest Muslim population in the world is a living proof that Islam, modernity and democracy can go hand in hand. Following historical values and positive developments in Indonesia, the government in Jakarta has introduced interfaith dialogue at all levels within the country, and it has also become one of the main features of foreign policy of this important country. Inside the country, in Indonesia the Ministry of Religion has been promoting the dialogue between religious leaders and civil society groups based on religion ever since the 1970s. Ministry has further expanded the dialogue in the country and has so far established over 400 forums on inter-religious harmony across Indonesia.
All these dialogues are important because they can encourage a group of moderate religious leaders, scholars, consultants and media. Encouraging their participation in inter-religious dialogue in order to spread the spirit of moderation among people, strengthen the religious understanding in people, and increase tolerance towards other religions, which will in turn prevent the influence of radicalism.
Another important goal of this dialogue is to create a network and establish international cooperation that can easily be performed by a group of ordinary people.
Thus, the concept of interfaith dialogue (IFD), among others, includes:
- regular (annual) meetings between religious leaders and representatives of religious-based civil societies allowed by the government;
- method of fostering mutual understanding to promote cooperation, and
- method of encouraging moderate voices for the purpose of creating counterbalance to radical and militant voices.
In Indonesia, conducting IFD is considered to be very important in order to:
- combat negative stereotyping of Islam vs. West;
- help moderate version of Islam come to life in Indonesia;
- manage religious diversities in a way that promotes social cohesion, peace and sustainability;
- promote respect for democratic pluralism both within individual countries and in relations between states with population of different religious beliefs, and
- establish a cooperation between civil societies in various aspects, especially on global issues such as education, good governance, poverty eradication and social welfare.
In Jakarta, they say that Indonesia as the country with the largest Muslim population, could offer its experience in the IFD. It is pointed out that Indonesia has proven that Islam, democracy and modernity can survive together. The explanation is that moderate Islam, characteristic of Indonesia, has been recognized by the international community as a catalyst for the different opinions of the West towards Islam.
After all, promising is the conclusion of distinguished guests from Indonesia, that this IFD is the most successful in the former 15organized by the authorities of that country in different parts of the world.
In Serbia, many print and electronic media, radio and television stations reported on the conference. Considerable media support was provided by the Radio-Television of Serbia and “Politika” Newspapers & Magazines, while TANJUG News Agency reported in detail on all three days of the conference.
Dušan Rakitić, LLM
Belgrade University Law School, Assistant
07 April 2011
Presentation at the Indonesia-Serbia bilateral interfaith conference
Your Grace bishop of Backa, Your Excellency Ambassador, ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to thank the organizers for the opportunity to address you on this occasion, as well as to express gratitude to Nusantara Association for Indonesia-Serbian friendship for making the suggestion that I participate in this conference.
This section is about the role that religious communities have in promoting mutual respect, understanding, and peace.
Both Indonesia and Serbia today undergo democratic transitions, and having this in mind I would like to present you the importance the cooperation of churches and religious communities for transformation of the legal system of Serbia following the democratic changes, primarily in terms of values of the legal and social system.
While the influence of churches and religious communities on the society in Serbia, as in most other countries today, is undoubtedly both multi-layered and continuous, I will focus on three specific instances in which churches and religious communities, acting together, substantially influenced important segments of Serbian legislation.
Right after the democratic changes of 2000, the new government was faced with a vivid legacy of civil wars in immediate neighborhood, the lines whereof had been drawn along religious lines. On the other hand, the magnitude of influence churches and religious communities had on the society can be easily understood by looking at the percentage of population declared as “believers” in the census of 2002: 95%. The figure was very high in comparison with neighboring countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
Besides a wide-ranging privatization and the reform of land titles, the third legislative reform that attracted most attention in the first two years following the democratic changes was the return of religious instruction to public schools. Religious instruction had been abolished with the rise of communism in Yugoslavia, immediately after the end of WWII.
In this way, the re-institution of religious instruction to public schools substantially contributed to the way the overall social and political reforms were perceived by the population.
Religious instruction in Serbia was first enacted by virtue of a Government decree in 2001, and was thereupon provided statutory grounds in 2002. It was both a swift and a sizeable project: less than a year after ousting of the post-communist authoritarian regime, religious instruction started as a course in all elementary and secondary schools, with more than 1800 teachers.
However, what I would like to emphasize that seven churches and religious communities, that later on acquired the statutory designation “traditional”, approached the Government of Serbia with the request for reintroduction of religious instruction to public schools together. After this initial request, unity of action has been preserved throughout the process, and in all important phases the same churches and religious communities acted together.
This was particularly obvious when the project of reintroduction of religious instruction faced opposition from certain non-governmental organizations. Churches and religious communities together organized conferences, summoned experts, and showed to the public that the project was in line with all applicable international human rights standards.
The result of the project was a globally unique solution, which comprised reliance of the state on the cooperation between churches and religious communities and on their mutual understanding: a statutory precondition for validity of both course syllabi and textbooks for the instruction by each of the denominations in any given school year was a consensus of all churches and religious communities.
The second instance in which cooperation and concerted action of traditional churches and religious communities proved important was in the Spring of 2009, when a draft anti-discrimination law appeared before the Parliament of Serbia. The initial proposal in several aspects infringed upon personal liberties and religious freedom, so traditional churches and religious communities addressed the Government, members of parliament and the whole public together, with one voice, seeking solely that the statute be made to conform precisely to the anti-discrimination standards of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights.
Finally, nowadays we are witnessing a process that may prove to be crucial for certain key values of the Serbian transition. In order to understand the matter, you should know that in Serbia, unlike in other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, a general law on restitution of assets appropriated after WWII has not yet been enacted. Enactment of such a law used to be a promise of the democratic opposition during its struggle against the authoritarian regime, and each government after the democratic changes repeated a commitment to having such a law adopted. However, only statutes and regulations with partial scope have been enacted so far, and probably the most significant among these was the Law on restitution of property of churches and religious communities, of 2006.
Since more than 20 years have passed since the fall of Berlin wall, and more than 10 years since democratic changes in Serbia, the awareness of the profound importance of restitution of property has faded away for some people, and an outright attack on the constitutionality of the church/religious property restitution law has recently been mounted.
Traditional churches and religious communities in Serbia are therefore today once again acting together with the aim of defending the law on restitution of church and religious property. Preserving restitution is of key importance for the values of the present legal system of Serbia: preventing continuity with the communist period, and recognizing the legitimate need that injustices be remedied.
For all these reasons it can be said that in Serbia, cooperation of churches and religious communities during the period of transition, since 2000, has been of crucial importance for re-establishment of values of both the social and the legal system.
ARCHITECTURE AS THE RELIGION OF EAST AND WEST, NORTH AND SOUTH
Written by: Ivica Mlađenović
It is my privilege to address you today and tell you about the architecture from the perspective of an Orthodox believer who has visited over 50 countries. Today I am a missionary of architecture whose peaceful messages are leaving a trace. I have been traveling all around the world since 1957. At every conference or seminar, and at many colleges and institutes, in every exhibition, I have pointed out the virtue of noble people regardless of their nationality, skin color, language, race or political orientation.
You may not be aware of it, but architecture can also cause hatred, fear and greed. Not far from Rome, in the town of Euro, three towers were built on a small square. Thundering voice of Mussolini was often heard from the balcony of one of them. His voice bounced off the glass surface of the other two towers. It was a square cacophony; an architect in the service of an inhuman policy.
I wrote an introductory essay for a remarkable monograph on the first three Belgrade Triennials of The World Architecture, published in 1992. In that essay I tried to explain architecture using an acrostic of 12 powerful words. I have chosen 12 out of more than 120 words, the selected words being: Aesthetics, Reason, Creation, Humanism, Imagination, Technology, Environment, Communation, Tradition, Use, Revelation, and Economy.
Naturally, I have dedicated special attention to each word.
Once, architects have carefully studied Wright’s 9 points and 5 points of Le Corbusier. It was a kind of a must. I have never been impressed with those messages, because they dealt with a purely technical approach to construction.
In 1995, I was invited by the Macedonian Academy of Arts and Science and the Union of Architects of Macedonia. There, in front of the academics and prominent architects, at the Ceremonial Hall of Arts (MANU), I gave a lecture “Architecture as a religion of the East and West, North and South”. The lecture was very well received. Today, I have no idea where that text is. And even if I had found it, I would not have read it to you today because many changes have occurred in architecture since 1995.
I have decided to import the architecture into a combination of new words-symbols: architecture as a religion of the world from east to west, from north to south. The words are: location, climate, light, sound, tissue, movement, message, and trace. There is a prayer in each word. Divine Light pervades the body of architecture. Creative joy values architectural creativity, meaningful and free, non-alienated and original.
Before elaborating the topic, I have to go back in time. Belgrade Triennials of the World Architecture were taking place from January 1985 until June 2009. Apart from Belgrade, 16 states and 20 more cities around the world were involved. I am the creator of a concept, of selections and overall design of this prestigious festival. I presented the architecture of 46 countries and nearly 600 major architects. Today I am proud of my decision to introduce the Iranian and Iraqi architects under the same criteria as the western ones as well as the Indonesian, Thai, Malaysian, Chinese, Egyptian and many other internationally unknown architects who were not at the mercy of the Christian critics. I have been preparing the Tenth Triennial 2012 for almost two years now. It will be opened in Jakarta and there will be a rerun in a Hungarian spa Morahalom.
A representative exhibition of the contemporary Yugoslav architecture was opened in the elite gallery Pasar Seni Ancol in Jakarta on July 25, 1987. According my concept and the selection, I presented works of about a hundred architects from all six Yugoslav republics on about 150 color posters, 100×100 cm. There were two associations of architects in the organization, one from Indonesia and the other from Yugoslavia. The exhibition served as a transmission between these two and who knows how many other cultures.
Six years later, at the Third Belgrade Triennial of The World Architecture I presented “World Project Just Married.” This is an elite mini-resort designed for weddings and stay of newlyweds. An attractive dome makes the roof of a three-story circular Star center, 22 meters in diameter. A science center intended for those staying in the houses is located under the dome. For example, via the TV-channel a married couple can see what is happening in Paris, Washington, Buenos Aires, at any time.
Twelve one-story houses, 80 m² each, are located in an urban 65×65 meter frame. They are arranged following the shape of a circle and are designed by 10 eminent foreign architects from 10 countries, two of them being from Serbia, including the writer of these lines. Homes’ interiors are very sophisticated. In my project, on the first floor of the Star center, there are separate wedding chapels for Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants and atheists. On the second floor, there are chapels for the weddings of Buddhists, Jews and Islamists. Other religions have one common chapel. This truly fantastic project has not yet been realized.
At the Seventh Triennial in 2003 I presented the historical Orthodox, Catholic, Buddhist and Islamic architecture on twelve 70×100 cm posters, showing the temples of these religions. Representative Orthodox churches were from Serbia, Russia and Greece; Catholic from Mexico, Portugal and France; Buddhist temples were from China, Japan and India and Islamic shrines from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Morocco. So, there were four religions serving the peace in that architectural exhibition.
And, to give you an insight into the near future: in Jakarta, in 2012, the Tenth Belgrade Triennial of The World architecture will be held with the support of the Embassy of Indonesia, the Association of Serbian-Indonesian Friendship “Nusantara” and the Association of Indonesian Architects.
Getting back to the topic…
Location, genius loci, determines not only a form of architecture, but also its meaning. Location has its history, nature that is defined, sensuality that is predestined. It is surrounded by prayers, light and darkness, mornings and dawns, warm or cool air, birds and animals on earth, different plants. The architect should be open to the location. He should embrace it, caress it, and be with it from first to last line of the location project.
Climate is what determines each architectural project. Despite everything, nature is still predictable with its miracles. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, restless sea, avalanche, and even nuclear accidents, determine construction systems. If we haven’t been with the Lord and if we have ignored the dangers, accidents are there to warn us about the evil that we do to ourselves.
Light is important in architecture. I have written about my travels toward the light and eternity. It is a religious topic. Without the vicinity of light (not brightness) there is no architecture.
Sound, clear or vague, pervasive, flagrant, in waves or in a line, in cacophony, manifold and implacable is a part of every architectural structure. Without sounds, all is tough, destructive silence. In an uninhabited home there is no life, no joy, no smiles nor suffering.
A tissue is part of every house. It must be in places that determine the quality of life. The thickness of an external or internal wall, ceiling or roof layers is essential for the maintenance of home peace. Tissue determines the heat of the spatial frames. It is impossible to design anything in architecture without it.
Motion is our way in the architecture. Where ever we are, our house travels with us; it reminds us to come back home. We sell apartments and houses easily, thinking that a motion will lead us to a happier place.
A message is something that gives true value to architecture. We are not sending message if the roofs of our houses are decorated by modern mammoth canopy. In accordance with post-modernism architecture principles, some people places one thick and one narrow column in front of the building entrances. Copies of the buildings from the architectural journals have deformed the world.
Trace must be something important for any architect. The goal is to leave clear footprints. Trace disguised in alleged beauty is completely ridiculous.
One of my books is titled: Architecture on the trace. Only when we draw lines having a man in mind, known or unknown, shall we give a contribution to architecture, as a religion of east and west, north or south.