In their mission to get the interreligious dialogue going and showing the world -and especially their own communities- that difficulties can be overcome by talking, reverend Jacky Manuputty and imam Abidin Wakano paid a visit to the “Bait al Rahmaan” mosque in Ridderkerk.
Jacky Manuputty: “My task is also to bridge the communities here. There’s no conflict physically, but in the minds of people.” From all over Holland Moluccans came to listen to the story of these two men, who over the years have become very close friends, maybe even brothers. Jacky Manuputty: “It all starts with trust. There can be no dialogue, no intimacy, when there’s no trust.”
Forward
It has been a rocky road to where they are now. And that’s an understatement. In their fight for peace on the Moluccas the two had to sacrifice a lot. There were even times where they had to fear for their own lives. It’s a period they’d rather not speak about. A proces of reconciliation has already been started and instead of looking at the past and going through what has been and could have been, they want to look forward.
A way of thinking that pays off. Manuputty: “When we started our meetings we had to do them outside the Moluccas, now Abidin has spoken in the biggest churches of Maluku.” Wakano agrees. He remembers the National Quran Recitation Contest where a lot of support and help came from within the Christian community – although two weeks before the event new fights were started and people got killed. Manuputty: “We said we need to make sure Ambon takes home the prize. The participants not only represented the Muslims, but every Moluccan. They are our pride.” Wakano agrees: “When you keep thinking in them and us, there will never be a we.”
A conflict over identity
But although there have been many successes and achievements, the two religious leaders emphasized that “we’re not there yet”. Wakano: “There’s still segregation and trauma’s.” Therefore it’s important to not only talk but also to be critical within the own community. We see that already happening, Manuputty said. “For example, people went looking for the ones who played a role during the turmoils in their own community. That was impossible a few years ago. It’s not a religious conflict, but a conflict over identity. The main question is: how can we find our common ground?”
By Simone Dekkers
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