Tolerance Shown Through a Shared Wall

The congregation was not bothered when the adzan was heard inside the church. The Christmas service was allowed to fall 15 minutes behind schedule while the congregants waited for the Muslim prayer to end.

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

Mahanaim Protestant Church and Al-Muqarabbien Mosque stand side by side on Jalan Enggano, Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, Monday (16/12/2019). The church and the mosque are two adjoining places of worship and have carried out their worship activities with tolerance since 1958.

The congregation was not bothered when the adzan (Islamic call to prayer) was heard inside the church. The Christmas service was allowed to fall 15 minutes behind schedule while the congregants waited for the Muslim prayer to end. After the prayer, Muslim worshippers left the mosque to help facilitate the Christian service at the church. This is the picture of tolerance that has emerged in two distinct places of worship that share a wall in Palangkaraya.

Wahyudin, 35, who was at Al-Azar Mosque, in Menteng village, Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, Saturday Dec. 14, heard chanting from the church indicating the beginning of a service. He was leaving the mosque and heading towards the motorcycle parking lot.

Instead of taking his motorbike to go home, he helped arrange a motorcycle parking space in front of the Nasaret Evangelical Church (GKE), which is located right next to the Al-Azhar Mosque. He was assisted by Ronny Kankarendeng Mankin, 42, the caretaker of the church. Wahyudin and several members of the mosque were volunteers to help ensure the Christmas service ran smoothly.

They took care of the motorbikes during the Christmas service. Wahyudin spent time chatting and sipping coffee made by Ronny. It was almost two hours. The Christmas service ended and the volunteers assisted with the exit.

There was only one reason: tolerance. We agreed to share one wall.

The Al-Azhar mosque and foundation executive, Haji Noorsabri, said that the two places of worship were built together in 1984. "There was only one reason: tolerance. We agreed to share one wall. The buildings were also built together," he said.

The two congregations built their shared wall together, and the bottom part of the two buildings’ roofs touch, symbolizing the close brotherhood between adherents to the two religions.

There had never, in the history of the two houses of worship, been a conflict between the two parties, Haji added. No one protested when the Islamic call to prayer sounded, nor when church bells tolled.

In fact, his church-congregant neighbors one reminded him when the Islamic call to prayer was not heard. The loudspeakers at the mosque had been damaged. "After learning that the equipment was broken, we worked together to fix it," he said.

Kompas/Priyombodo

An aerial photo of Mahanaim Protestant Church and Al-Muqarabbien Mosque standing side by side on Jalan Enggano, Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, Monday (16/12/2019). The church and the mosque are two adjoining places of worship and have carried out their worship activities with tolerance since 1958.

Descendants of sailors

A similar spirit of brotherhood was evident in the construction of Al-Muqarrabien Mosque and Mahanaim Protestant Church in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta. The two houses of worship have been standing side by side since 1958.

Deputy chairperson of Mahanaim Protestant Church Dikson Bawuna said the church was founded in 1957 by Christian sailors from Sangihe, Talaud Islands, North Sulawesi.

The congregation needed a house of worship, and their request to build a church on land belonging to the Ministry of Transportation, not far from the Port of Tanjung Priok, was submitted and approved.

There has never been a difference in understanding between the two.

One year later, Muslim sailors who arrived from outside Jakarta needed a mosque. They selected land belonging to the Ministry of Transportation adjacent to Mahanaim Church. In 1958, the Sea Transportation Mosque was founded – the forerunner to Al-Muqarrabien Mosque.

"Since its foundation, the relationship has always been harmonious. There has never been a difference in understanding between the two," said Dikson, who is a third-generation congregant at Mahanaim Church.

Members of the two persuasions get along well and respect each other. During Christmas, for example, the mosque management allows the mosque yard to become a parking lot for congregants who want to worship.

When Idul Fitri falls on Sunday, the Mahanaim Church holds an earlier morning service, usually at 6 a.m, to allow the church yard to be used for Idul Fitri prayers afterward.

"From generation to generation, we have been taught that living together despite being different is not something that is impossible or bad," said Dikson.

The same thing was expressed by the Imam of Al-Muqarrabien Mosque Endang Guna Raharja, 57. Living together in harmony despite differences, he said, was something normal that did not need to be debated.

Kompas/Priyombodo

Mahanaim Protestant Church and Al-Muqarabbien Mosque stand side by side on Jalan Enggano, Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, Monday (16/12/2019). The church and the mosque are two adjoining places of worship and have carried out their worship activities with tolerance since 1958.

Taking care of each other

The local residents help and respect each other, regardless of religion. After floods hit villages around Al-Muqarrabien Mosque and Mahanaim Church five years ago, many of the houses in the area were submerged. The church opened its doors to accommodate the flood victims, who took refuge on the second floor of the church for three days until the flood receded.

When the bloody Tanjung Priok incident occurred in 1984, the Islamic community helped guard and secure Mahanaim Church. "You could say we are looking after each other," Dikson said.

The harmonious relationship has been maintained to this day. Both houses of worship stood together against a plan for a new road in 2014 that would have forced them apart. They refused to separate. They said relocation would destroy the symbol of religious harmony that had been established.

Al-Muqarrabien Mosque and Mahanaim Church as well as Al-Azhar Mosque and GKE Nasaret are witnesses to the history of diversity in the republic. Difference becomes strength in the face of calamities and difficulties.