** Forum Nasional Indonesia PPI India Mailing List ** ** Untuk bergabung dg Milis Nasional kunjungi: ** Situs Milis: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ ** ** Beasiswa dalam negeri dan luar negeri S1 S2 S3 dan post-doctoral scholarship, kunjungi http://informasi-beasiswa.blogspot.com **http://www.indopos.co.id/index.php?act=detail&id=6331 Minggu, 12 Feb 2006, Kritik Karikatur Nabi, Tulis Artikel di IHT JAKARTA - Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) tidak hanya jago berdiplomasi di meja perundingan. Presiden kelahiran Pacitan, Jatim, tersebut juga piawai memerankan diri sebagai pemimpin yang menyuarakan kepentingan Islam pada dunia Barat. Hal itu terkait dengan kontroversi pemuatan karikatur Nabi Muhammad di koran Denmark, yang kemudian dikutip media Eropa Barat. Presiden SBY menanggapi pemuatan karikatur yang melecehkan agama Islam tersebut dalam artikel di harian International Herald Tribune (IHT) edisi Sabtu, 11 Februari 2006. Artikel itu berjudul Let's Try to Get Beyond Caricatures. "Sebagai pemimpin negara dengan penduduk muslim terbesar di dunia, presiden harus menjelaskan pemikiran dan pandangannya menanggapi pemuatan karikatur itu. Melalui artikel tersebut, presiden ingin menjelaskan pendirian beliau sebagai salah satu pemimpin dunia Islam ke dunia Barat," ungkap Jubir Kepresidenan Andi A. Mallarangeng kemarin. SBY juga meminta karikatur itu tidak lagi direproduksi dan dimuat di media mana pun. "Dunia Barat dan Islam seharusnya bisa bekerja sama untuk membangun kultur global yang saling menghormati dan penuh toleransi," tulis SBY di koran milik The New York Times Company itu. Presiden juga mendesak supaya komunitas internasional segera mengatasi kemarahan dunia Islam dengan berhenti menganggap pemuatan kartun itu sebagai bagian dari kebebasan pendapat dan ekspresi. "Langkah vital lainnya adalah menghentikan reproduksi kartun yang hanya akan memperpanjang kemarahan," tulis SBY. Kepada kalangan nonmuslim, mantan Menko Polkam tersebut meminta pemahaman bahwa segala bentuk visualisasi Nabi Muhammad SAW adalah sesuatu yang diharamkan. "Karena itu, saat umat muslim menganggap Nabi mereka dijadikan bahan ejekan, ini penghinaan langsung kepada agama," tulisnya. Presiden juga mengimbau agar aksi protes dilakukan tanpa disertai pertumpahan darah. Dia mengimbau untuk merangkul umat lain dengan menunjukkan bahwa Islam adalah agama yang menawarkan perdamaian. "Kita harus memaafkan mereka yang sudah meminta maaf karena telah menghina Islam," tulisnya. ++++ Let's try to get beyond caricatures Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono International Herald Tribune FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2006 JAKARTA The distasteful cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, first published in Denmark in September 2005 and subsequently reproduced in other media, continue to spark a chain of reactions ranging from peaceful protest to violence in many Muslim communities. The international community must work together to put out this fire. A good start would be to stop justifying the cartoons as "freedom of the press," which only hardens the Muslim community's response. Another vital step would be to discontinue their reproduction, which only prolongs the outrage. To non-Muslims, the image of the Prophet Muhammad may only be of casual interest. But to Muslim communities worldwide, it is of enormous spiritual importance. For the last 14 centuries, Muslims have adhered to a strict code that prohibits any visual portrait of the Prophet. When this code was violated and their Prophet mocked for the purpose of humor, Muslims felt a direct assault on their faith. Reprinting the cartoons in order to make a point about free speech is an act of senseless brinkmanship. It is also a disservice to democracy. It sends a conflicting message to the Muslim community: that in a democracy, it is permissible to offend Islam. This message damages efforts to prove that democracy and Islam go together. The average Muslim who prays five times a day needs to be convinced that the democracy he is embracing, and is expected to defend, also protects and respects Islam's sacred symbols. Otherwise, democracy will not be of much interest to him. The cartoon crisis serves as a reminder that all hell may break loose in a world of intolerance and ignorance. The global community needs to cultivate democracies of freedom and tolerance - not democracies of freedom versus tolerance. It is tolerance that protects freedom, harnesses diversity, strengthens peace and delivers progress. Since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, many in the Western world have shown increasing interest in the Islamic world. Yet this interest has not been accompanied by a greater knowledge and understanding of Islam. In December last year, the summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Mecca lamented "the feelings of stigmatization and concern over the growing phenomenon of Islamophobia around the world as a form of racism and discrimination." The West and Islam need not collide in a clash of civilizations. Many Islamic communities comfortably embrace some Western habits. Correspondingly, Islam has become the fastest-growing religion in some Western nations, including the United States. The Western and Islamic worlds can conscientiously work together to nurture a global culture of respect and tolerance. The international community must not come out of the cartoon crisis broken and divided. We need to build more bridges between religions, civilizations and cultures. Government leaders, religious figures and ordinary citizens can go beyond supporting religious freedom - they can express solidarity with those who are defending the integrity of their faith. We also need to intensify interfaith dialogue so that we may further tear down the walls of misunderstanding and mistrust - an undertaking that Indonesia has actively promoted. Muslims around the world also have responsibilities. No one - certainly not Muslims - will be better off if the current crisis descends into open conflict and more bloodshed. The best way for Muslims to fight intolerance and ignorance toward Islam is by tirelessly reaching out to non-Muslims and projecting Islam as a peaceful religion. We also need to be forgiving to those who have sincerely apologized for offending Islam. Indeed, at this difficult moment, Muslims might emulate the Prophet Muhammad's well-known qualities in dealing with adversity: composure, sound judgment, magnanimity and benevolence. (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is the president of Indonesia.) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Reading only, http://dear.to/ppi 4. Satu email perhari: ppiindia-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 5. No-email/web only: ppiindia-nomail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 6. kembali menerima email: ppiindia-normal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ppiindia-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ** Forum Nasional Indonesia PPI India Mailing List ** ** Untuk bergabung dg Milis Nasional kunjungi: ** Situs Milis: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ ** ** Beasiswa dalam negeri dan luar negeri S1 S2 S3 dan post-doctoral scholarship, kunjungi http://informasi-beasiswa.blogspot.com **