Roads in here and there

This note was inspired by roads in two different countries:

A year a go when I went to a “mosque” just next to my campus premises in Australia, I was surprised because there was no even single person there, but a folk of men who looked confused as I did. We were about to have Friday prayer, a once-in-a-week prayer which may be equal to a Service or Mass in Christinity and Catholic. We were not coming in the wrong time, the prayer time was right: 1.30 PM. We had no idea what was going on until a lad came to us and let us know that since that week, Friday Prayer was temporarily prohibited. The city council received complains from neighbors and people around mosque’s vicinity, as prayer congregation’s members were parking their cars irresponsibly on the road surroundings the mosque. The permit to have a communal meeting which involve a large number of praticipants was temporarily revoked. (Yes, I did not say it the license for having a prayer, as well as I put double quotes for the word “mosque”. It was indeed not registered as a worshipping premise, it was only registered as a community service building.)

I emotionally started thinking how surpressing is the city council not to let minority people to conduct their most basic rights. Until last week, in Indonesia, my own country:

I had an Ied prayer, the prayer which is performed for the second biggest Islamic festival across the year. I had it in my new house vicinity’s mosque. It was the first time for me having Ied prayer in that place, as I just moved to here couple months ago. I was surprised seeing people closed the main road in both lanes. The road was stripped using kind of white paint. The stripes were meant to be a sign for people to have a linear row in order to have a perfect prayer ritual. The road was only occupied by few people. In fact, there was spacious place in the rear of the building and was not fully occupied.

And here I started thinking as if I were the minority, when I or my family members are very sick and need to be transferred to the ER. The only way to get to the nearest hospital was closed, and a minute is a borderline between life and death. The stripes were so irresponsible as well. They obscure the road surface markings, and last there for months.

Here life opens my eyes that human are possessing basic instinct to be superior and tyrannical, anywhere on this earth.

"Noisy" Mosque

This is my five cents which has been hidden in my own mind since I was mature enough to criticize and compare. Having no intention whatsoever to be pro or cons towards any religion, I just bring about what I have been experiencing in my entire life. Any readers finding my writing as an offensive material; please accept my sincere apology.

I find it very difficult to come across solemn ambience in the mosques, particularly the ones I have visited at. It is often times annoying and diminishing the holiness of the rituals being served in the mosque. You may have experienced a moment of Friday praying when kids’ voice is louder than the sermon’s. Chatting is sometimes not enough to them, they play around as if the mosque was their playing park.

The situation is completely different compared to other religions’ worshipping premises, which are very quiet yet sacred. I believe it is neither about the design nor architecture of the compound. The ornaments or embellishment have nothing to do as well to it. I perceive this phenomenon as the discrepancy in regarding worshipping premises. In Islam, mosques are the centre of human’s activities. It is not only a building at which moslems conduct their prayers. Mosques are the meeting point, knowledge sharing centre, schools, dormitories, social rehabilitation centre, and many more at the same times.

The way mosques are introduced to the children is by taking them to the mosques as if the mosques are their own house, at which self-comforting behaviors are okay, and tolerated. In addition, parents have such a thought that kids should be introduced to the mosques at young age, to build their loveliness to the mosques. In other sides, some religions           bring up their religious premises to kids as a sanctified and respectful area. In terms of frequency, having five-times-a-day visit to the mosques, compared to once-in-a-week-or-more visit will bring different impression towards sacredness of worshipping premises.

Both perceptions are true according to their own values, but do you think that there is something we could do about?, when Friday speech is nothing but listening to the kids yelling while playing hide and seek?.

I believe there is a way of overcoming this situation. It does not necessary mean that kids are kept in distance to the mosques. There is a possibility of conducting a “special” Friday praying congregation for kids? It should be cheering, enjoyable, yet knowledgeable. Time may be rearranged, as they are not obliged enough to conduct the real congregation. This is aimed at preparing them to participate at the real ones, once they get older. In this “preparation class”, they might be taught how to properly behave inside the mosques. The roles of adults are also expected to be assistive to this effort: leading by examples. Having a power nap or stereo chit-chat at the mosques in between praying times is showing to kids how disrespectful adults are to the premises.

Anyhow, I miss a sacred and holy ritual while having Friday praying, but I am not brave enough to take an action. Maybe this writing will show how I have been thinking about this, and some people will comment, criticize, curse, or perhaps get inspired by this. 

Co(rrupting)ience Store

I was really encouraged to write this post down after last night shopping at the most happening convenience store in town (you know what?). And this story will tell you how severe this country in enduring corruption disease. Long story short, I and my sister got off from my bike around 7PM just in front of the store. It is just 200 m away from my house. We got in and serving ourselves with the monumental ice blended beverage (you know what?), some hot drinks for my wife and parents, and also some snacks. We then hit the cashier, and with an energetic and hospitable act, a guy behind the cash register served us. He did his job very smoothly yet convincing, and said: “Well, 50 thousand rupiahs for all”. And the pathetic thing was just started.

Unfortunately for him, my eyes were staring at the register just a second before he finished inputting the transaction, printing the receipt, and making the transaction amount at the monitor disappeared. It was so quick, and not many customers had the conservatism as I had last night. I clearly read the monitor and did not find any “50.000” displayed. For your information, I always re-check any receipts or invoice I got, thanks to my basic instinct as an auditorJ

That guy does not give away the receipt to the customer, unless it is requested. When I asked for it, He confidently said: “Alright Brother, let me print it for you”. And He just began his deceiving act, because I know the receipt had been printed beforehand. It took him another half a minute to print the receipt, by pressing the keyboard many times. He ended up giving me two separate receipts, WTH? He then asked me to move across because he was about to serve the next customers. He just messed me up by disturbing my concentration so I would not check the receipts. Another thank to my instinct, I looked upon them and found his cheat.

The first receipt was good, so I checked the second one. It was written a cup of beverage that I had never bought. On the contrary, there was no beverage we bought, written in those receipts. That bogus beverage was much expensive than ours. I then politely complained to him, asking what sort of beverage was that. He professionally reacted as if he made a human error. He never asked me a favor to hand those receipts in to him. He just spontaneously typed something in register, and printed another new receipt, with the right beverage printed on it. My question is: how the hell did he know which item was not supposed to be charged to us?. He extended his apology and saying that the second receipt belonged to the previous customer. Another lie detected! The second receipt was numbered exactly after the first one. That indicated that those two receipt were consecutively printed, purposely only for me!

It was alleged that the register-man had been cheating for some times. The convenience store has recently been popular among teenagers. They usually go dating to this convenience store, because no enough public space available in this country. Imagine, if you were a juvenile, asking your girl friend you have been crushing on, for the first time on a convenience-store-date. Will you check the receipts? Hell no! It is a big Don’t!!.

That cashier reckons this fact as a good opportunity. Adding up with another fact that the beverage is not counted on a unit basis, because customers are allowed to serve themselves. How much beverages dispensed is immeasurable, because it depends on how long customers pressing the button. Furthermore, customers can mix up the beverages as their wishes. This implicates at the stock-counting method. There is no way to count up how many cups have been sold in a day. And this is perfect to be manipulated.

How pathetic it is to witness how corruption is “bred” even in a convenience store with youths as perpetrators. It is not a multi-billion dollars corruption with politicians involved. Some people might have found my story as a tolerable-small-scale corruption that doesn’t deserve our attention. But I would confidently say: this is the beginning of all. Here is the place where the “culture” is initiated.

Asra

PS:

When Indonesians justify this as a chance to earn extra-income since their salary is too small, that is the time to start thinking that we are now really sick.

Ratu Lanang Sejagat: Preview "Religious Fanaticism"

Ratu Lanang Sejagat: Preview "Religious Fanaticism"

Ratu Lanang Sejagat

Religious Fanaticism

There is a tenuous difference between believing-your-faith and self-praising-as-the-truest. I have been observing this phenomenon since I was adolescence. So many individuals I used to amaze at, as they had been struggling for what they thought were right. There is completely nothing wrong with the idea of being firm and still to our very own basic values. Particularly, values we were born and grown with: religion. But when it turned to excessively admire ourselves while ignoring others, I found it as a nonsensical behavior. 

There is a memorable life-episode of mine that is always exposed when I bring about this topic. For a sample purpose, let just say Mr X who used to live in the same lodging house with me. We both embrace the same religion. On a random day and due to a random cause, He delivered a “sermon” to me and ended up by handing out a Xeroxed paper. What was written on the paper was unforgettably ridiculous where he claimed as a member of a supreme sect [based on its followers]. The sect proclaimed itself as the one-and-only sect deserved for heaven. I decided to stop talking to him for months as I kept asking myself: “Have they got a Guarantee Letter from God about permanent-heaven-residency?

 At this point, I think it is important to disclaimer myself as “Not a liberal agnostic or atheist who would tarnish the purity of certain religions”. I am now embracing a religion and never convert ever since I was born. I am just motivated to spit out my five cents.

 Religious fanaticism is something at which I have genuinely no problem, as long as it does not violate others. It is disturbing to find out a female classmate of mine once surprisingly asked me to move to other desks. She did so because she thought it was religiously forbidden to be in a close distance with an opposite sexed individual. I really [wanted to] respect the values she was holding on, but why should I move as there were many other chairs unoccupied in class?.

 Another story went on when I was living in religious vicinity. This area was over populated where having a yard around a house was almost impossible. Long story short, one of my neighbors was dead, and I sent his family a deep condolence. According to his religion, praying rituals in seven consecutive days have to be performed. Since no space to host all the prayer congregation members, the public road in front of the house was closed for seven days. In fact, there is a worshipping premise just 50 meters away. Another question popped up my mind: why should they insist to close the road for days and force people to take longer route? They could actually use the worshipping premise since it was unused every time they had praying congregation. Didn’t they realize they were violating others’ right? I did not even bother to speak up, as I believe I will get shut up if I do so.

 There is not much solution for these phenomena but “Respect”. Please be concerned that religion is something holy. It will not let its followers to be interfering and obstructive to others. We are living in a place called Earth, where all religions were born on it. So, as long as we are still living on Earth, please share it to all. Remember, being faithful is one thing, but being respectful is another thing.