Jacque in Jakarta: Looks Can Be Deceiving

View of the Kahtedral towers

Today we were able to take a tour of the Istiqlal mosque in Jakarta. Istiqlal is the largest mosque in Indonesia. It was completed in the 1970's and, ironically enough, was created by a Christian architect. Inside there are twelve pillars to represent the birthday of Muhammad and five levels to represent "pancasila", which is the philisophical foundation of Indonesia. From the outside grounds there is a view of the Cathedral towers across the street and the Monas national monument not too far away.

A drum used for call to prayer in Indonesia

It was a very beautiful and grand building, but the most interesting thing for me is how Alex and I were treated. It was very different from how we've ever before been treated in Jakarta. People were incredibly welcoming. Strangers were shaking our hands and happy to see us. They then explained why they were so friendly to us by saying one word, "Muslim". They thought from the scarf I was wearing on my head that we were Muslim. They assumed we were "one of them". I happily said, "No, Christian" and then I said what I thought was the most important word "hormat", respect. I tried to explain that I was wearing the scarf out of respect for Muslim traditions. Even though I don't agree with Islam, I am perfectly happy to respect Muslim traditions when I am in their house. Unfortunately, as soon as they realized we were Christian they quickly left us and seemed sorry to have introduced themselves. It seemed that "hormat" wasn't enough. We needed to be "one of them".

Even though the after reaction wasn't very nice, I am still happy we were able to visit Istiqlal seeing as Indonesia contains the largest population of Muslims in the world. I think when traveling around the world it is important to learn about cultures different from your own and to show respect for those cultures. As the saying goes, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do"...even if the Romans don't reciprocate your respect.