Mutual Cooperation & Interfaith Dialogue in Philly Indonesian Communities (by Leah Otto)

One theme that I have been thinking about following our time in Philadelphia is unity and diversity. The Indonesian community in Philadelphia is incredibly diverse. It is composed of individuals from a broad range of locations and islands, which also means that the foods they eat and the language they speak may be different. The art forms of batik cloth designs and gamelan music, and a number of other cultural habits or beliefs may be very different. Within that some individuals are Chinese Indonesian, native Indonesian, or another combination of ethnicities. In Philadelphia there are Muslims, Christians, and Buddhists, however in contrast with Indonesia the religious majority in Philadelphia is Christian, not Muslim.

That being said, community and unity are also very evident among the Philadelphian Indonesians, of which I could give you countless examples. One such example is Pastor Aldo of Philadelphia Praise Center, our host church, who is a man that will help anyone and everyone with anything and everything. He translates for community members at doctors or court appointments, he gives rides, he helps people find housing, and he is one of those people who really does “have a guy” for every situation. He is a man you want to know. He played a large role in interfaith dialogue among Christian and Muslim Indonesians in Philadelphia and is one reason they get along so well. Many years ago he allowed the Muslim community, who did not yet have their own space to worship, to use their church building to worship despite the resistance he got from others. He also organized my service placement during which we helped him help others with anything from cleaning and painting other churches to weeding a community garden.

Philadelphia Praise Center celebrated its 17th anniversary this February and it was truly a uniting of the community. The church building was completely packed and I can’t even guess the number of people that had to bring food to provide the seemingly endless supply of food that day. There were performances from community members during the service and it was a time of true fellowship with a uniquely Indonesian twist. There were many people wearing batik, all the food was Indonesian…

This tension of unity within diversity is reflective of Indonesian culture and is something that I think is different from the United States, where we often put more of an emphasis on celebrating diversity. Indonesia possesses five national guiding principles, called Pancasila, that are separate from their constitution. One of these principles is “the unity of Indonesia”. Historically Indonesia was colonized by a variety of other countries that have left their mark and as an archipelago it is geographically very widespread. There is also a phrase in Indonesian, “kerja bakti”, that translates to “mutual cooperation”. In practice this generally means that we are to help each other out in all ways and work together as a community for the benefit of everyone. Despite the diverse culture that is Indonesia there still remains an impressive national and cultural emphasis on unity and community. This cooperation is something that I admire about the Indonesian community in Philadelphia and their culture. It was a joy to be a part of and it is something that I hope we can learn from.