Believe, Relieve, Live

God helped me got into Universitas Indonesia.

God said that circumcision is good for our health.

God don't allow me to pray when I am in menses.

Is it superstition or belief? Does God exist?  Where is my God? Can I find some trace of Him in Bible or Koran, or both?

I am a student in the Capital University ofEconomics and Business. This summer I have a volunteer project in Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia via AIESEC.

As an atheist, born with no religion conviction (here I don’t consider confusion as religion), it is very hard to believe in religion and persuade myself to have religious such behavior as praying andfasting. When I first arrived atIndonesia, I consider it is stupid and indeed unnecessary to submit to a religionand following the doctrine of so-call holly book as Bible and Koran. On the other hand, why students in Universitas Indonesia, a national university ofIndonesia, still believe in religion as the sentence I putted at the top?  Why great scientists as Newton and Einstein were still fascinated by God in theirlate life? Why there is 1.6 billion followers of Islam? Till now, I got answer of none of them.

But I want to share my stories concerning to God from several distinct perspectives. Starting from brief of Indonesia, we will then straightly move to these four stories.

Indonesia is a country with mandatory submission ofreligion, a new born must have a religion range from Islam, Christian,Buddhism, or Hindus. What’s more, their religion conviction is presented on their identity card. (you can find ‘ISLAM’on the picture above) Majority of Indonesian are Muslim which lead to Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world with almost 200 million Muslim population. In summary, Indonesia is a religious country. Of people I was able to converse with, it is their view of God attracted me much and also attribute to this article.

SDIT RAHMANIYAH SQUAD, a religious primary school inDepok, Jakarta. Every student and teacher is Muslim; Students are required to learn Arabic; female teachers must wear headscarf including my Christian fellowmates. In this school I had a talk with Irfan, an English teacher. Do you thinkit is necessary to impose a religion on a child? They should have their choice of religion after grow up. Looking at kids playing and asked me.

Well, I think it is necessary, Answered Irfan. Firstly, our religion, Islam, has a after death life, in which life condition depending on sins and merits you have in this life. This has two great benefits, one is that it provides us with an ultimate concern that made us not fear of death anymore, another one is that it oversees our behavior and hence make it benevolent. So, why not we give our children such a good conviction?

Do you think your holly book tells truth? I asked again.

The Koran is vague in most of the time. In this page it’s said that you cannot commit a crime or you will be punished; but in the nextpage, God will forgive us so long as we believe in Him. For me it’s contradictory, but I think the reason why I felt like that is because of my ignorance. I cannot even understand God in my whole life.

Accordingto Koran, girls should cover their skin all the time in public places. Is it a burden to practice religion behavior?

I asked Galang, a boy EP buddy, Muslim also,

ðWill you get up at 4am to pray?

ðNo, I won’t, it is tooearly and I am too lazy to get up, he replies.

ðDid you havecircumcision?

ðYes, I did. It is goodfor our health according to our prophet.

ðIs it also good forgirls to cover their hair?

ðYes, it is.

ðBut why not you guys,man, do it as well?

ðBecause our prophet Muhammaddidn’t do that.

ðWhy not you eat pork?

ðBecause our prophetsaid pork is dirty and unhealthy.

ðWhat a good prophetyou have had. Exclaimed me.

The girl in the middle is Amanda, a Christian from a buddish Vietnam family that immigrated into the US during the Vietnam war.

She told me she was dismayed when her father didn’t permit she pray when she was in menses.

And asked why God discriminate me?

Her father replied: because you are not clean when in menses. You shouldn’t pray to God with an unclean body.

I asked the girl, Liyana, a Malaysia mulsim studying in Warwick University,

Can I go to pray with you?

No,the pray room is only for Muslim.

Why?! God will welcome his follower to show their faith to him.

Once you use logic, you failed in theology. Some fervor of theology put as it.

As the title denoted, to believe, relieve and live.