Print

Mail

wiki links

Burnt-down Muslim school reopens as island looks to future

Days after their Muslims-only school burnt down in religious clashes in 2000, Islamic leaders in Indonesia's once-idyllic Maluku islands vowed to rebuild.

They reopened the school yesterday -- but this time for children from all faiths in hopes it can be a catalyst for peace in a region where nearly 6,000 people were killed between 1999 and 2001.

"Our hope, of course, is that this will bring peace here now and forever," said Idrus Tatuhei, chairman of local branch of Muhammadiyah, the country's second-largest Muslim association.

Financed with a US$192,000 grant from the UN, the school was moved to a site accessible to both Muslims and Christians and its curriculum revamped to include peacebuilding and tolerance.

"The recovery process can be long and difficult, which is why schools like this are so important," said UN Development Program representative Gwi-Yeop Son. "I hope that this school will provide a model for others in Maluku and across Indonesia."

During the sectarian violence, hundreds of thousands of people fled their homes, and the town of Ambon was left in ruins. Even today, most Muslims and Christians live in separate neighborhoods.

The violence peaked in mid-2000, when thousands of Muslim fighters from the Islamic group Laskar Jihad arrived from Java, Indonesia's main island, after security forces failed to stop attacks by Christians.

Former President Abdurrahman Wahid claimed the conflict was sparked by hard-line generals seeking to undermine the country's civilian rule following the end of ex-dictator Suharto's 32-year reign. The fighting decreased sharply in 2001 after Wahid was replaced by Megawati Sukarnoputri, who enjoys the backing of the army brass.

The violence abated after a peace pact approved in February, 2002.

Community leaders acknowledge that continued clashes are a risk as in neighboring Central Sulawesi, where a dozen Christians were killed last year despite a three-year-old peace pact.

Despite a building boom in Ambon, the economy in the Malukus is fragile and nearly 40,000 of the province's refugees remain in camps, too scared or too poor to return to their old villages.

Still, there are encouraging signs of harmony. Communities have begun holding traditional reconciliation ceremonies, and six other schools in Ambon are set to open with a mix of Muslim and Christian students.

"The situation is very good. It's almost like it was before the fighting," said Caroline Tupamuahu, a UN worker whose parents were forced to flee Ambon for Jakarta because her father is Muslim and mother Christian.

"Before small problems would lead to violence everywhere," she added. "But now, people are working out their problems and the police and military are keep the peace."

Located 2,600km east of Jakarta, the region once known as the Spice Islands includes more than 1,000 islands.

While Christians are a minority in Indonesia -- the world's largest Muslim nation -- the 2.2 million people in the Malukus are evenly split between the two faiths.
This story has been viewed 2486 times.