@riotuasikal

Oleh Rio Tuasikal / @riotuasikal Juli 2013, Paus Fransiskus mengajak para pastor untuk turun ke masyarakat, tidak di gereja saja. “Dari altar ke pasar,” demikian teman saya yang Katolik merangkumnya. Paus mengajak umatnya untuk pergi ke masyarakat yang paling dipinggirkan. Kemudian memberi mereka bantuan, melepaskan mereka dari kesusahan. Ajakan Sri Paus membuka mata kita: selama ini agama telah kehilangan semangatnya. Agama yang harusnya mengangkat martabat manusia, kini sebatas nama dan malah berlaku sebaliknya. Ini adalah tamparan bagi agamawan yang selama ini sibuk dari mimbar ke mimbar, tapi tak pernah melakukan apa-apa bagi tetangganya. Mereka sibuk berdiskusi soal bagaimana Tuhan itu betul-betul Mahakuasa, sementara manusia-manusia ciptaan-Nya dibiarkan kelaparan di sini dan di sana. Padahal, sejak awal kehadirannya, agama menetapkan misi jadi terang dunia. Pemuka agama mengaku akan membebaskan menusia dari keterpurukan, kebodohan dan penindasan. Tradisi agama mengajar...

By Rio Tuasikal / @riotuasikal A typical family talk in a collectivist society like Indonesia In the first day of Idul Fitri , I saw three of my friends posted similar status on Facebook. " Kapan nikah ?" (When will you get married?), they wrote, then they added a silly emoticon. Showing they are annoyed with such question. This kind of status also came last year, year by year, and so many years before. Yes, it has been our favorite question in Indonesia for years. Since family affairs does matter for many Indonesians, the question about marriage, girlfriend, fiance, son, and the entire relatives will emerge to show our concern. Contrary to the westerners who prefer to talk about music and politics. Why does family matters for most Indonesians? This is what S.D. Smith in “ Global Families ” (Samovar, 2010) said : various researches showing that "interdependence in family is stronger in a collectivist society" compared to an individualist society...

By Rio Tuasikal / @riotuasikal Everytime we meet Ramadhan, we already know what will be there : takjil (sweets) , music and discount! Welcoming the season, people are suddenly selling takjil in pedestrian or junction, our television suddenly make up themselves with Islamic symbols, and our shops announce their promo. Inside our house, we make our dinner table crowded with cookies ingredients . Our cabinet becomes a  home of our new shirts, t-shirts and pants. Our agenda is also filled with breaking fast together--with family, colleagues, our old friends, a lot of it. We pretend these are urgent. Then our expense becomes bigger and bigger.  In the shopping center, we realize that the way they celebrate Ramadhan is similar with how they hold a cosplay competition. Bazaar, tenants, artists, party. Fashion show, discount, music and performance. This is just about choosing the theme : cosplay or Islam? M aybe this is how our society treating the h...

By Rio Tuasikal / @riotuasikal   Ceria Ramadhan, one of Trans TV Ramadhan program (photo : thejakartapost.com) During Ramadhan, muslims are fulfilled with much amusement. Look at our television channels, they made up themselves Islamic, often misleading to Arabic. Now our primetime is crowded with hijabs, God-around conversation, Quranic verses, and even camels. Today, our religions are being commodificated. It means, people sell it’s values for their personal interest. For it’s economic purposes, television has taken symbols of religion, made it simplistic, and put it everywhere. Suddenly for Ramadhan, our media made a lot of programs, shows, stories decorated with Islamic symbols. Usually doesn’t. Since people attracted to those symbols, by using them, television teaches us how to be a religious person. To be religious, television tells us, is to use these clothes not those, to do these things not those, to act like this not that. Televisio...

By Rio Tuasikal / @riotuasikal “Have you bought trousers?” my mother asked this afternoon. The same question from the last three days. My answer was same too, I won’t buy trousers this year. I even didn’t spend any cent for fashion. I only bought 2 books instead, which are more valuable for me. What about you? Have you, in these last Ramadhan days, bought clothes for Idul Fitri? Big discounts are happening in malls over the city. From baju koko (a chinese-influenced muslim man outfit), gamis (a long dress) to youths style. From pious, formal to even sexy. All priced with vary discount. Cheap price is fulfill our needs to have new clothes in Idul Fitri. Some of us, which recieve THR (religious holidays subsidy), even will use it for irreligious purposes : buying gadget, buying clothes, or traveling. In Idul Fitri, we are like a boss with financial freedom, buying merchandise, take a lunch at popular places, then regret for not saving some money. Yes, we were more egocentric....

Oleh Rio Tuasikal / @riotuasikal *Dimuat di Selasar Gusdurian edisi 5 Masjid milik jemaat Ahmadiyah di Cisalada, Bogor. (foto: HRW) “Pemkot Bekasi menyegel masjid Al Misbah milik jemaah aliran sesat Ahmadiyah di Pondok Gede, Bekasi, Jumat (5/4).” [1] Itulah keterangan foto yang ditulis Republika di situs beritanya. Lengkap dengan istilah “sesat” persis sebelum “Ahmadiyah”. Disadari atau tidak, kalimat itu telah mengajak publik menolak Ahmadiyah. Di akar rumput, berita ini bakal memicu perpecahan, atau paling tidak, melanggengkan kebencian. Berita timpang begini cuma satu dari ribuan bibit alergi beda. Kondisi ini dimulai selepas reformasi, yang ditandai dengan banyaknya media yang berafiliasi dengan satu agama. Dalam konteks Islam, ada nama Voice of Al Islam (voa-islam.com), Hidayatullah.com, majalah Sabili dan lainnya. Rasanya tak perlu saya ceritakan bagaimana mereka menghasut permusuhan, silakan kunjungi website mereka. Dalam bahasa Johan Galtung, ...