An 18-year-old high school student from Banyuwangi, East Java, named Afi Nihaya Faradisa has become a celebrated figure in Indonesia recently due to her very mature outlook on tolerance at a time when the country seems to need reminding about it most.

On May 15, Afi wrote a long Facebook post called ‘Warisan’ (Inheritance) in which she criticized racial and religious divisions brought about by identity politics. She argued that we didn’t choose who we were born to be, so there’s no need to hate others who are different from us.

WARISANDitulis oleh Afi Nihaya FaradisaKebetulan saya lahir di Indonesia dari pasangan muslim, maka saya beragama… 由 Afi Nihaya Faradisa 发布于 2017年5月14日

Translation:

It so happens that I was born in Indonesia to a Muslim couple, therefore I am Muslim. If I were born in Sweden or Israel to a Christian or Jewish family, is there any guarantee that I would be a Muslim today? No.

I did not choose where I was born and where I lived after I was born.

My nationality is an inheritance, my name is an inheritance, and my religion is also an inheritance.

Luckily, I have never conflicted with people who have different inheritances because I know that they couldn’t have chosen what they received as inheritance from their parents and country.

A few minutes after we were born, our environment determines our religion, race, tribe, and nationality. After that, we defend to the death all the things that we never chose for ourselves.

Ever since I was a baby I was indoctrinated that Islam is the only true religion. I pitied those who aren’t Muslim because they’re kafirs and they’re going to hell after they die. It turns out, my Christian friend also has the same belief regarding her religion. They pity those who don’t believe that Jesus is God because these people are going to hell, according to their religion.

Therefore, imagine if we don’t stop pulling each other to switch religions, imagine if we the people of religion don’t stop competing our superiority over one another, even though there’ll never be a meeting point.

Jalaluddin Rumi said, “Truth is a mirror in God’s hand; fallen and shattered to pieces. Every person picks up a piece, looks at it and then thinks they own truth in its entirety.”

One of the characteristics of theists is claiming that their religion is correct. They don’t need proof, as it’s called “faith”. Humans do have the right to forward God’s messages, but don’t try to be God. Don’t say others are going to heaven or hell because we are merely slaves [to God].

The background of all conflicts is because every inheritance claims, “My type is the best because God himself said it.” So, the question is, if not God, who else created Muslims, Jews, Christians, Buddhists, Hinuds, or even atheists and cared for them all even to this day?

Nobody doubts God’s power. If He wants, He can make us all the same. One kind. One religion. One nation. But that’s not the case, right?

If one country is inhabited by people of the same religion, would that guarantee harmony? No! The fact is, many countries are in conflict despite their people having the same religion.

Therefore, it’s no wonder when majority vs. minority sentiment still rules, and our sense of humanity disappears to who knows where.

Imagine if each religion demands that their holy book becomes the basis of the country’s laws. That way, we can just wait for the destruction of our Indonesia.

Therefore, what’s used in this country in shaping politics, law, and humanity is not the Quran, Bible, Tripitaka, Weda, or any other holy book, but Pancasila, the UUD ’45 Constitution, and the principle of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity).

In Pancasila perspective, every holder of religion is free to believe and carry out their religion’s teachings, but they don’t have the right to force their perspective and religious teachings as a gauge on people of other religions. Just because they feel the most right, the people of religion A don’t have the right to intervene the policies of a country that is built on many beliefs.

One day in the future, we will tell our kids and grandkids the story of how this country almost tore to pieces not because of bombs, weapons, bullets, or missiles, but because the people championed and fought about inheritance in social media.

When other nations have gone to the moon or created technology to progress civilization, we’re still fighting over our inheritance.

We don’t have to think alike, but let’s all think together.

Afi’s writing earned her much praise online, with her post being shared almost 70 thousand times on Facebook at the time of writing.

However, there were some who disagreed and took offense to Afi’s post and many reported her account to Facebook as a scam. Facebook then temporarily suspended her account, but the suspension has since been lifted.

But Facebook’s inappropriate suspension wasn’t the only fallout Afi had to deal with for being open minded. In a recent interview with Liputan 6, she revealed that people have been making threats against her life.

“I have received death threats because of my Facebook status. I’ve also been bullied through private messages on Facebook,” Afi said, as quoted by Liputan 6.

Afi said someone has also phoned her with a death threat, warning her, “We can also kill you, not just your [Facebook] account.”

Afi has chosen to ignore the death threats. Despite the risks she might face for speaking out, she says her family and friends are proud of her and support her decisions.

One thing’s for sure – if there were more people, young and old, as open minded as Afi in Indonesia, then this country would be much more harmonious than it is now.



As Afi wrote at the end of ‘Warisan’: “We don’t have to think alike, but let’s all think together.”

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