Response to Literary

            The novella Monsieur Ibrahim and The Flowers of The Koran has good attitude. One of the good attitude is respect each other between Momo and Monsieur Ibrahim eventhough they have different religion. I think it’s the special something that good to do in real life because sometime it will makes sensitive some people if we talking about religious. I ever have a close friend when senior high school, she has different religion with me. We do many thing together in the school and sometime we visit each other. She is very tolerant, when I and my friend pray in my house, she still waiting in out of my small mosque in the house and also if she has religion activity, we also wait her. However, I have a problem from my family about my friend. My parents forbid me to friendly with her without a real reason. I cannot hang out with her, so I feel confuse when she come to my home. I try to find good reason to not accept her invited. Although she has good attitude, my parents still cannot give permission to me to go with her. Only in the school we can doing something.

            It’s contrast with what Momo’s experience in that Novella. He can free doing something with Monsieur Ibrahim without prohibition from his father. They can travelling, dancing, talking everyday although they have different religion. We can look at Indonesian environment that we look like full of peace with prosperous society but in the reality full of discrimination from some people such us a parents not give permitted their child to play with friend in different religion. I can find some reason according to my self-experience, parents not give their child to do that because they afraid their child will follow or move to another religion same with her friend. The second reason is they afraid especially if the child already adult and her friend with different religion is different gender. They can falling in love and want to married. It’s difficult in Indonesia to married in different religion, so one of them must change religion so that the religion is same and they can married. I ever meet that condition in my neighbor. They are long time have relationship until become old, they can married because has different religion. One of them cannot changed her religion because not have permission from parents and until now they still don’t have married. It’s very difficult to respect each other in Indonesia as long as still many discrimination or all of people cannot have freedom to choose their choices.

            Many of people said that the story in novella, prose, drama and film is not easy when we do same thing in our real life. In Indonesia a little conflict about religion can makes big impact. It will makes many conversation talking about that every day and every time. Why we are not try to respect each other to get more peacefulness. Indonesia already have rule in human right to free choose our religion without force, disturb and pain another people. Actually in Indonesia, especially in Lamongan, my hometown there are a village called Balun. It’s very famous story and many people know about it if Balun village have variety type of society. In Lamongan, Balun village also called as Pancasila village and it already become object research of some student from university because their good attitude in respect each other. Balun village is small village consist of society with three religion such us moslem, christian, and hindu. It almost represent variety religion in Indonesia. Balun village is location of my friend’s home that have different religion with me so I can know many thing about that. Many kind of activity sample that can show us if people in Balun village is very respectful. In that place stand nearly four different place to pray for every religion. For example, please pray for moslem is mosque which is located beside church where cristian pray and then the place for hindu pray in a temple is located in front of church. The distance between three of different place for pray just around ten meters. We can imagine how if the three of place have different activity in the same time. In the Friday for example, moslem and christian have same religion activity and the place is nearly but they still continue their pray without any conflict or feeling disturbed each other. Another example coming from temple place for hindu people pray in Balun village when the moslem in Balun village celebrate Idul Fitri, the temple set a banner “Selamat Hari Raya Idul Fitri” in front of temple. It’s very heartwarming talk about their toleration to another religion. They also together make cleans their area every sunday and come together in married activity using rimless cap. The religion variety of Balun village also happens in their family. Majority a family can have three kind of religion also. For example my friend and her mother is moslem but her father and brother is Hindu. Another family in Balun village also have that experience. They operate their religion appropriate with their willingness not because force from other side. In Balun village almost there are no conflict that discussion about their religion because they have feeling respect in each other and no discrimination. They have some conflict but it just about private problem in their self or family’s problem.

            Many example of good attitude that can useful for more respect in another religion such us in novella from the character of Monsieur Ibrahim and Momo and also from the society of Balun village to respect each other although we have friend or closed people that has different religion.