The offering with a burning incense.

Last Saturday was Tumpak Landep day. That was the birthday of all vehicles and machinaries in Bali. Balinese prayed and put "sesajen" or offering on their motorbikes, cars and even sewing machines and scissors.

I went out to meet Aliki - Vincent's friend's wife - and I saw the maid next door was making a little ceremony with all the motorbikes in the shared parking lot. I asked her to decorate my motorbike too, and this is what her husband had to say to me, "Not decorate; it's to pray for it."

Oops, well okay, but the offering looked charming, so the insensible me just spurt out the first vocab that applied to it that came to my mind. So yes, it was my fault.

Anyway, I should have asked earlier, they said, because it needed to be prayed in the temple before. But to make me happy, they slipped one pack of offering between the bike and my license plate, splashed some fragranced water on to it, then on to my face.

"Okay, you are safe now," they both said. Then they looked at Vincent's motorbike and they splashed the water too there. "This one, too. Now everybody is safe."

Oh, one of the things I love about Bali.

Bali Culture religion

8:15 am

I was assigned to write an article for Aquila - a new magazine for modern Muslim women in Asia recently. I was asked to write two articles, but due to the ridiculous tight deadline they gave me, I had to drop the other one or I wouldn't make it at all.

Anyway, I was happy to take up the challenge since the issue I had to write was interesting; i.e. Muslim comedians. I had to go through YouTube blogs to see the videos of these amazing comedians and found that some of them were really such quality, honest comedians! My favourite is Baba Ali. I am not going to explain it here thoroughly but when it does come to print, I'll put the writing on this blog.

However, while in the process of making the article, I was online on facebook on the other tab, and an old acquaintance was congratulating me for the Good Friday.
I haven't talked to her in a while and I was still in the research period to build the article, so chatting with her was not a disturbance.

It started to disturb me, however, when she knew that I was writing for Aquila, she said:
"Sorry to ask this, but have you converted to Islam?"

I said, "Did I have to? If tomorrow I wrote about Balinese Hindu, would you think I'd converted to Hindu?"

She replied, "Well, no, but last time I checked, you were still Christian."

Me: "AND?"

She: "Well, why would a Christian write about or for Muslims? You know that they are anti-Christians!"

Me: "Says who? You? Obviously you don't know too many Muslims."

She: "Most of the Muslims in Surabaya are anti-Christians!"

Me: "That proves it again that you don't know anything about them. I have a lot of Muslim friends, since I should remind you that unlike you, I'd always gone to public schools before university that 90% of the students were Muslims. And hardly 5% of them had extreme belief in their religion. I must even say that over 50% are moderate and the rest doesn't even practise it at all. And even the ones who do practise it (praying 5 times a day and fast without interruption during Ramadhan) do NOT hate Christians."

She: "Really?"

Me: "Of course! It is so unfair for you, or anyone else to stereotype Muslims as such just because of what a few of them did. Give it some thought and DO mingle and befriend some of them. You'll see that what I say has a lot of truth in it."

--

If you think the way she does, it is time for you to go out and find some Muslims and see if they are Christian haters like what you think.

religion

4:59 pm

Fabio assigned me to go to this Buddha relic exhibition at the Buddha Dharma Vihara, Sunset Rd, about 2 weeks ago. I was excited because:

• I was dying to be out there in the sun, although still on a work assignment.
• I could meet new people.
• I could take photos.
• If chosen, the photo(s) could be put along with the article, and I would make my first photography debut in print media.
• If chosen, I'd be paid, too. I don't know how much and to be honest I don't care. I just need a recognition from a media (thankfully as big as South China Morning Post) that it was worth publishing.
• There was a free dinner!!!
  

It was not bad at all. Buddhism may not have been my preferred belief, but I could gather that the Buddhists are so nice. They have great manners and they could see things beyond their own religion (read: not closed-minded). None of their philosophy is to gain any power in this world like some religions I know (including mine) and their end goal is to get the peace. And peace is all we need.

A peculiar thing also happened, as I was reconnected with Pattrick Zaffini - a French fellow I knew through my late dear friend Pierre Flaneur. Patrick was the one organizing this relic tour. He was the one interviewed by the Jakarta Post. And he was the one I needed to interview as well. I met Pattrick when some of Pierre's friends were gathering at the Jimbaran beach to send him our full respect and love, just a few days after he was gone. And since then Pattrick has always been in my facebook friend list. Isn't it miraculous that we were met again this way?

Back to my photography/journalism carreer prospect, I am triggered even more to do better now. I just finished an article for the Vietnamese-based East and West magazine about Bali, which will be out in May edition. I'll let you know when it's published. It's rather big.

For now, enjoy Fabio's article and MY photo here.

photography religion

10:19 am

Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI)1 - Indonesian Ulema Council - rejected the gay meeting supposedly to be held in Palembang, South Sumatra, Sunday, 1 March 2009.

The council, which consists of hundreds Muslim scholars with vast knowledge of Islamic laws, argues that it is haram2 to hold such meeting as the Koran states in its Al-Araf letter, article 80-84, that any homosexual relationship is not allowed in Islam.

The head of MUI South Sumatra, KHM Sodikun, told reporters that MUI South Sumatra would ask the authority to pull out the permit of this meeting.

"This is haram, haram and really haram. We urge the city council of Palembang not to let this haram culture stain the city!" Sodikun said.

"We never admit, and will never admit, homosexual relationships in any way. Especially not in the religious-to-be city of Palembang," he continued.

Sodikun also stated the readiness of the ulemas and clerics in South Sumatra to guide any homosexuals - either gays or lesbians - to repent and come back on the right path.

It is unclear up to now if the meeting was finally held or not.

---

1. MUI is trusted by the majority of Indonesian Muslims as representing God in determining what is good and what is bad for Muslims. They also issued fatwa/edict, which devoted Indonesian Muslims should follow. But one may argue that the edicts MUI issues are not binding.
   
2. Haram = (Islam) forbidden, proscribed

Source: Kompas.

gays news religion

8:37 am

How do you read these?

• F**k
• D**n
• S**t

Fuck? Damn? Shit? Not that hard to figure out, is it?

So why do people put asterisk censor ( * ) on those words? So that they were considered "lighter"? Or more polite? Or for religious people, as a way to avoid sinning? Can it actually justify it? Say you die then you tell God you always behaved, you never bad mouthed people, you never swore etc. Will God say, "Oh, that's correct. You said Jangkrik instead of Jancuk. You put asterisk censor in your chats and blogs for f**k. OKAY, you pass, My child."

I don't think God is really that shallow.

Has any of us realised that it is our mind that counts? When you typed f**k, didn't you think out loud of the word fuck? When you read f**k, didn't you read it in your mind as fuck? You can't tell me your mind plays it as : F-BEEP-K!

On earth, people!

language religion

7:44 pm