Building Peace Across Differences This Ramadan

IofC Indonesia Weekly Update #6

22 - 28 February 2026

Ramadan is an opportunity for us to truly reflect. We listen to our deepest inner voice where God speaks, giving guidance and direction that is as close as the veins in our neck. The first ten days are days full of His mercy and grace.

This is the time for us to heal all the diseases of the heart, which make our souls sick and suffer from envy, jealousy, and greed, feeling like it is never enough. Hopefully, in these first 10 days of Ramadan, God will replace all these diseases of the heart and soul with His boundless, abundant grace!

Ramadan does not make us stop working in the slightest. Some School of Reconciliation classes continue to run, while others will only begin after Eid al-Fitr. While waiting for those classes to start, the students are preparing themselves by reviewing previous materials and gathering the data and information needed for the upcoming classes.

After CoPEX ended, the CoP team announced the results of the selected team recruitment. Therefore, Annisa, as the coordinator, now has a team, so their future work can be more effective and efficient, reaching even more women across Indonesia.

Once the team is selected, they will be inaugurated in a ceremony that also commemorates International Women's Day on March 7, 2026. This event will be attended by all CoP program alumni and inspiring female speakers.

As is the Ramadan tradition in Indonesia, we love to break our fast (Iftar) together, abbreviated as BUKBER (buka puasa bersama). BUKBER schedules have been booked far in advance like a music band's concert tour, and this is very exciting!

Our first breaking fast together was held at the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI). There, almost all grassroots peace activists gathered and engaged in dialogue, creating a meeting space that warmed the atmosphere and built familiarity, so the boundaries between us increasingly faded. IofC and the Trustbuilding team served as one of the hosts and led the session in a relaxed yet meaningful way.

Present among us were religious figures from Christianity, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, indigenous beliefs, and Islam from various denominations. The atmosphere grew warmer and livelier as the dialogue process unfolded. Many of us shared interesting experiences about how we strive to dissolve the dividing lines of these differences into one Indonesia.

(Sharing experiences on building bridges across differences toward a more united Indonesia)

This community has existed for a long time, it is called FLADS (Sancang Interfaith and Declaration Forum). In fact, several of its initiators have passed away. Despite this long effort, Bandung still remains the most intolerant city in West Java.

It is truly ironic, which is why peace and interfaith programs like this have become incredibly urgent and must continue in various forms. Whether through dialogue, arts, or training programs, all of these are forms of our efforts to maintain the peace and unity of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. Hopefully, this can reduce church closures and the persecution of religious activities, which are highly discriminatory and traumatic. We even hope for changes in government policy that can strengthen this grassroots movement.

After the dialogue concluded, we all enjoyed the Iftar meal, which turned out to have been prepared by Mrs. Grace, the wife of Mr. Jim, the owner of Jodamo! Do you still remember the Jodamo Team who visited Rumah Damai?

What was even more surprising was that the Jodamo Team was also present at this dialogue event along with their board of directors, even though Mr. Jim and Mrs. Grace were still in Australia. We were very happy to be able to gather again with the Jodamo Team at this forum, and it turned out that Mrs. Grace is a member of this church's congregation. There are always miracles in everything we do, and this makes us even more certain that there is always God's presence in every struggle. Amen.

The next day, Teh Dewi Nadipah, an 8th-year student of the School of Reconciliation and also one of our donors, came to Rumah Damai and brought a lot of food for us to break our fast. During Iftar, we discussed potential collaborations between IofC and her company, Ruang Emotika. The goal is for us to integrate with each other to make an impact on the communities in need.

Coincidentally, Ruang Emotika is based in Garut, my birthplace. From that discussion, we finally agreed on a collaborative strategy to create an event promoting the importance of emotional regulation skills. The event will also discuss how the presence of parents strongly influences a child's growth and development, both physically and mentally. Hopefully, we can realize all these plans this year.

After resting for more than seven days, the CoP Team conducted an internal evaluation. From there, we found many opportunities that can be developed so that CoP can advance further and create an even bigger impact in Indonesia. Not to forget, we also prepared the full report, which will soon be accessible on the IofC Indonesia website.

Based on the experience of CoPEX visiting IJABI (the Bandung Shia Community), we continued our relationship as a follow-up to that meeting. We had an iftar gathering at IJABI while also attending the Ramadan Art Islamic Boarding School event. This Iftar carried the concept of an art performance, where, while waiting for the Maghrib call to prayer, the students there held a Ramadan-themed art show.

There was the recitation of shalawat accompanied by degung instruments (traditional West Java musical instruments), performances by contemporary traditional bands, and musical poetry readings. We also didn't forget to play the "Friends for Life" cards. Since this event also carried a mission of dialogue, we made it even more interesting, especially since it was attended by 10 guests from America who were learning about Indonesia. Through the card game, we shared stories and interacted, so that the dividing walls slowly crumbled and were replaced by the warmth of brotherhood among fellow human beings.

(Participants using the “Friends for Life” cards, one of the learning tools innovated by IofC Indonesia to encourage reflection and dialogue)

Not long after that, the call to prayer echoed, signaling it was time for us to break our fast. Various typical Bandung dishes were available, such as chicken satay, gado-gado, batagor, yellow soup, and crackers. For dessert, there was fresh and sweet es cendol. After eating, we closed the event by performing Dances of Universal Peace led by Ezca, a student at the Reconciliation School, who is an artist and ecological activist in Bali. As the night grew late, it was time for us to go home. Ustadz Miftah, as the leader, gave us a souvenir in the form of his latest published book. Of course, we will read the book later.

Without realizing it, we have passed day after day well, even though along the way, feelings of despair and pessimism sometimes arise seeing the state of the country. The prices of basic necessities continue to rise, violence happens everywhere, and the divorce rate spirals, reaching up to 500 registrations per day in just one sub-district. The number of suicides is increasing, there was even a young child who did it just because he or she couldn't buy a pencil. It is truly heartbreaking to see all of this happening in a country rich in natural resources and fertile because of corruption. We all still try to light the candles inside ourselves despite the darkness enveloping our country.

This month, we have to pay the rent for Rumah Damai. We have received quite a large amount of money from donations and it has helped us immensely. It is so heartwarming to receive so much love and attention from all of you. However, this amount is still far from enough.

Therefore, we will continue to fundraise with the hope of meeting the target by the end of this month. This fundraising report will be neatly compiled by our finance team, so that every incoming fund and its donor's name will be clearly recorded. Thank you very much for all the help. Hopefully, Rumah Damai can continue to operate so that the torch of our struggle will never be extinguished.

Please pray for us and help us with whatever you can. Let us fight together! 

Writer : Nenden Prawira 

Editor and TRanslator : Ari Budi S

Proofreader : Peter Heyes