Pluralism Knowledge Program is a collaborative program of four countries: Indonesia, Uganda, India and the Netherland. This video explains the activities of this program.
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Tuesday (19/11) marked the beginning of the second run of the School of Diversity Management (SekolahPengelolaan Keragaman – SPK) organized by Center for Religious and Cross Cultural Studies (CRCS), Universitas Gadjah Mada. Twenty-three participants from around the country attended the school, which gathers activists and academics to learn about religious diversity in Indonesia. In the introductory session, participants revealed concerns that their different religious, ethnic, and racial backgrounds would cause asplit during the learning process. Some feared that a lack of transparency on sensitive topics might result in divisions between the group while discussing religious, racial, and ethnic issues.
In addition to the anxiety associated with disintegration, the participants also worried about over saturation from the information as presented in a formal classroom setting, preventing the optimal transfer of knowledge. It was not only the participants who expressed these kinds of concerns. MustaghfirohRahayu, one of the team managers of the second SPK, admitted that this year’s program would be more challenging, because this group of practitioners had more experience in managing issues of diversity than the previous group. Rahayu noted that it is important for the program to adapt to the experience of the participants, providing alternative models of diversity management in accordance with their respective issues.
Nia Syarifuddin, one of the facilitators from the National Unity Alliance (AliansiNasional Bhinneka Tunggal Ika – ANBTI), explained that these concerns are a natural part of the processes of dialogue and learning. Therefore, is importantto have the cooperation and support of the participants and the committee for the course to be successful.
The Vice President for Academic Affairs, Development, and Cooperation of the Graduate School of UGM, Ir. Suryo Purnomo, M.A. Sc., Ph.D., welcomed the participants by explaining the history of Yogyakarta, a region that is intertwined with the history of religion. He mentioned Borobudur and Prambanan Temples, the Sultan’s Palace (Kraton), and Ganjuran Church as historic buildings constituting evidence of the many religious practices that are part of Yogyakarta’s history.
Suryo affirmed that discussions about religion might easily heat up, and he encouraged an air of mutual respect and appreciation in throughout the process of the program. He shared his expectations that the SPK activities were an opportunity for the participants to increase their knowledge. The SPK, in his opinion, should be used as aspace to share experiences for the benefit of mutual learning, acting as a potential force in the effort to avoid friction between religions, cultures, and races.
Participants from various regions of Indonesia, such as Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, Papua, NTT, and Java, participated in the second SPK. In addition, the participants also came from a variety of backgrounds, including educators, NGO activists, government officials, media activists, and researchers. During the 10-day session from November 18– 28, 2013, participants engaged in classroom activities, and field trips visiting various sites related to dialogue between diverse religious communities. One site they visited allowed practitioners to learn about the followers of indigenous religion at Mount Sempu. They also visited PaguyubanNotoBawono,a nd the Islamic Monday-Thursday Boarding School for waria(transgender).

Many people assume that waria (or transgender individuals) need to reform their ‘sickness’ for the good of society. However, there are some are of the opinion that waria are partof the diversity that God created. In this view, God created men and women as two distinct biological categories. But in terms of gender, the existence of waria, or men with a feminine nature, cannot be denied in contemporary Indonesian society. The Monday-Thursday Islamic Boarding School for the Waria (Pesantren Waria Senin-Kamis) is one of the unique expression of this community’s existence in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. This pesantren provides a means of representing the transgender community’s religiosity in a positive light. CRCS brought the participants of School of Diversity Management (Sekolah Pengelolaan Keragaman – SPK) to visit to the waria boarding school in Yogyakarta to look at the facts on the ground after a few days studying theories of diversity together at UGM.
Maryani, one of the pesantren’s administrators, told us, “[W]e, the waria, at this Islamic boarding school, come from various regions in Indonesia, such as Batam, Medan, Yogyakarta, and other places. Even so, we remain one; we have to practice unity as a whole. Weare also human, and as like others, we want to study religion. However, the problem is there is no place that will accommodate us. All the Islamic boarding houses are only for men and women, so wedo not have a place to learn. Therefore, we set up the Pesantren Waria Senin-Kamis, and Thank God, there is Kyai Hamroeli who is willing to support us. While there areother kyais (the clerics) who think we are distorted, and wrong according to religion, it does not matter, and we will continue to carry out activities at the school, including worship, because only God knows the admissibility of one’s deeds.”
Established in 2008, pesantren provides a schedule of religious activities for the waria community in Yogya. Religious lectures are held every Monday and Thursday evening. Activities began with a nariyah reading and prayers at five o’clock, followed by the maghrib prayer in congregation. After that, there is a reading of al-Fatiha one hundred times, followed by evening prayers in with the congregation. The waria who attend also have the opportunity to learn the practice of prayer guided by the cleric for those who cannot read the Koran. In addition to the compulsory worship practices, they also perform other sunnah (voluntary) kinds of worship such as sholat hajat (a voluntary prayerperformed when a Muslim has the intentionor particular needs) which is undertaken at 11:00 pm, and tahajud prayers at 2:00 am. They also conduct a istighosah (mass prayer) until dawn, returning to their respective homes after Fajr prayer.
Yeti, one of the pesantren students of revealed that she had felt distinct since childhood. “[I] myself have felt since childhood, and this is not as shaped by the environment, because the fact is I also have a lot of older brothers. After sensing different things for a few years, then in 1994, when I was in high school, I could accept this situation,” she admitted.
Further, Ruli, an activist for waria in Yogyakarta, described the dilemma of waria in Indonesian context, focusing on the effect of Islamicization. He reiterated his understanding that Indonesia is a country that is predominantly Muslim, but that does not mean Indonesia is a religious country. Islamic boarding schools teach students about Islam in accordance with the teachings in the Koran and Hadith. He also added that if the Prophet was alive in the present day, then it of course would be easy to ask for his clarification on this issue. However, according to Ruli, waria should not be defined by the individual in accordance with their own perspectives, because such things tend to lead to bias and discrimination against people who identify as waria.
In addition, according to Ruli, the rules and Islamic law in the Koran and Hadith also accommodate waria lives. But what must be done is to change people’s perspectives so they do not define waria only in negative terms. In fact, the negative definition of this community is already embedded in society, making it more resistant to change.
Most people identify waria with the activity of prostitution. In fact, many waria contribute positively to the community. Some of the members of this Islamic boarding school are also activists in several organizations such as Kebaya or The Big Family of Waria in Yogyakarta (KeluargaBesarWaria Yogyakarta) which focuses on health issues along with several other institutions.
Maryani added that many people ostracize the waria so they do not have the ability to support themselves. In such conditions, they can only making money through singing or night-life entertainers. Lucky waria who have the skills can find work in salons. In general, it is difficult for a wariato be accepted by society, especially to get jobs according to their abilities. The existence of this Islamic boarding school, for Maryani, is a forum for waria to study religion and good behavior, and a way to contribute to the community. It will be a means to change the negative view of society has of the waria. ThePesantrenWariaSenin-Kamisin displays that although most Muslim societies still generally do not accept the existance ofwaria, there is a possibility for interaction and learning in a religious space.