A SHOW CASE AT THE BALTIC CULTURAL CENTER IN GDANSK

DR LAWRENCE OKEY UGWU, or Larry, seldom went to Warsaw, he would prefer to spend his times in Gdansk. He is currently Director of the Baltic Cultural Center in Gdansk. Yet, he is Nigerian by citizenship and holds doctorate degree in culture from a university in Poland. He is, of course, fluent in the Polish language.

Dr. Lawrence Okey Ugwu is modest in terms of appearance. He wears ‘kopiah’ in a Palembang style. I always forgot to ask him where he’d got that kopiah. When he came to see me at the Indonesian Residence (Wisma Duta), he presented me an invitation.

He befriended with Mr. Paweł Adamowicz, the Mayor of Gdansk, who is so inspirational. Paweł told me he wanted to rebuild the city’s international reputation and tourism by staging cultural festivals from different countries, including from Indonesia. And he appointed Larry as the director, a step should be envied by our mayor/governor the city of Jakarta, Bang Fauzi Bowo.

Paweł Adamowicz further said, by having international recognition Gdansk would receive investment. And it was proven! I had witnessed the fruits, I had been visiting this city where President Lech Walesa, the legendary Solidarnosc chairman opens his office, quite often.

I have another friend who lives in the city, a jazz pianist Mr Leszek Mozdzer who had staged his performance in Jakarta, brother of Ms. Jadwiga Mozdzer, the director of Sendratari Damai.

Therefore, the invitation extended by Larry would not be spared. I remember, the first time I met with him was during a cultural performance held by Ms. Jadwiga Mozdzer. That was in 2007.

Larry came to me with single purpose, after learning I was leaving Poland, by end of my term as Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Republic of Poland. Being a good friend of Indonesia, he said he would give me a chance to show my case, asking me to speak before a seminar on Islam and Democracy, on February 15, 2010, together with a prominent Polish professor of Islamic and Arabic studies and Chairman of the Khaldun Institute Professor Boguslaw R. Zagorski.

Professor Zagorski is a good friend of mine. We held lunches, dinners, breakfasts. When I invited him, he would come with the whole contingent of the family: his charming wife and beautiful daughter and handsome son!

Talking about the seminar, we divided the labor. Since I represented Indonesia as the most successful of blending Islam and Democracy, I was given the task to deliver a lecture. Professor Zagorski, a Polish expert on Islam and at one time chairman of the Polish Islamic Community was given the task in explaining my lecture in the context of the Islamic World and Polish interpretations.

In his capacity as Director of the Baltic Cultural Center, Dr. Lawrence Okey Ugwu presided over the meeting. Larry explained to me that only Ambassadors of states who witness dynamic reforms reaching out beyond the phenomena of local stature were invited. The meeting was attended by more than 80 persons, who took a lively and active interest.

Therefore, I felt privileged when I was the first Ambassador to inaugurate this series of meetings devoted to “Ambassadors and Pulse of the World,” which dealt mainly with the most essential problems and transformations going on in the contemporary world, such as: the changing role of religion or the situation of women in the society. Later, Larry said, he would invite ambassadors of Pakistan, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia to do the same.

This first meeting was entitled Islam and Democracy and was the platform for discussions on the subject of Islam and its role in the democratic society of Indonesia. In the awareness of Poles, Islam is automatically related to conservatism and fundamentalism and whether peaceful coexistence is possible between Islam and the modern consumer world, especially in Europe.

The meeting was opened by the Cultural Center Director Dr. Lawrence Okey Ugwu and the Deputy Director of the Gdansk President’s Office Mr. Maciej Buczkowski, with a brief introduction by Professor Boguslaw Zagorwski.


Lecture

Next I delivered the main lecture, presenting in detail the compatibility of Islam with modernity, as well as the Indonesian case that Islam, democracy and modernity can go hand-in-hand.

In a nutshell, I explained that in spite of the fact that Indonesia was almost 90% a Moslem country, the other religions flourished: Protestant (5.87%), Catholic (3.05%), Hindu (1.81%) and others coexisted peacefully in this largest Moslem country in the world with a populations reaching almost 150 million.

I also dwelled on the subject of Indonesia overcoming the financial crisis of 1977 and starting from 1998 entering “the club of democracy” as the 3rd largest democracy in the world after India and the United States. Islam came to Indonesia after the Buddhist and Hindu religions from Arabia in the 16th and 17th centuries. Yet this Islam came peacefully--not by conquest--and after being assimilated it became quite different from the Islam in the Middle Eastern practice of literal interpretation, which clashes with the local Indonesian tradition of combining prayer, mysticism and aestheticism.

Islam became the prevailing religion in Indonesia, forming two of the largest Islamic organizations: Nahdatul Ulama (NU) with 40 million members and Muhamadiyah with more than 30 million. The former is more traditionalist, while the latter is modernist. However, both are committed to working within the established political system through the participation in the democratic process, as well as freedom of belief.

The rule of law, good governance, civil society roles in fostering transparency, anti-corruption drive and human rights, as well as a stable annual economic growth of 5-6% GDP have brought Indonesia into the membership of the elite the G-20 club. This rule of law has also resulted in the strong and effective fight against terrorism and terrorist acts committed in Bali and Jakarta in the past few years by apprehending the culprits and ensuring peace for the nation.

In conclusion, I stressed that contemporary Indonesia is a secular country based on the Constitution of 1945 which provides “all persons the right to worship according to their own religion or belief” and states that “the nation is based upon belief in one Supreme God.” Official status is granted equally to Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and other religions.

Discussion

What was most interesting and even fascinating was the fact that the discussion developed into a real forum. The audience raised their hands several simultaneously to ask questions. They mostly came well prepared as to what to ask. Here are some of the most interesting queries:

How could it be that Indonesia with almost 90% of its population being Moslems is not a country ruled by the shariah law? My answer was simple: the people voted for secular parties, rejecting any sort of radicalism or fundamentalism. This could be seen in the 2009 general parliamentary and presidential elections, in which 3 secular and nationalist parties took part.

Another question concerned the shariah bank: another simple answer: it is more profitable and providing better interest.

How could Indonesia achieve such great economic progress in this time of crisis? I explained that his country was rich in natural and human resources which it invested skillfully and wisely, developing the middle class. Now the country has profited from that.

There was also a question about women in an Islamic country: the answer was that women have equal rights in Indonesia. A woman was even the President of the country.

A question concerned the young people in Indonesia or whether they would not be indoctrinated by the fundamentalist and radical teachings. I said the law enforcement organs were now very well prepared to combat any sings of dissent. Mainstream Moslems have been a force for pragmatic nationalism and defense of pluralist democracy, which also preach religious tolerance, equal rights for women, and democracy.

And the questions continued for almost 2 hours. One of the concluding statements came from a Polish woman that despite the differences, one fact in Islam was good: “They did not drink.”

During the discussion Professor Zagorski made his exhaustive comments, chiefly regarding the Moslems in Poland, their life and peaceful customs.

To end the meeting, Professor Boguslaw Zagorski and I gave interviews to the Pomorska Television Station.

15 February 2010