Let's Repaint Our History by Timotius

Mr. Hamid Algadri’s claim of Arab and Islam phobias among Dutch people in Indonesia (p. 106), in my opinion, is misleading. Those two kinds of anxieties could not be separated, neither be generalized. In my opinion, the Dutch people did not afraid of Arab people neither to Moslem people. They were afraid of Islamic people movements, which were influenced by certain teachings from Arab. Peasants’ revolt in Banten, as described in Sartono Kartodirdjo’s articles, had been one of traumatic events for Dutch people, especially for their officers. This certain form of Islam had shown its power in influencing people movements, both in opposing the government and in doing brutal assassinations. In facts, not all Moslem people in Indonesia at that time were stand with their aspirations and actions. I appreciate those Islam leaders who organized a strong opposition to Dutch colonialism. However, this noble vision should not be done by using violent actions.
Algadri’s and Kartodirdjo’s articles make me realize that enmity between Moslems and Western people, which can easily read as Christians, has a deep root in the history of Indonesia. Such an enmity has produced a long lasting prejudice through generations, which was often used to trigger violent people actions. We can never change our history of the past, but we have to prevent anybody who wants to use it for his own bad intentions (especially to raise violent people actions). We need not have to deny that there were dark sides of our history of the past, but we can repaint them by writing a new “color” in our history of the future.