Molukse Moslim- en Christenrelaties. Oorlogsherinneringen en Toekomstperspectieven.

Abstract

A serious violent conflict started between Muslims and Christians in Maluku in 1999. Although the conflict officially ended in 2002, in the following years still several incidents occurred. This civil war claimed the lives of more than 8000 citizens and gave rise to about 70.000 internally displaced persons. The main focus of this thesis is on the discourse of Maluku Muslims and Christians regarding their own religious perspective on their role and the role of others in the conflict of 1999-2002. In addition attention is given to what extent Maluku stories of the conflict correspond with their view of contemporary interreligious relations. The current research contains 79 semi-structured interviews which were conducted on Ambon and surrounding islands. The results of the interviews were examined by a narrative analytical approach which includes primary focus on the (verbal) expressions of respondents. First, the personal memories of respondents regarding the conflict have been identified. Second, the religious interpretations and symbolism in their stories were explored. Third, respondents’ visions on nowadays interreligious relations have been examined.

With respect to the memories of the conflict, both Muslim and Christian respondents tended to share similar stories. Remarkably, many stories used a victim-perspective which was primarily characterized by negative experiences, such as memories about violence, lost family members and living in primitive circumstances. However, some narratives about personal involvement in killings and violence were rather intertwined with an actor-perspective. The narrative analysis demonstrates that the perspective of the narrator as well as the role of the social environment inevitably influence a narrative structure; the positioning in social relations and roles in a given story. Since the historical events of respondents are interpreted in different ways, the narrative analysis has been used to unravel how memories are shaped by social dynamics, emotional perceptions and the social context of the narrator.

Among both Muslims and Christians, the interpretation of conflict experiences was obviously marked by religious language and symbolism. Several Muslims spoke about the obligation to take jihad and Christians mentioned their duty to defend Christianity as a divine mission. Some respondents attributed miraculous experiences to divine intermission and reported supernatural events. Notably, the stories of respondents showed they used religious symbols, languages, views and interpretations, to deal with experiences of contingency. Many referred to a transcendent reality and gave religious explanations for their experiences. Some of the respondents, both Muslims and Christians, reported to be encouraged by their own religion to take part in war and to use violence. Contrary, other Muslims and Christians interpreted their own religion in such a way that motivated them to promote peace and reconciliation.

The present views on contemporary Maluku Muslim-Christian relations seem to be mixed. The majority of the respondents reported positive views on the interreligious relations and did not expect serious conflicts between Muslims and Christians, because they have confidence in the tradition of pela (i.e., old kinship system) and in adat (i.e., traditional law). Concepts of pela and adat are widely used in reconciliation programmes and are considered as common ground between Muslims and Christians. Moreover, the majority even denied the conflict was caused by Muslims and Christians and blamed outside provocateurs as actors behind the conflict. On the one hand, this view might stem from the past in which the colonial occupiers often stirred up Muslims and Christians against each other. On the other hand the idea of ‘the provocateurs’ could be a result of unsolved war crimes whereby it is easier to blame outside provocateurs. Furthermore, respondents said they put trust in the authorities, because nowadays local conflicts do not spread out to other areas. In opposition of this dominant positive view, a minority of respondents disagreed with these ‘positive’ expectations. This small group claimed the Muslim-Christian relations are still vulnerable and argued that Muslims and Christians are living segregated and only meet in public sphere. They noted that ongoing small local conflicts might eventually end in a new civil war.

In conclusion the current examination attempted to show how Maluku respondents constituted a narrative structure in their memories. The narratives of the respondents were formed by social dynamics, emotional valence, personal perceptions and by the context in which stories were shared. In order to cope with contingent experiences, respondents generally used religious interpretations, language and symbolism. With regard to the contemporary Muslim-Christian relations, a majority of respondents emphasised the peaceful stability of current interreligious relations between Muslims and Christians. However, a critical small minority indicated Muslim-Christian relations are still vulnerable. Finally, it is remarkable respondents frankly shared their negative experiences. They tended to use religious explanations for events in the civil war of 1999-2002. However, most respondents were optimistic about Muslim-Christian relations nowadays and they seemingly wanted a line to be drawn under the violent conflicts of the past.