Bali: Paradise lost

[Guest guest]

<h2>Bali: Paradise lost</h2>

 

Six centuries of smouldering antagonism exploded into flames

Saturday night, says Canadian writer ALEXANDER BOLDIZAR in Bali

 

By ALEXANDER BOLDIZAR

Tuesday, October 15, 2002 – Globe&Mail

 

A few years before the world went mad, Ketut had a Javanese girlfriend, a Muslim. As their relationship grew, she became sad. "It's a shame I can't marry you," she would sigh.

 

There was no need to ask why not. Although she was liberal, never wore the veil in Bali, she made it clear that he was an infidel. He was a Balinese Hindu and, unless he changed, they had no future.

 

"Would a Muslim man ever change to the religion of his wife?" Ketut asked.

 

"Of course not," she answered. "Islam is the true religion. And I will not become Hindu."

 

Ketut thought about the problem for a few days. Islam was brought to Indonesia by Arab traders, gained a foothold in Sumatra in the 13th century, spread to the coastal areas of Java, then eroded the great Hindu Kingdom of Majapahit in the early 16th century. The aristocracy of the Majapahit, the priests, jurists, artists, artisans, painters, sculptors, architects, goldsmiths, gongsmiths, writers and dancers were, for the most part, unwilling to accept Islamization. They fled to the nearby island of Bali and the protection of its King Waturrenggong.

 

King Waturrenggong had "lion-hearted courage, incomparable daring, and magical powers" in battle. He unified the aristocracy with the people and built a military and cultural bulwark against Islam, stopping it from spreading to the shores of "Paradise." His priest and teacher, the Just-Arrived-Magic-Powerful-High-Priest Nirartha, floated to Bali on a palm leaf, another refugee from Java. Nirartha redesigned the temple system in Bali so that each village would have its own temples, forging a closer bond between the people and their Hindu gods, a bond unlike that of any other Hindu Kingdom, and one which Islam would find difficult to sever.

 

It was this exodus and the fear of Islam that created in Bali the paradise that Western tourists have been admiring since the mutiny of the first Dutch explorers in 1597, when many of Captain de Houtman's European sailors refused to leave the island that was so beautiful, where women bathed nude in the rivers, where the King's chariot was pulled by white buffalo and his retinue was made up of 50 dwarves whose bodies had been bent to resemble traditional dagger handles.

 

The historic hatred of Islam by the Balinese is one of the reasons Ketut admired his girl, that she had been willing to come here from Java on her own, to risk ancient racism in order to enjoy the much higher standard of living and greater freedoms that Bali offers in comparison to the other islands of Indonesia.

 

"Very well," he said after a few days of thinking, "let's both become Buddha."

 

No, she had answered. Nor Jewish, Jainist or Zoroastrean. Not even Christian which, to Ketut, seemed very similar to Islam, especially in its need to proselytize and spread. It was Islam or nothing. So Ketut ended the relationship, but without acrimony. He had seen too many Muslim daughters in Bali pulled along the pavement, their fathers dragging them by the hair, beating them senseless, outraged at their dating an infidel. It is difficult to be strong in the face of such pedigree.

 

Muslims live now in Bali -- Bali is part of Indonesia, after all, and Indonesia is 90 per cent Muslim -- they come despite local objections, though they are at times subject to vandalism and random attacks by young Balinese. Most come for the freedom, some come to see the enemy, a few do both in a psychologically unstable mix.

 

"I see her in the village sometimes," Ketut concludes. "She is the fourth wife of a Muslim man. He lives in another city and rarely sees her or their child. And I think she is very unhappy, but she wears the veil now and has become much more fanatical."

 

Today, Ketut is again unhappy about fanatical Muslims. He runs an Internet café and a tourist agency. It used to be a good business. Americans stopped coming a year ago, afraid of Laskar Jihad, the Islamic Defenders Front, and other radical Islamic groups in Java who have threatened to "sweep" all Westerners out of Indonesia.

 

Who will come now?

 

Villages in Bali have put their traditional guards on alert, the Balinese People's Council has promised to fight any hostile Javanese, and the Balinese are ready to release 600 years of antagonism against Java.

 

"If the Javanese come to sweep, we will make lawar out of them," Ketut said a year ago -- in the aftermath of the first "sweeping" threats, before losing a friend in Saturday night's bombing. Lawar is a type of haggis made out of pork stomachs. "Maybe it would be good, maybe it would begin a war for independence. The Balinese are quiet, quiet, until they decide it is time for puputan. The Javanese remember this."

 

Puputan is a suicidal fight to the death which, historically, has seemed necessary once every 50 years or so. In 1906, the Balinese royalty burned its own palaces, then, wearing their finest jewellery and waving golden swords, the Rajah led the royalty and priests out against the modern weapons of the Dutch. 4,000 Balinese died in 1906 and a larger number in a similar puputan in 1945, falling again under the guns of the Dutch.

 

Suicidal armies scare the Muslims as much as they do the West. Unlike radical Islam, however, in Bali it is not the uneducated and abused who become human bombs; it is the priests and leaders themselves.

 

The battle between Bali and Islam that began 600 years ago has never really been put to rest. For centuries, Balinese medicine men continued to fight against Muslim medicine men from Java and Lombok. Curses were thrown back and forth over the narrow Bali Strait, Islamic clerics put love spells on Balinese women to fall in love with Muslims, and Balinese holy men rubbed the affected in pigs' blood to undo the spell.

 

Now the war that has been waged for centuries within the invisible dimension has surfaced.

 

In Indonesia this means the government doesn't clamp down on "sweeping" threats, that years of Islamic bias in all aspects of Indonesian public life have become more and more institutionalized, and that Islamic political parties are increasingly pressing for Koranic law to become the law of Indonesia, whether the subjects be Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian or Animist.

 

From love spells and pigs' blood, the war has moved to car bombs in front of discos. But if the war comes into the open, Bali also has many young men ready to fight. The young generation can imagine an independent Bali, another puputan.

 

This weekend, Javanese fanatics bombed the main tourist strip in Kuta. By November, there will be many innocent Javanese street-vendors floating in the sea. The reaction will cause another, and that another. Ketut and other young Balinese still think about King Waturrenggong and the Just-Arrived-Magic-Powerful-High-Priest. They celebrate the latter's memory twice a year. Muslims still think about Mohammed's war to take Mecca and destroy the 300-odd religions represented there. It is only the West that has a stunted sense of history, with anything predating the Second World War classified as "ancient," and it is only the West that insists religion and politics are separate issues.

 

U.S. President George W. Bush has said "you are either for us or against us," and blindly called his war against terrorism a "crusade." Osama bin Laden agreed, countering that "you are either a believer or an infidel." In the post-World Trade Center world, in country after country, movements and complaints that had seemed long buried are emerging back into the visible dimensions. Slowly, behind the scenes, fault lines which go back thousands of years are beginning to show.

 

Even in Paradise.

 

Alexander Boldizar, former columnist with the Harvard Law Record, is director of the Gaya Fusion of Senses gallery in Bali, Indonesia.

 

 

[brajamandala 0]

As the journalist mentioned this feud has been ongoing silently in the background. The Balinese despise the Javanese, who are Muslim. The Javanese come down from Java and over from Lombok and other places for employment o pportunities. And I can say after staying in Bali on several occassions, you can pick a Javanese from a Balinese. If you're going to get taken by the money wallas, it'll mostly likely be a Javanese, as the Balinese know it is "bad karma: The Javanese Muslims, regardless of what the Koran informs about stealing, are notorious thieves and liars. They bring ill-repute on Bali, and because the Muslims are so heavy and fanatical, the Balinese Hindu traditions are slowly eroding, as more and more Muslims infiltrate in all walks of life in this tiny island. Of course, Western influence has some bearing also, especially on the younger generations.

I, trying to be a practicing vaishnava, however meagre that practice, find it very difficult to tolerate the whole Muslim world. I think of the destruction they caused to India's majestic holy temples and its people and my stomach churns. The Muslim inhabitants are trying to do the same in Bali but with a more quiet and subtle front.

[Guest guest]

This tragic event may well trigger massive reprisals.

It's been on the boil for quite some time now.

For anyone who has travelled to Bali they can't but be effected by the 'Balinese Spirit of dedication' Everyone wants a part of it. It's truly like a piece of paradise, probably due to the vast volume of sacrifice in the Balinese, the Devas look upon them with pleasure, showering this unique little volcanic atol with extreme benediction. It stands apart from the 13,000 other islands, in it's way of life, shining resplendant like a crown jewell. It has a noticeable charm that you won't find anywhere else on this planet let alone Indonesia, and I think most would concede this is due to it's people and their spiritual connection to the environment.

When they say it's 'The Island of the Gods' the reason behind this is that everything the Balinese believe in is practiced so profoundly in every aspect of their lives that it is engraved everywhere you look, in the external environment. Everything is offered to the Gods and it appears the Gods have responded in kine.

Traditionally they are worshippers of Visnu- Brahma and Siva with great influence being placed on Lord Rama and His Divine consort Srimati Sitarani and to a lesser degree Krsna and Mahabharat are worshipped.

Although the many muslim Javanese who visit Bali say they are disgusted with the freedom of thought and loose values that have proliferated with the western influx on Bali,with a little closer examination we might find envy to be behind their critique of this cultures attractive success to lure all nations from around the globe to it's shores. By their fruits ye shall know them.

Although it's sad to see the transformation of the once natural lifestyle of the Balinese to a busy modern technological western society. And there is no doubt there are definate traces of globalization eating into the fabric of these simple nature loving people, but still they are fervantly trying to hold on to the values that initially made them what they are to the world, a very beautiful example of devotion and friendly hospitality.

They know the west has exploited their energy and great gifts but they do choose to take this over suppression and any influence that robs them of their freedom of expression. In short they live in fear of their own Islamic government ultimately dictating what they can and can't practice, and they will die as they have previously, before giving up their God-given freedom to be who they choose.

[Guest guest]

<big><font size=+2>Explosives Used in Bali Likely of US Origin

Plastic Explosive Clue in Bali Bombing</font></big>

 

BBC | World | Asia-Pacific

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/2329189.stm

 

Wednesday, 16 October, 2002

 

Indonesian police investigating the devastating bombing of a nightclub on the island of Bali have found traces of plastic explosive at the site of the attack.

 

Police say C4 explosive was used - a type manufactured mainly in the United States and used widely by military forces around the world.

 

This has prompted speculation that if Islamic militants carried out the bombing, they may have had some help from elements in the Indonesian military which have been involved with resurgent radical Islamic groups since the fall of General Suharto in 1998.

 

Indonesian police spokesman Brigadier-General Saleh Saaf said: "We have together with experts from the FBI processed the data jointly and we are now really certain that C4 explosive was used".

 

The explosive and method used bear similarities to an August 2000 bombing in Jakarta which seriously injured the Philippine ambassador. Philippine intelligence officials blamed the radical Islamic network Jemaah Islamiah for that attack.

 

But C4 was also used in the bombing of the warship USS Cole in Yemen two years ago - an attack attributed to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

 

Police are questioning two men in connection with the bombing in the resort of Kuta on Saturday.

 

Indonesian police chief Da'i Bachtiar said the identity card of one of the men was found close to the bomb site.

 

So far, the man has refused to say anything since being picked up.

 

But the discovery of traces of plastic explosive could be a vital clue to who was responsible.

 

Any suspects, their clothing and their homes or workplaces can be checked for matching materials.

 

Swabs, using a solvent, would be taken from skin, clothes and other materials.

 

However, experts warn that traces of substances can be passed from one person to another and are not in themselves indisputable evidence of someone's involvement in a bombing.

 

Available 'at a price'

 

French news agency AFP quoted a British manufacturer of C4, Mark Ribband, as saying that it is a white substance that resembles uncooked pastry and needs a detonator to make it explode.

 

Mr Ribband said that it is "a standard issue, military explosive", the trade in which is controlled carefully.

 

"It's considerably more controlled than heroin, but if you want to buy heroin you can," he was quoted as saying.

 

"Like all things, everything's available for a price," Mr Ribband said.

 

C4 was widely used by US forces in the Vietnam war, and like semtex it is hard to detect and easy to hide. It is stable, and therefore safe to handle.

 

Experts from the US, Australia, France and Japan are helping the Indonesian police with their investigations.

 

Brian Caddy, Emeritus Professor of Forensic Science at Strathclyde University in Scotland, says that once the component substances in an explosive have been identified, it might be possible to trace the manufacturer.

 

Governments have lists of explosive makers and would be able to check with them the make up of their products.

 

If that process is completed, then there would be a more lengthy and laborious task of trying to track sales and distribution or even thefts of an identified explosive.

 

The success of that search would depend on the accuracy of company records.

 

As well as gaining clues from the type of explosive used, the discovery of any parts of a timing, detonation or firing mechanism would boost the investigation.

 

'Lacking experience'

 

Professor Caddy believes that although Indonesia is developing its own forensic capabilities - they recently opened a new laboratory in Jakarta - they lack the experience of Western scientists in this field.

 

Britain has well-developed facilities - such as the Forensic Explosives Laboratory at Fort Halstead in Kent and the laboratory in Northern Ireland which works to the government's Northern Ireland Office.

 

Forensic experts use any materials found at the scene of a bomb attack to compare the explosives and mechanisms with those used in other such attacks.

 

This enables them to see if there are any common substances or methods of construction which could give clues to the identity of the bombers.

[theist 1]

...for premptive strikes.Identify all leaders of these radical Islamists(not Muslims) and hunt them done like the disease infested vermin they are.Forget the courts,and kill them where they're found.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Although there may be a strong push to aradicate these radical elements of terrorists causing this havoc, who have complete lack of respect for human life. They are the pinnacle of false egotistical arrogance, believing they are Gods' chosen instrument to clean the face of this planet of infidels.

If there is not some support for minorities like the Balinese in their individual fights against this marching army of fervant madmen, by sheer numbers they will crush many wonderful remnants of vedic civilization.

This misguided disease that threatens the entire freedom of everyone on the planet is far more dangerous than the many biological virus that such demons would'nt hesitate to gleefully unleash. They are churners of poison, as opposed to churners of nectar, cloaked in the guise of religion they revel in chaos, discord and confusion.

And there should be a grave concern that if this forceful movement is allowed to proliferate as it did in Timor and so many other island states of Indonesia the same result will manifest-- all out War and division will increase and this is their goal to create havoc, fear and uncertainty.

The philosophy of humility and honor, seems to have been erased from these fanatics versions of the Koran.

 

My concern is especially for the Gaudiya Vaisnava community that is just starting to get on it's feet here in Bali, a very beautiful, humble and exemplary sanga of about two thousand, who may well be the only hope and thread to their ancient traditions, as everything is eroding rapidly in their society and culture. For while the older priests are dying out and loosing touch with the substance of the sastra, it is only Mahaprabhus' movement that is giving new life and fresh inspiration.

But if these rascals continue their infiltration the devotees will be forced back into the jungle to worship the deities underground, just like in the times of the moghuls invasion of India. They need support.

 

[Guest guest]

By Gaudiya Vaisnava community mentioned in this last post I meant all those following Mahaprabhu in the line of Saraswati Thakur most of these devotees are siksa disciples of Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad. An interesting development is worth mentioning here, that is, recently an Australian Iskcon devotee donated a considerable sum of money from an overnight successful business to the devotional community there. With their devotion and properly adjusted attitudes an extrordinary new temple was manifest in no time. This to me is proof of Srila Prabhupads parable of the blind man-lame man alliance. How things can really expand when those with material wealth unite and give to those with the spiritual wealth. Miracles can manifest very quickly as now many new people are taking shelter in this new temple and a devotional hive of enthusiasm is generating.

[Guest guest]

This is the kind of news that should be posted on VNN. Why don't you write up a nice article, giving credit with names and all, describing the headway being made preaching in Bali.

 

Does Bhakti Raghava Swami have anything to do with this? He was preaching in Indonesia last I heard, though I believe he was doing so clandestinely on Java.

[Guest guest]

I would say it's mostly a local perpetuating phenomena that is happening in Bali, it's the Balinese samskara to recognize a good thing and run with it. But they do have regular visits by various western vaisnavas that encourage and fire up their enthusiasm among these Kavicandra Swami is initiating on behalf of Iskcon and visits regularly. I can only hope it is not checked as it was in the 80's.