@riotuasikal

Oleh Rio Tuasikal / @riotuasikal


Juli 2013, Paus Fransiskus mengajak para pastor untuk turun ke masyarakat, tidak di gereja saja. “Dari altar ke pasar,” demikian teman saya yang Katolik merangkumnya. Paus mengajak umatnya untuk pergi ke masyarakat yang paling dipinggirkan. Kemudian memberi mereka bantuan, melepaskan mereka dari kesusahan.

Ajakan Sri Paus membuka mata kita: selama ini agama telah kehilangan semangatnya. Agama yang harusnya mengangkat martabat manusia, kini sebatas nama dan malah berlaku sebaliknya. Ini adalah tamparan bagi agamawan yang selama ini sibuk dari mimbar ke mimbar, tapi tak pernah melakukan apa-apa bagi tetangganya. Mereka sibuk berdiskusi soal bagaimana Tuhan itu betul-betul Mahakuasa, sementara manusia-manusia ciptaan-Nya dibiarkan kelaparan di sini dan di sana.

Padahal, sejak awal kehadirannya, agama menetapkan misi jadi terang dunia. Pemuka agama mengaku akan membebaskan menusia dari keterpurukan, kebodohan dan penindasan. Tradisi agama mengajarkan kit…

By Rio Tuasikal / @riotuasikal

In the first day of Idul Fitri, I saw three of my friends posted similar status on Facebook. "Kapan nikah?" (When will you get married?), they wrote, then they added a silly emoticon. Showing they are annoyed with such question. This kind of status also came last year, year by year, and so many years before.
Yes, it has been our favorite question in Indonesia for years. Since family affairs does matter for many Indonesians, the question about marriage, girlfriend, fiance, son, and the entire relatives will emerge to show our concern. Contrary to the westerners who prefer to talk about music and politics.
Why does family matters for most Indonesians? This is what S.D. Smith in “Global Families” (Samovar, 2010) said : various researches showing that "interdependence in family is stronger in a collectivist society" compared to an individualist society. And Indonesians, according to Hofstede, is number 3 of 50 collectivist to individuali…

By Rio Tuasikal / @riotuasikal


During Ramadhan, muslims are fulfilled with much amusement. Look at our television channels, they made up themselves Islamic, often misleading to Arabic. Now our primetime is crowded with hijabs, God-around conversation, Quranic verses, and even camels.

Today, our religions are being commodificated. It means, people sell it’s values for their personal interest. For it’s economic purposes, television has taken symbols of religion, made it simplistic, and put it everywhere. Suddenly for Ramadhan, our media made a lot of programs, shows, stories decorated with Islamic symbols. Usually doesn’t.

Since people attracted to those symbols, by using them, television teaches us how to be a religious person. To be religious, television tells us, is to use these clothes not those, to do these things not those, to act like this not that. Television called artists to sing religious songs--even those artists suddenly have Ramadhan songs. A kind…

By Rio Tuasikal / @riotuasikal



“Have you bought trousers?” my mother asked this afternoon. The same question from the last three days. My answer was same too, I won’t buy trousers this year. I even didn’t spend any cent for fashion. I only bought 2 books instead, which are more valuable for me.

What about you? Have you, in these last Ramadhan days, bought clothes for Idul Fitri? Big discounts are happening in malls over the city. From baju koko (a chinese-influenced muslim man outfit), gamis (a long dress) to youths style. From pious, formal to even sexy. All priced with vary discount.

Cheap price is fulfill our needs to have new clothes in Idul Fitri. Some of us, which recieve THR (religious holidays subsidy), even will use it for irreligious purposes : buying gadget, buying clothes, or traveling. In Idul Fitri, we are like a boss with financial freedom, buying merchandise, take a lunch at popular places, then regret for not saving some money. Yes, we were more egocentric.

This o…

Oleh Rio Tuasikal / @riotuasikal
*Dimuat di Selasar Gusdurian edisi 5



“Pemkot Bekasi menyegel masjid Al Misbah milik jemaah aliran sesat Ahmadiyah di Pondok Gede, Bekasi, Jumat (5/4).” [1]