By: Edi Sulistyo (Chair of the Surabaya Regional Publication Literacy Movement)
Unorganized truth can be defeated by organized sleaze, the popular expression of Ali ibn Abi Talib. This sentence is appropriate in describing the phenomenon of radicalism today. Radicalism as a representation of sleaze can defeat peace as an expression of truth.
It is a fact that radical people are actually only a handful of people, but they are organized. A little, but compact. Conversely, those who long for peace are in large numbers, but cannot congregate. The majority, but silent.
Sparkling kamajuanjuan information and technology coupled with penetration of social media makes humans able to provide for themselves. Whatever he wants, just click, it is available in plain sight.
The most obvious effect is the fading of mutual cooperation culture in the midst of society. The mutual cooperation culture is the joint of life in bringing comfort and peace.
On the other hand, the growth of selfishness in the midst of this society is used by certain parties to create terror and create dis-harmony.
This selfishness can be seen from the assumption that the task of eradicating and preventing terrorism is only the task of the government. Or there are attitudes that are still sympathetic towards those charged with terrorism.
Radicalism Roots
The root of radicalism which in the end has the potential to cause acts of terrorism is intolerance. The attitude of intolerance is simply an attitude that does not want to respect the opinions, understandings, beliefs of others. Any entity that is verbal is not valued and is strongly rejected.
Attitudes like this make a person exclusive, self-closing, and negate others. Intolerance ultimately makes one distrust others, and true truth is only in “me or my group”.
Why can someone be intolerant? The answers are certainly many. However, of all these factors, religion is one of the causes that is vulnerable to be an excuse
We cannot say that only semat religion can cause a person to be exposed to the virus of radicalism. Religion is only one of many factors.
Towards Tolerance
The value of Indonesia which is tolerant, compassionate, and harmonious, becomes a very fitting capital in counteracting intolerance.
Thus, fighting against radicalism needs to be at its root, which is preventing intolerance by rooted ways of course. These rooted methods prioritize prevention based on interdisciplinary, approaches, strategies, participation and activeness from all walks of life.
Tolerance has been embedded in the hearts of Indonesian people with a variety of cultures and is built on the history of pluralism. It only takes a spirit of togetherness to ignite the fire of tolerance and nationalism in the heart of the Nusantara community.
Therefore counteracting radicalism must be carried out jointly between elements of citizens and society. Counteracting the radicalism virus requires collective work with a spirit of mutual cooperation and the spirit of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika creating tolerance and nationalism as well as optimism towards the nation and state.