Indonesia is often referred to as the world’s largest Muslim country, which is almost true but misleading. More Muslims, most of them Sunni, live in Indonesia than in any other country.
The government in Jakarta recognizes five religions—Islam, Protestant Christianity, Catholicism, Buddhism and Hinduism—though persons nonaligned with any religion are a bit of a curiosity.
When I lived in Manado as a Fulbright Fellow, I often passed by the extraordinarily large statue of Jesus mentioned in the latter half of this story in The New York Times.
The government in Jakarta recognizes five religions—Islam, Protestant Christianity, Catholicism, Buddhism and Hinduism—though persons nonaligned with any religion are a bit of a curiosity.
When I lived in Manado as a Fulbright Fellow, I often passed by the extraordinarily large statue of Jesus mentioned in the latter half of this story in The New York Times.
Manado is a seaside city of about half a million people and the capital of North Sulawesi, near the northern tip of a sprawling island in the middle of Indonesia that reaches into the Celebes Sea toward the Philippines. Most of the region’s people are Christian, but one need not travel far to find people of other religions.
Many of Manado's community leaders and average citizens take pride in their region’s embrace of cultural and religious diversity, particularly in light of religiously motivated violence that has plagued neighboring Maluku and Central Sulawesi in recent years.
The ‘flying Jesus’, as I thought of him because of the way this nearly 100-foot-tall statue reaches out from a hilltop over the valley, was built by a private developer. The new 62-foot Menorah was built by the government of North Minahasa, the regency encompassing Manado.
There are not many Jews in North Sulawesi and not many in all of Indonesia. The national government in Jakarta does not formally recognize Israel. Some Jews in Indonesia experience outright, unambiguous hostility in various parts of the country, especially in more conservative Muslim strongholds on the islands of Sumatra and Java. Most of Indonesia’s Muslims are respectful of other religions and practice a rather moderate version of Islam compared to many of their brethren in the Middle East.
This renders Manado’s show of respect for Judaism’s sacred symbol all the more symbolic in its own right. I recall seeing a handful of protesters in Muslim dress or solidarity green in downtown Manado during the Israeli campaign against Gaza in 2008-2009, but not very many.
