Cultural cooperation and dialogue between Muslims and Hindus in Bali

Indonesia is renowned as a multicultural state. But for the last ten years, it has been facing social, ethnic, religious, and cultural problems. These tensions can be seen throughout Indonesian society, and there are various attempts to address them. One such area is Bali. The Balinese people live in harmony even as their culture is very diverse. This study attempts to elucidate religious life of a multicultural society, especially Hindus-Moslem relationships in Bali after Denpasar Suicide Bombing in 2002. Using qualitative and phenomenological approach, this research aims at understanding, analyzing, and exploring patterns of Hindus-Moslem relationship, in the hope of understanding how to cultivate harmony within a multicultural society. The Hindus-Moslem relationship in Denpasar (Indonesia) is very distinctive. It has emphasized cooperation in building a social-religious life inseparable from Bali Aga (Balinese life). This study shows that Balinese people are performing this ideal of cooperation through the employment of political, social and cultural initiatives. In this way, the government and the people have attempted to conserve Balinese culture, using its unique tradition of menyama braya, to foster harmonious religious life among the Balinese people.