Jakarta, Indonesia – Millions of Muslims across Indonesia, including the ethnic Chinese minority, are preparing for Lebaran, the festival Indonesians call Eid, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Approximately 87 percent of Indonesia's more than 270 million people are Muslim, and according to the 2010 census, most of the approximately 3 million Chinese are Buddhist or Christian, while some are Muslim. Some people did.
Muslims around the world are expected to celebrate Eid on April 10th this year.
Johannes Herlijanto, co-founder and chairman of the Forum for Indonesian Sinology (FSI), said it is difficult to estimate the number of Indonesian Muslims of Chinese descent, as “the overall Chinese population is still debatable.” “It's extremely difficult,” he said. He noted that numbers vary among experts.
Johannes said they are a “diverse community” with different approaches to religion.
“There will be people who practice their religion strictly, such as wearing Islamic clothing. Some of them will be religious leaders,” he said.
“There may also be people who don't emphasize their religious identity very much, so they're not that different from the general Chinese ethnic community.”
Agni Malagina, an independent researcher who focuses on the Chinese Indonesian community, said that while people suspect that Chinese people who become Muslims often let go of their cultural identity, this is not necessarily the case. Said it's not true.
“Many people still know their roots and do not hesitate to admit that they are Chinese,” she told Al Jazeera.
Agni, who previously taught Chinese studies at the University of Indonesia, said Indonesia's marriage law does not explicitly require non-Muslims to convert in order to marry, but the community's acculturation process is “dynamic.” He said that interethnic marriage is the “most common” way for Chinese people to become Muslims. .
She cited lontong opor ayam (chicken stew in coconut milk with rice cake) as an example of the fusion of Chinese and Indonesian Islamic cultures. Meals will be provided during Lebaran.
“[Chinese Muslim families] Let’s respect each other by serving halal food,” she added.
But FSI's Yohannes said he had also heard how some Chinese families discriminated against people who “decided to convert to Islam”.
“Whatever their initial motivation for accepting Islam, their efforts to build a unique identity and a space for cross-cultural exchange can be considered successful,” he told Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera spoke to three Muslim Chinese-Indonesians about their cultural identity.
Maria Leoni, 36 years old
Maria Leoni lives in the village of Jepara, Central Java, Indonesia, where she and her husband run an ikat cloth business under the KAINRATU brand.
Once a Christian, Leoni converted to Islam at the age of 17, fascinated by mosques and the Islamic adhan or call to prayer.
“I was happy to hear Adhan at sunset. I was in front of the TV [waiting for adhan].Maybe this was originally planned to happen. [for me to be Muslim]” she said, wondering, “Why does that sound so good?”
A mother of three children, she lost her parents when she was in elementary school and lived with her late mother's family. But when she started wearing a hijab, they told her to leave and she ended up living in her orphanage.
Since then, Leoni has deepened her understanding of Islam and went to Saudi Arabia for Umrah in 2019. She is also a member of the Indonesian Chinese Islamic Association.
The 36-year-old has been celebrating Ramadan with her family for many years and believes food is a way to bring people together. She likes to make Kapsai, an Indonesian-Chinese dish of stir-fried vegetables, and her husband likes Javanese fried chicken marinated with various spices.
Leoni and her family plan to visit her husband's relatives and neighbors during Lebaran.
“I'm proud even though I'm a minority. I'm proud to be Muslim, I'm proud to be Chinese,” she told Al Jazeera.
Sandra Insana Sari, 28 years old
Sandra Insana Sari works as a freelance presenter and presenter.
She lives in Tangerang, near Jakarta.
Sandra's Chinese father converted from Confucianism to Islam after meeting her Sundanese mother, one of Indonesia's largest ethnic groups.
From kindergarten to elementary school, Sandra remembers being teased by her friends' children for being ethnically Chinese, and even telling people she was Sundanese when people asked.
But as she got older, the former national television producer found her diverse background useful.
“It's going to be easier to build a relationship if it's based on similarities,” she said.
“If we have common ground, communication will be closer.”
The 28-year-old said her extended non-Muslim Chinese family often fasted with her during Ramadan and invited her to their home to celebrate Lebaran.
Her host served us nastars (bite-sized pineapple tarts popular during Indonesia's festival season) and other snacks. When we visited their homes, they also prepared halal food for us.
“I'm accepted as a Chinese and I'm accepted as a Muslim,” she told Al Jazeera. “Either is acceptable. [worlds]”
Olivia “Olive” Jabina, 20 years old
Originally from Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city, Olivia 'Olive' Jabina moved to Lasem, Central Java in 2015.
The 20-year-old works in digital marketing for her family's business, which sells hand-painted batik cloth in the Lasem style, started by her late grandfather Sigit Wichaksono.
Sigit, a prominent Chinese-Indonesian, converted from Confucianism to Islam in 2018. He died three years later.
Lasem is known as the “Town of Santri”, meaning pesantren or Islamic boarding school students.
Olive was one of them.
Before breaking her fast, Olive tunes into YouTube and listens to fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and other Islamic texts.
Later, she shares takjir (a snack eaten by Muslims to break the fast at sunset) such as rempel (delicious sticky rice with meat) with her non-Muslim relatives.
Lasem is also called “Little China”. One of the reasons is that this is believed to be one of the places where Chinese immigrants first arrived on Java.
Olive and her extended family (some Catholics and some Confucians) will gather in Lasem for Lebaran.
“What I'm most proud of is [in Lasem] teeth [its] It’s tolerant,” she told Al Jazeera.