Blogger Indonesia of the Week (82): Sherwin Tobing

Posted by sherwintobing | Filed under Articles in English, Catatan Pribadi

I was surprised and happy to know that Fatih Syuhud, one of the most well-known Indonesian bloggers, made me Blogger Indonesia of the Week. I just checked list of previous Blogger Indonesia of the Week and feel humble to see some great bloggers’ names there. I am not trying to keep myself sweet here, when I said something I always meant it.

He read my opinion on Fitna the Movie and here I quoted his comment on it:

But Muslim should also understand the context mentioned in the first para of this piece: the more you’re furious and uncontrollable, the more Geert Wilders (and anyone like him in the past and future) got and will get what they want. Which means you are in a “losing side” of the game. It’s in this context that we need to hear another advice which represents a good spirit and maturity of attitude. And I believe Sherwin Tobing’s take on this issue represents that grown-up spirit.

Sherwin Tobing seems to understand well the thumb rule on how to live together peacefully.

Social relationship between religious followers, particularly between Muslims and Christians is one of my favorite topics to discuss. I have personally seen sooo many Indonesians out there who appeared unsurprisingly pessimistic about Indonesia as a place where there exist friendship and tolerance between Muslims and Christians. I took different stance. You can read my opinion on this issue here. Basically, that article suggested one important starting point for this peaceful coexistence, that is to turn your suspicion and hatred of other followers into positive curiosity.Just like Martin Luther King, Jr who believed that, one day, whites and blacks would be able to join their hands, I believe the same is viable for Muslims and Christians in Indonesia, isn’t it? My optimism grew particularly after I made some non-Indonesian Muslims friends and was able to create close relationship with them regardless of our religions. After all, Muslims are my brothers too.

Lastly, I would thank Mas Fatih for this. He was the one who encouraged me to start writing some articles in English without being afraid of not being read by Indonesian readers. I started to think about improving my English while making my voices also heard by non-Indonesians. I certainly hope I will be able to write better articles from now on.

28 Responses to “Blogger Indonesia of the Week (82): Sherwin Tobing”

doedoedoe Says:
April 17th, 2008 at 3:49 am
congrat Mr. Yukiii…I agree with Fatih for making ur blog as blogger Indonesia of the week..
And I’m sure that u’ll be able to write better and better..
Keep writing and keep spreading the good things to other..
Congrat..Congrat..Congrat..

doedoedoe’s last blog post..Anyone else but you…
yonna Says:
April 17th, 2008 at 4:18 am
Waaaaahhhhhh slamet yaaaaaaaaaa, traktir dong

Gue sepakat kalo Pak Syuhud kesengsem ma artikel ttg Fitna, karena dalam artikel itu, Sherwin menulis dengan netral, faktual dan menunjukkan simpati kepada umat Islam. Gue sendiri terharu elu nulis gitu, tapi gak pake nangis lah haha

Artikel2 kaya gini bisa jadi bridge blogging bahwa di Indonesia, kehidupan antar umat beragama gak cuma tulisan di koran2 belaka, pelajaran PPKN semata atau cuma wacana doang. Keep telling the world that we are living in harmony

Tetap semangat nulis yah salam
yonna’s last blog post..Do You Get A+ For Your Personality?
Marisa Says:
April 17th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Congrats!
Marisa’s last blog post..Evolution of Beauty
phreakaholic Says:
April 17th, 2008 at 11:15 am
two thumbs up !! congrats…
phreakaholic’s last blog post..Nama Jepang dan Artinya
guebukanmonyet Says:
April 17th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Halo bro, it’s about time that someone famous recognizes your talent and efforts in the world of blogging

Keep up the good job!

guebukanmonyet’s last blog post..Berburu!
yonna Says:
April 18th, 2008 at 5:14 am
baca header writing blog ini, kayanya gak ngawur lagi deh dan penulisnya juga bukan pelajar stengah gila lagi. udah jadi blogger of the week kan?!
yonna’s last blog post..Mother Of My Daughter, Daughter Of My Mother
4nt0n Says:
April 18th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Atas nama krew kami,

kami sangat bangga dan senang atas award ini

semoga bisa makin terkenal lagi!
rimafauzi Says:
April 18th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
hey there yuk.. selamat yaaaa
so, masak apa hari ini blogger of the week?

rimafauzi’s last blog post..Siapa Tuhanku?
sherwintobing Says:
April 18th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
@doedoedoe:
Thanks man, feel free to give me some advices or suggestions. I guess since you are one of this blog’ regular readers, you can give me some.

@yonna:
Ah yonna bisa aja, perasaan banyak banget loh yang menawarkan opini yang sangat menarik tentang Fitna, hehe. Soal toleransi, well, kita harus mulai dari kita sendiri bukan, dan saat saya merasa diri saya mampu bertoleransi dengan umat lain, inilah waktunya untuk mengajak rekan2 saya.

@marissa:
Terima kasih mbak.

@phreakholic:
Thankyou.

@guebukanmonyet:
Thanks Tasa, I guess I still need to learn lot from you. Udah baca email soal invitation contributor JBRB?

@yonna:
Yonna, kalau sudah pernah ketemu saya di kehidupan nyata, mungkin pengen mengganti headernya jadi sangat ngawur dan 100% gila.

@4nt0n:
Thanks ton, makasih juga hostingnya.

@rimafauzi:
Terima kasih mbak, hehe, gak masak nih hari ini, lagi liburan di Vienna. Gak perlu berkreasi di sini, udah ada yang masakin, hehe.
adite Says:
April 18th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
congratz for you
see your face for first time, finally you look alike my friend named Falah.

adite’s last blog post..18 Triliun rupiah
inda Says:
April 19th, 2008 at 12:35 am
alright kak sherwin … congratulations

getting a tribute from leading blogger like fatih syuhud is something notable, i believe your hard work deserve the best

however, your picture scared me how did you make it? it’s a kinda photoshop trick, right?

inda’s last blog post..” Xin Li You Shu” by Fahrenheit
Abi Bakar Says:
April 19th, 2008 at 1:05 am
Congrats bro i believe you deserve such appraisal for the quality content of yours…

Abi Bakar’s last blog post..PayPerPost Merubah TOS Mengenai Usia Blog & Jumlah Posting
gilang Says:
April 20th, 2008 at 8:10 am
Congrats!!!

gilang’s last blog post..Freeze phenomena
gipsy Says:
April 21st, 2008 at 11:30 am
Congratulations. So harus lebih banyak menulis untuk lebih mengasah otak dan nalarnya. BTW menulis dengan kejujuran yang ada padamu . God bless you……………..
Ipang Says:
April 21st, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Congrat bozz…
Dah gw bilangkan, Goresan Ngawur salah satu opsi yg alergi ma kertas,
Ipang’s last blog post..Blok Situs Porno …?!?!?!??!
Wazeen Says:
April 21st, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Yes understanding christian and muslim relationship is also one of my favorite topic since I grew up in pesantren.

Wazeen’s last blog post..Sorry for the Film Website
sherwintobing Says:
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:31 pm
@adite:
Well, I don’t guarantee my real name is Sherwin. I might be Fallah as well.
Thank you dite.

@inda:
Thank you inda, you’ve been one of the most regular commentators of my articles. It’s not a photoshop trick. I was accompanying my little brother to toy store in …. (forget, maybe Sarina Thamrin) when I saw that mask there. I just wore it and took picture with it.

@Abi Bakar:
Makasih Bi.

@Gilang:
Makasih Gilang.

@gispy alias MOMMY:
Iya Ma, aku nulisnya selalu jujur kok. Makasih Ma. GBU too.

@Ipang:
Loh, gak ngerti gw. Maksudnya gimana Pang?
Thanks anyway.

@Wazeen:
And would you like to share your thoughts on it my friend?
colson Says:
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Laureate - and for a very good reason!

So, late, but sincere: my congrats!

colson’s last blog post..Jakarta at the Seaside
ingki Says:
April 24th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
congrats dude!

ingki’s last blog post..Setan Pendidikan
sherwintobing Says:
April 25th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
@colson:
Thank you colson. I took it as compliment.

@ingki:
Thank you ingki.
Verdinand R. Says:
April 26th, 2008 at 9:31 am
Great job pal!
I really love your smart and critical articles.
sherwingtobing.com : the best!

Verdinand R.’s last blog post..Silakan duduk, Bu!
sherwintobing Says:
April 27th, 2008 at 1:01 am
@verdinand:
Thanks verdinand. I believe your portalHI is much better than this blog. You know what, the great quality of articles published there always left me speechless. Besides, your idea to create portalHI as a media where International Relations enthusiasts could share and exchange thoughts was just simply wonderful, I have told some of my friends about your website.
kakahelmy Says:
May 2nd, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Emang wajar ko mas dapet penghargaan itu. Blog dan artikelnya keren-keren, hehe…

kakahelmy’s last blog post..Bogor yang Selalu Di Hati
Finally Woken Says:
May 3rd, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Congrats! I was blogger of the week, I think in week 70-something, when my blog was a few months old. Always nice to know that people appreciate our effort, right?
Finally Woken’s last blog post..Greedy Green
sherwintobing Says:
May 5th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
@kakahelmy:
Terima kasih kawan, bisa aja kau, hehe. Kayaknya dari forum kompas juga yah?

@Mbak Anita:
Yap, I remember you were there Mbak, hehe. I agree, it is wonderful when our work is appreciated, especially by those considered as experts in certain fields. Thank you Mbak.
yayi Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 6:29 am
selamaaaaattt! *nyegir-salaman-ngangguk-ngangguk*

yayi’s last blog post..Ada break , ada Yaya
Beni Bevly Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Congratulations, Yuki. You deserved to receive this award. Keep writing.

Beni Bevly’s last blog post..Ten Years after May 1998 Tragedy
sherwintobing Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
@yayi:
Terima kasih yayi.

@Mas Beni Bevly:
Thanks Mas Beni.