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Thousands of kilometres travelled by 32 thudong monks from Thailand to Indonesia was not only a spiritual moment for the participants but also a historical event in Indonesian interfaith relations. Given the abundance of enthusiasm, this article aims to explain the purity of interfaith harmony created by local communities and Thai monks, who also contributed to promoting interfaith dialogue discourse among grassroots communities. By delving into the internet, a netnography approach is used to get a deeper and broader understanding of the events by comparing one digital document with another. In the interfaith encounters along the pilgrimage highway, both parties exhibited reciprocal behaviours of shared feelings and kindness that encouraged them to complete the ritual mission together. They were able to dismantle the religious barriers that frequently impede harmonious interfaith relations as a result of warm acceptance, hospitable interactions, and engaging dialogue onsite and via social media.

Mosques are symbols of peace and pluralism. However, some mosques are built over pre-Islamic places of worship or are considered sacred by non-Muslims. This has the potential to trigger interfaith tensions and conflicts. This article argues that mosques should be spaces and symbols of peace, religious tolerance, and multiculturalism. The study uses direct observation and compares textual and material evidence related to several large mosques in different countries. It concludes that mosque construction should consider historical and interfaith sensitivities, uphold the sanctity of places of worship, and avoid all forms of heresy. Mosque architecture and buildings can be a mirror of harmony and pluralism. Mosques are aesthetically adaptive and accommodate local wisdom, culture, and religious traditions. Historically controversial mosques cannot be justified and imitated as Islamic mosques in general. Mosque construction must prioritise peaceful views and rational spiritual understanding to maintain harmony and pluralism.

This article is developed by drawing from the Indonesian context. The country is characterized with its plurality, in terms of religion, belief, language, culture, and ethnicity. I start reflecting on the discourse of silence by exploring the rituals practiced by the Hindus in Bali and a number of Muslims in Java. An effort is then made to elaborate it from a philosophical perspective in which silence can be understood as the beginning of listening. The further elaboration, from a theological perspective, is worked out by focusing on the figure of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, through whom silence with listening can be regarded as a way to live out the faith that seeks for understanding and wisdom. Finally, I put it on the circumstances of interreligious relations. Here, being silent for listening can be considered as a sort of culture that requires certain conditions, some of which are the readiness to deal with internal tensions and the capability to listen through the inner ear of the heart by way of discernment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]