Exploring Interpersonal Communication of the People of Waraka in Maintaining Interfaith Harmony

Abstract

Social friction between religious believers always exists in every plural community environment as part of the social dynamics of society. Therefore, total elimination is very difficult but trying to suppress social friction is possible, if done with awareness from all parties. This article aims to exploration the interpersonal communication of the Waraka community in promoting inter-religious harmony. The type of research used is descriptive qualitative with ethnographic methods of communication. The research location is in Waraka, Central Maluku district. Data collection using participatory observation techniques, interviews, and field recording. The results showed that interpersonal communication of waraka communities was built through muamalah activities, religious holidays, traditional celebrations and official meetings. In addition, in building interpersonal communication, the waraka community presents an attitude of openness, empathy, obedience, and utilizes the strength of each other in maintaining harmony between religious believers. However, the intensity of communication between waraka communities is not so strong, because public spaces such as traditional markets and beach tourism as meeting places for various religious communities that exist in building communication relationships that have not been maximally used by the community. But there are also no sports facilities for the younger generation, so it presents a sense of awkwardness for each other when meeting in an official or daily activity.
Keywords: Harmony, Interpersonal Communication, Interfaith Communication, Waraka Country