Semoga Kami Tidak Repot Gus. (Refleksi Atas Wafatnya Gusdur)

Gusdur telah wafat. Indonesia kehilangan - saya kehilangan. Gusdur salah seorang tokoh yang saya kagumi pemikiran dan karakternya yg mempunyai ciri khas penuh makna.

Berita, kilas balik kiprah dan karya, kenangan dan pendapat masyarakat mulai dari tokoh Agama, tokoh politik hingga wong cilik mengisi berita-berita di media eletronik, cetak hingga mengisi wall jaringan sosial-pertemanan seperti facebook, twitter dll.

Elok rasanya moment ini tidak hanya bersifat melankonik belaka, melainkan kita mengambil makna tentang karya dan pemikiran Gusdur - sang Guru Bangsa - Tokoh kemajemukan. Berikut ada sebuah Paper ditulis oleh Imam Subkhan yang di posting di http://www.kabarindonesia.com/ tertanggal 06-Jan-2010. Disamping mengkalimatkan respon masyarakat terhadap kepergian Gusdur, bung Subkhan mengulas tentang ciri khas kiprah Gusdur dan mencoba membantu kita memaknai karya - pemikiran Gusdur. Semoga bermamfaat. Selamat Jalan Gusdur, pemikiranmu dan teladanmu tetap hidup di hati kami. Semoga kami - bangsa ini tidak repot hidup menghargai-dan saling menghormati kemajemukan beragama-kemajemukan pendapat - di bangsa yang ber Bhineka Tunggal Ika ini. God Bless.

Refleksi Kepergian Gus Dur

Walaupun sudah hampir satu pekan pasca wafatnya Kiai Haji Abdurrahman Wahid atau biasa akrab disapa Gus Dur, namun suasana duka cita masih sangat terasa di setiap penjuru tanah air. Kita semua, seolah-olah belum percaya atas tiadanya sang pejuang demokrasi ini. Terasa, wafatnya beliau lebih cepat dari apa yang kita duga. Dikarenakan selama ini publik terbiasa disuguhi kabar tentang kesehatan Gus Dur yang naik turun. Namun pada kesempatan lain, Gus Dur tampil di media dengan statemen-statemennya yang khas atau menghadiri sebuah acara penting tertentu. Dua hal ini yang selama ini mewarnai kehidupan Gus Dur yang dikenal publik, terutama masyarakat awam, sehingga ketika terdengar kabar di media beberapa hari sebelum wafatnya beliau, tepatnya 24/12 bahwa kondisi kesehatan Gus Dur menurun dan harus dilarikan ke rumah sakit seusai melakukan ziarah ke beberapa makam kiai di Jawa Tengah dan Jawa Timur, masyarakat tidak terlalu kaget, termasuk penulis.

Namun rupanya, di penghujung tahun 2009, Sang Kholik harus menyempurnakan perjuangan Gus Dur di dunia. Di usianya yang ke-69 tahun, bertepatan dengan hari ulang tahun putri bungsunya, 30/12, bangsa Indonesia harus kehilangan putra terbaiknya, Sang Guru Bangsa, Bapak Pluralisme dan Multikulturalisme, Pahlawan Demokrasi, Pembela Kaum Minoritas, serta Negarawan Sejati. Sebagaimana diungkapkan presiden SBY tatkala memberikan sambutan pada acara kenegaraan pemakaman almarhum Gus Dur di kompleks Pondok Pesantren Tebuireng, Jombang, Jawa Timur, 31/12.


Meninggalnya Gus Dur, ternyata banyak sekali pelajaran dan hikmah yang patut dijadikan refleksi bersama oleh bangsa ini. Banyak yang mengira, ketika Gus Dur lengser dari kursi kepresidenan pada tahun 2001, era Gus Dur sudah selesai. Pengaruh dan kharismatiknya diperkirakan sirna di tengah-tengah masyarakat. Ternyata, dugaan tersebut meleset dan telah terbantahkan dengan realita yang ada. Gus Dur tetap konsisten dalam memperjuangkan prinsip-prinsip hidupnya, walaupun tidak sedikit yang menghujat dan menentangnya. Beliau selalu hadir dan mengawal setiap momentum penting di negeri ini, termasuk kisruh KPK kemarin. Dengan kepercayaan diri yang tinggi, semangat juang yang membara, serta diiringi kekuatan spiritual dan keikhlasannya dalam membela yang benar, telah mampu mengalahkan “musuh-musuhnya” sampai akhir hayatnya.

Kini, setelah beliau tiada, semuanya terbukti dan menjadi saksi. Betapa Gus Dur sangat dicintai dan dikagumi oleh semua lapisan masyarakat, termasuk yang selama ini berseberangan dengan pemikiran-pemikirannya, baik di ranah politik, budaya dan keagamaan. Lihat saja, sampai detik ini, makam Gus Dur di ponpes Tebuireng terus dibanjiri para peziarah dari seluruh penjuru tanah air dan berbagai elemen masyarakat. Mulai anak-anak, pelajar, mahasiswa, akademisi, pejabat, tukang becak, artis, seniman, budayawan, aktivis, tokoh ormas, santri, para kyai, pengusaha, turis asing, bahkan semua penganut agama turut berziarah dan mendoakannya.

Sementara di berbagai daerah, digelar doa bersama, tahlilan, dan shalat ghaib untuk mendiang Gus Dur. Selain itu, kegiatan yang cukup unik juga digelar, seperti aksi barongsai menabur bunga di atas foto Gus Dur di Solo serta aksi satu juta lilin dan doa bersama oleh komunitas lintas agama di tugu Proklamasi Jakarta baru-baru ini. Sungguh sebuah pemandangan langka jika dibandingkan dengan tokoh-tokoh besar yang meninggal dunia sebelumnya, baik di Indonesia maupun di dunia.

Tidak hanya itu, para pemimpin-pemimpin dunia pun turut memberikan ucapan belasungkawa dan komentar mengenai sosok Gus Dur. Sekaliber presiden AS, Barrack Obama pun turut memberikan statemen bahwa Gus Dur sebagai perintis dan pemrakarsa demokrasi di Indonesia dan dunia. Sampai saat ini pun, berbagai media massa masih terus menayangkan biografi Gus Dur dalam “in memorium Gus Dur” disertai tanggapan dari para sahabat Gus Dur, bahkan rival-rival Gus Dur di kancah perpolitikan.

Ke-nyleneh-an Gus Dur selama ini dalam setiap statemennya, yang sebagian masyarakat menganggap kontroversi, ternyata diakui justru menjadi pelajaran, penggugah intelektualitas, pendobrak status quo, penerobos lingkar-lingkar primordialisme, serta pemberangus eksklusivisme dan fanatisme yang sempit. Seperti yang pernah dilontarkan dalam pandangan keagamaan, misalnya ucapan salam assalamu’alaikum supaya diganti selamat pagi, siang atau sore, Al Qur’an sebagai kitab paling porno karena menjelaskan hubungan seksual, pembolehan ucapan selamat hari raya kepada pemeluk agama lain, termasuk pandangannya terhadap negeri zionis Israel, dimana Gus Dur mengusulkan untuk membuka hubungan diplomatik dengan negara tersebut.

Jika orang menilai pernyataan Gus Dur hanya dari satu sudut pandang, maka hasil akhirnya adalah penyalahan dan “pengkafiran”. Tetapi, jika kita mampu memandang secara multidimensi dan multiperspektif, maka hasilnya akan lain. Orang akan lebih arif, bijak, dan santun dalam memandang setiap persoalan termasuk perbedaan. Pelajaran berharga dari setiap lontaran pemikiran Gus Dur, sesungguhnya sanggup menggugah dan membuka wawasan selebar-lebarnya bagi para kaum intelektual, cendekiawan serta generasi muda, untuk lebih banyak belajar keilmuan dan pengalaman hidup.

Rekonsiliasi

Ibarat pepatah mengatakan, gajah mati meninggalkan gading, harimau mati meninggalkan belang, dan manusia mati meninggalkan budi atau jasa; Becik ketitik ala ketara. Begitulah yang bisa menggambarkan sosok Gus Dur dengan segala sepak terjangnya selama ini. Hampir semua lapisan masyarakat mengakui kebaikannya. Seperti yang ditanyakan oleh Salahuddin Wahid, adik Gus Dur kepada para peziarah dalam sambutan atas nama keluarga yang diulang sampai tiga kali “Apakah betul Gus Dur orang yang baik?” Semua yang hadir, termasuk presiden SBY mengamininya. Popularitas figur Gus Dur bukan hanya karena beliau merupakan mantan presiden RI ke-4, tetapi ketokohannya sudah diakui dan mengakar kuat di masyarakat, apalagi bagi warga nahdliyin. Dikarenakan beliau selama tiga periode memimpin NU yang merupakan ormas terbesar di Indonesia.

Maka tidak mengherankan, saat pemakaman jenazah cucu pendiri NU, KH Hasyim Asy’ari ini yang dilakukan secara kenegaraan, telah menjadi ajang pertemuan atau silaturrahim tokoh-tokoh, pejabat dan para kyai, termasuk yang selama ini berbeda pandangan dengan almarhum, khususnya di tubuh Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa (PKB). Seperti halnya kehadiran Muhaimin Iskandar yang juga keponakan almarhum, saat ini menjabat Menakertrans dan Ketua Umum Dewan Tanfidz DPP PKB versi pemerintah. Bahkan Cak Imin panggilan akrabnya - merasa mendapatkan wasiat dari Gus Dur untuk bisa merangkul semua pihak yang selama ini tercerai-berai akibat konflik internal di PKB.

Tokoh PKB lain yang juga ikut bertakziyah adalah Alwi Shihab (mantan ketua umum PKB), Choirul Anam (sekarang pendiri PKNU), Effendi Choirie, Syaifullah Yusuf, Marwan Ja’far, Hanif Dhakiri, Eman Hermawan, dan Helmy Faishal Zaini (pengurus DPP PKB). Selain itu, sejumlah kyai kharismatik NU dan tokoh-tokoh PKB juga hadir, seperti KH Musthofa Bisri, KH Maimun Zubair, KH Abdurrahman Chudlori, KH Fawaid As’ad, KH Idris Marzuki, KH Muchit Muzadi, KH Hasyim Muzadi, Mahfud M.D. (sekarang ketua MK), dan para tokoh penting lainnya.

Sebenarnya dari pertemuan tokoh-tokoh tersebut yang telah sekian lama tidak terjalin komunikasi yang baik dapat menjadi momentum yang tepat untuk kembali kompak dan bersatu. Banyak pihak terutama arus bawah sangat menginginkan agar kepergian Gus Dur menjadi tonggak bagi segenap kader PKB dan warga NU untuk bisa merefleksikan diri, sekaligus melakukan rekonsiliasi. Dua kubu besar yang masih terus bercokol di tubuh PKB seharusnya bisa bersatu, yaitu kubu Muhaimin Iskandar dan kubu Yenny Wahid (putri Gus Dur).

Caranya, masing-masing kekuatan harus bisa menanggalkan ego, kepentingan dan ambisi pribadi atau kelompok. Kemudian lebih mengedepankan keikhlasan dan semangat juang untuk membela kepentingan rakyat tanpa melihat posisi, rivalitas atau siapa yang memimpin, serta patuh terhadap nasihat para kyai sebagaimana tradisi di kalangan nahdliyin. Selain itu, semangat dan konsistensi Gus Dur untuk mewujudkan partai yang membawa misi keislaman inklusif, moderat, pluralis, menghargai perbedaan, dan menghormati HAM harus selalu terpatri kuat di jajaran pengurus PKB dan konstituennya. Jika ini terwujud, sungguh merupakan era kebangkitan dan kemenangan PKB untuk menghadapi pemilu 2014 yang akan datang. Karena kita tahu, pada pemilu 2009, tanpa dukungan dan restu Gus Dur, ternyata perolehan suara PKB tidak bisa berbicara banyak di tingkat nasional. Bisa dikatakan, tanpa Gus Dur, tidak akan ada PKB. Tetapi Gus Dur tetap menginginkan partai ini akan tetap eksis dan menjadi penyalur suara warga nahdliyin serta kaum wong cilik, untuk terus menyuarakan dan membela kebenaran, walaupun kehadiran jasadnya sudah tidak di tengah-tengah kita lagi. Oleh karena itu, sudah seharusnya, warga PKB dan NU yang paling terpanggil untuk memperjuangkan Gus Dur diberi gelar Pahlawan Nasional dengan terlebih dahulu melakukan rekonsiliasi. (*)

Oleh : Imam Subkhan

* Penulis adalah anggota komunitas pecinta Gus Dur tinggal di Jaten Karanganyar

Sumber : http://www.kabarindonesia.com/berita.php?pil=20&jd=Refleksi+Kepergian+Gus+Dur&dn=20100106201615

Yusuf Bilyarta Mangunwijaya

Tribute to a multi-talented, national figure

Ini dia salah satu tokoh multi talent yang saya kagumi. Yusuf Bilyarta Mangunwijaya, sosok sederhana yang menghasilkan karya-beragam yang tidak sederhana, melainkan LUAR BIASA. Lihat saja, sebagai seorang Romo - Pastor, yang notabene adalah lingkup Pelayanan Rohani/Gerejawi, ia justru dikenal bukan saja sebagai Rohaniawan, tetapi juga sebagai Arsitek, Budayawan, Pendidik dan Sastrawan. Ini dikarenakan karya-karyanya yang diakui oleh pegiat-pegiat kriteria diatas. Lintas appresiasi, sebagai Rohaniawan, ia bukan hanya "Arsitek spiritualitas bagi umatnya", tetapi juga arsitek Budaya, Pendidikan, dan turut andil dalam membangun perkembangan sastra di Indonesia serta internasional.

Saya mulai kenal tokoh ini sejak Bangku kuliahan. Beberapa Karya Tulisannya yang saya nikmati dan menjadi koleksi saya a.l : 1. Burung-Burung Manyar, novel, 1981

• 2. Durma Umayi, Novel, 1985
• 3. Di Bawah Bayang-Bayang Adikuasa, 1987

Karya Lain :

• Manusia Pascamodern, Semesta, dan Tuhan: renungan filsafat hidup, manusia modern, 1999
• Memuliakan Allah, Mengangkat Manusia, 1999
• Menjadi generasi pasca-Indonesia: kegelisahan Y.B. Mangunwijaya, 1999
• Menuju Indonesia Serba Baru, 1998
• Pasca-Indonesia, Pasca-Einstein, 1999
• Ragawidya, 1986
• Sastra dan Religiositas, kumpulan esai, 1982
• Gereja Diaspora, 1999
• Kita Lebih Bodoh dari Generasi Soekarno-Hatta, 2000

Berikut Biografi YB Mangunwijaya dan Karya-2 Beliau :

Ada banyak gelar yang bisa disandangkan pada sosok yang biasa dikenal sebagai Romo Mangun ini. Ia adalah seorang arsitek, seorang humanis, seorang sastrawan, juga budayawan. Sebagai pendidik, ia juga berperan menghadirkan suatu pendidikan alternatif.

SIAPAKAH ROMO MANGUN? Yusuf Bilyarta Mangunwijaya adalah nama lengkapnya. Ia dilahirkan pada tanggal 6 Maret 1929 di Ambarawa, Jawa Tengah, sebagai anak sulung dari dua belas bersaudara. Ayahnya bernama Yulianus Sumadi, sedangkan ibunya Serafin Kamdaniyah. Romo Mangun mengawali pendidikannya di HIS Fransiscus Xaverius, Muntilan, Magelang (1936 -- 1943). Lalu berturut-turut di STM Jetis, Yogyakarta (1943 -- 1947), dan SMU-B Santo Albertus, Malang (1948 -- 1951). Selanjutnya ia menempuh pendidikan seminari pada Seminari Menengah Kotabaru, Yogyakarta, yang dilanjutkan ke Seminari Menengah Santo Petrus Kanisius di Mertoyudan, Magelang. Pada masa-masa sekolahnya, Romo Mangun sudah ikut dalam gerakan kemerdekaan. Ia, misalnya, ikut dalam aksi pencurian mobil-mobil tentara Jepang. Ia pun bergabung dalam Batalyon X Divisi III sebagai prajurit TKR. Ia turut pula dalam pertempuran di Ambarawa, Magelang, dan Mranggen. Selain menjadi prajurit Tentara Pelajar, ia pernah pula bertugas sebagai sopir pendamping Panglima Perang Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX memeriksa pasukan. Pernah pula ia menjabat sebagai komandan Tentara Pelajar saat Agresi Militer Belanda I pada Kompi Kedu.

IMAM YANG MENEKUNI ARSITEKTUR Pada tahun 1951, ia masuk ke Seminar Menengah di Kotabaru. Setahun kemudian, ia pindah ke Seminari Menengah Petrus Kanisius, Mertoyudan, Magelang. Ia melanjut ke Institut Filsafat dan Teologi Santo Paulus di Kotabaru. Di sinilah ia bertemu mentornya, Uskup Soegijapranata, SJ., sosok yang juga menjadi tokoh Nasional. Uskup Soegijapranata, SJ. merupakan uskup agung pribumi pertama di Indonesia. Tidak hanya mengajar, Soegijapranata pulalah yang menahbiskan Romo Mangun sebagai imam pada tahun 1959. Meski telah menjabat sebagai imam, cita-cita Romo Mangun sejak lama untuk menjadi insinyur tidaklah hilang. Itulah sebabnya, setelah ditahbiskan, ia justru melanjutkan pendidikannya di Teknik Arsitektur ITB, juga pada tahun 1959. Dari ITB, ia melanjutkan studinya di universitas yang sama dengan B.J. Habibie, yaitu di Rheinisch Westfaelische Technische Hochschule, Aachen, Jerman pada 1960, yang diselesaikannya pada tahun 1966. Pendidikan arsitektur inilah yang kemudian memberinya landasan yang kuat untuk menghasilkan beragam karya arsitektural yang justru menghadirkan nuansa baru dalam arsitektur Indonesia. Tidak heran pula bila ia kemudian dikenal sebagai bapak arsitektur modern Indonesia.

Sebagai arsitek, ia merancang membangun banyak gedung. Sebut saja kompleks peziarahan Sendangsono, Gedung Keuskupan Agung Semarang, Bentara Budaya Jakarta, pelbagai bangunan lain, termasuk beberapa gereja. Ikatan Arsitek Indonesia (IAI) pun menganugerahinya IAI Awards 1991 dan 1993 sebagai penghargaan atas beberapa karyanya. Adapun karya arsitekturalnya di Kali Code menjadi salah satu "monumen" Romo Mangun. Ia membangun kawasan pemukiman warga pinggiran itu tidak sebatas pembangunan fisik, tapi sampai pada fase memanusiakan manusia. "Penataan lebih pada segi sosio-politis dan pengelolaan kemasyarakatan," demikian tutur Romo Mangun, yang dikenal juga sebagai bapak dari masyarakat "Girli" (pinggir kali) mengenai "monumen"-nya tersebut. Penataan lingkungan di Kali Code itu pun membuahkan The Aga Khan Award for Architecture pada tahun 1992. Tiga tahun kemudian, karya yang sama ini membuahkan penghargaan dari Stockholm, Swedia, The Ruth and Ralph Erskine Fellowship Award untuk kategori arsitektur demi rakyat yang tak diperhatikan.

MEMIHAK RAKYAT KECIL Sisi humanisme Romo Mangun memang begitu kental. Pada tahun 1986, ia mendampingi warga Kedungombo yang kala itu memperjuangkan lahannya dari pembangunan waduk. Pembelaannya kepada nasib penduduk Kedungombo menyebabkan presiden, yang saat itu masih dijabat oleh Soeharto, menuduhnya sebagai komunis yang mengaku sebagai rohaniawan. Berbagai teror dan intimidasi menghampirinya pula. "Kalau saya dituduh melakukan kristenisasi kepada para santri, silakan tanyakan langsung kepada warga Kedungombo. Kalau saya dikatakan sebagai warga negara yang tidak taat kepada pemerintah, saya jawab, ketaatan itu harus pada hal yang baik. Orang tidak diandaikan untuk menaati perintah yang buruk. Apa yang saya kerjakan sesuai dengan Mukadimah UUD 1945 dan Pancasila," komentarnya tenang. Upaya yang tidak sia-sia mengingat pada tanggal 5 Juli 1994, akhirnya Mahkamah Agung RI mengabulkan tuntutan kasasi 34 warga Kedungombo tersebut. Malahan warga memperoleh ganti rugi yang nilainya lebih besar daripada tuntutan semula. SEBAGAI PENULIS SEKALIGUS PENDIDIK Karya tulis yang dihasilkan Romo Mangun bukanlah karya tulis sembarangan. Semua dihadirkan dengan alam pikir yang kompleks. Hal ini terwujud pula dari kalimatnya yang panjang-panjang, yang tak jarang sulit dipahami. Namun, ia berkata, "Tulisan saya realitas. Realitas itu kompleks, tidak sederhana, tidak satu dimensi, canggih, rumit, dan banyak segi. Kalimat mestinya begitu juga." Faruk H.T. berkomentar, "Karya-karya sastra Romo Mangun pada dasarnya berisi cerita tentang pengorbanan dan penyerahan kekuasaan yang tidak menutup kemungkinan bagi munculnya pengkhianatan" (Gatra 20 Februari 1999). Kekayaan tulisan Romo tidak hanya terlihat lewat bingkai sejarah yang dihadirkan, tetapi juga persoalan kultur turut dibahasnya. Dalam bukunya, "Pasca-Indonesia, Pasca-Einstein" (1999), masalah kultur dan dikotomi Barat-Timur, ia bahas secara tajam. Dalam bidang kesusastraan, buah tangannya tidak dimungkiri pula. Sebut saja "Burung-Burung Manyar" (1981) yang menuai penghargaan dari Ratu Thailand Sirikit lewat ajang The South East Asia Write Award 1983. Ia juga menjadi orang Indonesia kedua setelah Goenawan Mohammad yang mendapat penghargaan The Professor Teeuw Award di Leiden, Belanda, untuk bidang susastra dan kepedulian terhadap masyarakat. Adapun karya sastra terakhirnya berjudul "Pohon-Pohon Sesawi", yang diterbitkan setahun setelah ia meninggal. Tidak hanya dalam bidang arsitektur dan penulisan, Romo Mangun pun memiliki keprihatinan terhadap sistem pendidikan di Indonesia. Ia mewujudkannya dengan mendirikan Yayasan Dinamika Edukasi Dasar. Catherine Mills, yang menulis tesis mengenai Romo Mangun, mengutip perkataan Romo, "When I die, let me die as a primary school teacher (kalau saya meninggal, biarkan saya meninggal sebagai guru sekolah dasar)." Bagi Romo Mangun, pendidikan dasar jauh lebih penting daripada pendidikan tinggi. Itulah sebabnya, ia pun pernah berujar, "Biarlah pendidikan tinggi berengsek dan awut-awutan. Namun, kita tidak boleh menelantarkan pendidikan dasar." Mengenai cara Romo Mangun mendidik anak-anak, budayawan Mudji Sutrisno memiliki kenangan tersendiri. Ketika bersama anak-anak didiknya sedang merayakan ulang tahun salah seorang anak, Romo melihat bahwa anak-anak kecil tersebut tidak sanggup menghabiskan makanannya. Akhirnya, Romo mengumpulkan sisa makanan tersebut menjadi satu dan memakannya agar tidak ada yang terbuang. "Dengan menghabiskannya serta menjelaskan bahwa makanan adalah rezeki Sang Pencipta, maka sebuah penghayatan keteladanan dalam menanamkan nilai syukur dan menghargai nasi tertanam amat menyentuh. Apalagi, santapan itu dihabiskan sang guru dengan rendah hati," kenang Mudji.

ROMO BERPULANG Romo Mangun sebenarnya telah memasang alat pacu jantung sejak 1990. Lalu sejak 1994, ia berniat mengurangi aktivitasnya sebagai pembicara di berbagai seminar dan diskusi. Meski demikian, pada tahun 1999, ia justru menghadiri kegiatan yang ia hindari itu. Pada tanggal 10 Februari 1999, Romo Mangun menghadiri Simposiom "Meningkatkan Buku Dalam Upaya Membentuk Masyarakat Baru Indonesia", yang diselenggarakan Yayasan Obor Indonesia, di Hotel Le Meridien, Jakarta. Ia juga berbagian sebagai pembicara pada simposium tersebut, namun belum lama, badannya limbung, nyaris jatuh. Budayawan Mohamad Sobary langsung membaringkannya di lantai Ruang Puri. Dan tepat pukul 13:55 WIB, Romo Mangun dinyatakan meninggal karena serangan jantung. Pemakamannya dihadiri oleh ribuan pelayat. Hal ini menunjukkan betapa ia merupakan pribadi yang sangat dikagumi sekaligus dihormati masyarakat dari berbagai kalangan. Tidak hanya kalangan rohaniawan dan penganut Katolik atau masyarakat Yogyakarta, berbagai lapisan masyarakat dan agama turut menghadiri. Budayawan Mudji Sutrisno mengapresiasi sosok Romo sebagai seorang rohaniawan yang menghidupi iman Katolik dan imamatnya dengan tindakan nyata. Tidak hanya seorang pastor yang melayani misa, tetapi juga pastor yang terlibat dalam membahasakan cinta. Masih menurutnya, Romo Mangun benar-benar mempraktikkan karya Yesus yang menyapa, peduli, berjuang, menyatu dengan kaum terpinggirkan, dan hidup bersama mereka. Cita-cita Romo Mangun memang banyak yang terlampaui. Sebagai arsitek, ia berhasil membangun beragam bangunan yang membuahkan penghargaan. Sebagai penulis, karyanya pun diakui di tingkat dunia. Hanya saja, obsesinya tentang pendidikan anak-anak miskin belum tercapai. Ia memang telah merintis Yayasan Dinamika Edukasi Dasar sejak tahun 1980-an, sebuah wadah pengajaran bagi anak-anak miskin dan telantar. Ia juga merintis sekolah di desa Mangunan, Kalasan, yang menurut Mudji Sutrisno merupakan karya intelektual yang nyata, yang melakukan penyebaran ide dan kritis. Intelektual yang tidak saja memiliki "laboratorium" tapi juga mewakili nurani bangsa. Sayang, perjuangannya harus terhenti oleh penyakit jantung, saat SD Mangunan tersebut baru berjalan lima tahun, kurang empat tahun untuk melihat hasil dari kurikulum pendidikan dasar sembilan tahun yang dirancang dan diaplikasikan oleh Romo Mangun sendiri. Mungkinkah ini menjadi tongkat estafet bagi semua orang, sebagaimana Yesus meninggalkan Petrus dan rekan-rekan lainnya untuk melanjutkan karya mereka bersama. Ya, tongkat estafet itu harus disambut oleh setiap orang percaya. Andakah itu?

Dirangkum dari Anonim 1999. Sang Pastor Pejuang Romo Mangun telah Pergi, dalam SiaR News Service, Rabu 10 Februari 1999, http://www.mail-archive.com/siarlist@minipostgresql.org/msg00416.html.Laksono, Mayong S. Romo Mangun: Merakyat untuk Balas Budi kepada Rakyat, dalam Intisari on the Net, Maret 2000, http://www.indomedia.com/intisari/2000/maret/mangun.htm.Prakosa, Ambara Muji. 2007. Man For Others: Sketsa Mangun (1), dalam http://orcafilms-inside.blogspot.com/2007/05/man-for-others-sketsa-mangun-1.html.Wikipedia Indonesia. 2007. Yusuf Bilyarta Mangunwijaya, dalam http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y.B._Mangunwijaya. Dirangkum oleh: R.S. Kurnia Karya-2 YB Mangiwijaya Dari Wikipedia Indonesia, ensiklopedia bebas berbahasa Indonesia. Karya Arsitektur Pemukiman Kali Code, Yogyakarta Kompleks Sendangsono Gedung Keuskupan Agung Semarang Gedung Bentara Budaya, Jakarta Gereja Katolik Jetis, Yogyakarta Gereja Katolik Cilincing, Jakarta Markas Kowihan II Biara Trappist Gedono, Salatiga, Semarang Gereja Maria Assumpta, Klaten Gereja Maria Sapta Duka, Mendut

Buku dan tulisan Balada Becak, novel, 1985 Balada dara-dara Mendut, novel, 1993 Burung-Burung Rantau, novel, 1992 Burung-Burung Manyar, novel, 1981 Di Bawah Bayang-Bayang Adikuasa, 1987 Durga Umayi, novel, 1985 Esei-esei orang Republik, 1987 Fisika Bangunan, buku Arsitektur, 1980 Gereja Diaspora, 1999 Gerundelan Orang Republik, 1995 Ikan-Ikan Hiu, Ido, Homa, novel, 1983 Impian Dari Yogyakarta, 2003 Kita Lebih Bodoh dari Generasi Soekarno-Hatta, 2000 Manusia Pascamodern, Semesta, dan Tuhan: renungan filsafat hidup, manusia modern, 1999 Memuliakan Allah, Mengangkat Manusia, 1999 Menjadi generasi pasca-Indonesia: kegelisahan Y.B. Mangunwijaya, 1999 Menuju Indonesia Serba Baru, 1998 Menuju Republik Indonesia Serikat, 1998 Merintis RI Yang Manusiawi: Republik yang adil dan beradab, 1999 Pasca-Indonesia, Pasca-Einstein, 1999 Pemasyarakatan susastra dipandang dari sudut budaya, 1986 Pohon-Pohon Sesawi, novel, 1999 Politik Hati Nurani Puntung-Puntung Roro Mendut, 1978 Putri duyung yang mendamba: renungan filsafat hidup manusia modern Ragawidya, 1986 Romo Rahadi, novel, 1981 (terbit dengan nama samaran Y. Wastu Wijaya) Roro Mendut, Genduk Duku, Lusi Lindri, novel trilogi, 1983-1987 Rumah Bambu, kumpulan cerpen, 2000 Sastra dan Religiositas, kumpulan esai, 1982 Saya Ingin Membayar Utang Kepada Rakyat, 1999 Soeharto dalam Cerpen Indonesia, 2001 Spiritualitas Baru Tentara dan Kaum Bersenjata, 1999 Tumbal: kumpulan tulisan tentang kebudayaan, perikemanusiaan & kemasyarakatan, 1994 Wastu Citra, buku Arsitektur, 1988

Buku tentang Romo Mangun Romo Mangun Di Mata Para Sahabat, Abdurrahman Wahid, Kanisius, 1999 Y.B. Mangunwijaya, Pejuang Kemanusiaan, Priyanahadi dkk, Kanisius, 1999 Tektonika Arsitektur YB. Mangunwijaya, Eko A. Prawoto, Cemeti Art House Yogyakarta, 1999 Romo Mangun Imam bagi Kaum Kecil, Purwatma Pr, Kanisius, 2001 Mendidik Manusia Merdeka, Romo Y.B. Mangunwijaya 65 Tahun, Sumartana dkk, Institut Dian/Interfedei dan Pustaka Pelajar, 1995 Mengenang Y.B. Mangunwijaya, Pergulatan Intelektual dalam Era Kegelisahan, Sindhunata, Kanisius, 1999 Menjadi Generasi Pasca-Indonesia, Kegelisahan Y.B. Mangunwijaya, Kanisius, 1999 Romo Mangun Sahabat Kaum Duafa, Iip D. Yahya dan I.B. Shakuntala, Kanisius, 2005

Romo Mangun, activist Even after his death, YB Mangunwijaya speaks still with the voice of Indonesia's democratic independence fighters.

Nico Schulte Nordholt

Romo Mangun's voice is silent. Just now, when the situation in Indonesia is so grim, we miss his wise words and his courage. Fortunately he illuminated the political transformation process of recent years with incisive commentary through numerous articles, written with a boundless energy. Many of them are collected in a book entitled Menuju Indonesia serba baru 'Towards a completely new Indonesia' [Gramedia, 1998]. This is part of his heritage to a younger generation of Indonesians. To influence, to inspire that younger generation, that was Mangun's chief purpose in all his political action and writing.

In this book Romo Mangun appears to be fascinated by the differences and similarities between the struggle for independence in the 1940s and the current struggle for democracy. In those days, the new Indonesia had to be built up after colonial exploitation and fascist occupation. Today young people face the task, after seven years of oppression under Sukarno and another 33 years under Suharto, once more to give shape to a nation that has been wounded to the bone. That task is if anything even more difficult today. The earlier struggle was led by a democratic leadership, with figures such as Sutan Syahrir, Mohammad Hatta and so many other founders of the republic, who gave meaning and direction to that process of nation-building. The indoctrination of the last forty years has made the possibility of democratic leadership at least in the short term virtually zero.

Mangun rather feared that the post-Suharto period could well be even more repressive. He resisted that danger, and worked for a genuine democracy, literally to his last breath of life. He saw it as his mission to convey the democratic values of the revolutionary period to a younger generation, who grew up in an Indonesia where for 40 years those values have been suppressed. As a lad he fought in the student battalion, the Tentara Pelajar Indonesia, TPI. Since he had had a basic technical education, he became a driver-mechanic. He drove for the former Sultan of Yogyakarta, and also regularly came into contact with Commander Suharto, who later became president.

Student-soldier This period was decisive for the remainder of his life. Three individuals played an immense role for him. They were Major Isman, the commander of TPI; Monsignor Sugyapranoto, who as bishop of Semarang unconditionally chose the side of the republic against the colonial Dutch and was later honoured as national hero by Sukarno; and Sutan Syahrir, the republic's first prime minister, whose inspiring, democratic attitude during the independence struggle made a great impression on the young soldier Mangun. As a result of a speech made by Major Isman during a TPI reunion in Malang in the early 1950s, the 22-year old Mangun decided to dedicate the rest of his life to the cause of the wong cilik, the 'little people', the weakest members of society. Major Isman had pointed out that the true heroes of the revolution were not they, the young student-soldiers, but the villagers who had suffered so much. In order to repay his debt to them, Mangun henceforth devoted himself to the weak and the oppressed. Under the influence of Mgr Sugyapranoto he then entered seminary to become a priest. The same monsignor later sent Mangun to Aken in Germany to obtain a degree in architecture. It is the social democratic ideas from the writings of Sutan Syahrir that continually reappear in Mangun's politically coloured articles. He saw Syahrir as someone who devoted himself completely to the independence cause, but who understood at the same time that a narrowly nationalistic, merely political independence would not be sufficient to really improve the lot of the 'little people'. That requires in the first place social liberation, coupled with education on a massive scale, but also, and especially, international solidarity. The technically gifted Mangun brought his political ethics, rooted in a religious social democratic thought world, into practice in such a way that for him the word and the deed became one. He acquired a virtually unique place among Indonesia's political activists. But perhaps Romo Mangun's especial characteristic is that he never let himself be put into one particular box. He knew how to break through every dividing wall. He could do that at least partly because of his multifaceted talents, among which lay a great sense of humour, and which makes it really impossible to regard him only in one dimension, namely as political activist. He first became nationally known as an activist when he declared himself, in word and deed, in solidarity with the slum dwellers of the Code River in Yogyakarta. But he had by then already acquired fame through his novel 'The Weaverbirds' (Burung-burung Manyar, 1981). The novel won him a literary prize. Narrowly nationalistic interests initially contested the award and accused Mangunwijaya of having detracted from the heroic struggle for independence. However, because of his own role in that struggle, indeed under the command of Suharto, who had since become president, Mangun seemed to be immune from such reproach. In his action on behalf of the Code River residents he also made skilful use of his old job as driver for the former Sultan of Yogyakarta. He never hesitated to make the fullest use of contacts built up over a rich and varied life, in service of the wong cilik. Mangun adopted the same approach in the second big socio-political action into which he threw himself, on behalf of farmers displaced from their homes in a Central Java valley by the building of the huge Kedung Ombo dam. Without hesitating he contacted his campus friend from his Aken period, Rudy Habibie, at the time minister for research and technology, and asked him in an open letter for his help. Yet even more important than the letter was another aspect of his approach to action.

No dividing wall As a priest he knew he was vulnerable to the allegation that he was hunting for converts through his social action, especially after he began a basic education project for the children in the Kedung Ombo dam environs. For that reason he made a close ally out of his friend Kiai Hamam Dja'far of Magelang, who has also since died. Not out of the tactical consideration that he needed someone to cover his back but, as he said to me, in the full awareness that in an action such as this every hint of conversion fanaticism must be avoided. He was convinced that only by working together hand in hand, in praxis, to improve the lives of the oppressed was it possible to break through the religious dividing walls. In that respect Romo Mangun's life as an activist has become a role model for all socio-political activists in Indonesia, indeed by no means only in Indonesia. Now we must mention two further themes in the 'Mangun as political activist' narrative. First is a deep involvement in the cause of the East Timorese. He had already adopted a stance against the grave injustice of the occupation, though in a veiled way, in his novel Ikan-ikan Hiu, Ido, Homa of 1983. Here he drew an allegorical parallel between the bloody massacres of the inhabitants of Banda Island by the seventeenth century Dutch VOC, and the Indonesian occupation of East Timor in 1975.

Soon thereafter, arguing both out of his historical insight that the founders of the republic had fought only for the freedom of the territory of the former Netherlands India, and out of his great feeling for justice and a revulsion against any kind of human rights abuse, Romo Mangun became one of the first Indonesians to speak publicly in favour of a just solution to this bloody conflict. Besides his good friend Abdurrahman Wahid, the colourful chairman of Nahdatul Ulama, Mangunwijaya was the only other Indonesian to be personally invited by Bishop Belo to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo on 10 December 1996. For political reasons, Wahid allowed the invitation to pass, but Romo Mangun was there. This is one of the differences between the NU leader, who has since then developed into a practising politician, and Mangun the political activist, who was always indebted only to his own principles. In the second theme, however, Mangun came much closer to the area of practical politics. Over the last twelve months he became a very vocal defender of the federative idea within the political arena. Precisely because he thought of himself as a fighter for independence, he saw that the future of the entire island nation could only be saved as the Republic of Indonesia by working towards a federative state. I would like to end with a mention of what was no doubt the pinnacle experience of Romo Mangun's role as political activist. On 26 May 1998 he was one of the main speakers at a mass rally in Yogyakarta to commemorate the death of the student Moses Gatutkaca. I tend to think it must be more than mere coincidence that it had to be someone with such a symbolically laden name who became the victim in Yogyakarta's otherwise rather peaceful month of May 1998: Moses, the liberator in the Judaeo-Christian tradition, and Gatutkaca, the purest hero within the Javanese mythology. But I want to point to the speech that Romo Mangun delivered on that occasion. It was undoubtedly one of his most political speeches, but it was above all highly visionary and, to my mind, of the same quality as the Manifest Politik nomor 1 of November 1945, which Romo Mangun quoted so frequently. This document, written by Sutan Syahrir in the time of kegelisahan, of chaos, significantly determined the meaning and direction of the struggle for independence. Mangunwijaya in his speech of 26 May 1998 especially addresses the youth, and calls on them incisively yet patiently to carry on the struggle 'towards a completely new Indonesia'. He envisaged in the first place the year 2028, a hundred years after the 'birth' of the first generation of democratic leaders, who proclaimed independence in 1945. And then, eventually, the year 2045 when, a hundred years after that proclamation, a truly democratic Indonesia has taken shape. Like the prophet Moses, Mangun spoke of a promised land that he knew he would never enter. But with a rock solid faith in the power and impetuousness of youth he was convinced that that vision would become a reality. Abdurrahman Wahid expressed the same faith in an obituary for his friend Mangun when he wrote of his conviction that we would surely be enriched by successors to Mangun, who would dedicate themselves as wholeheartedly to his ideals. Nico Schulte Nordholt (n.g.schultenordholt@tdg.utwente.nl) teaches at the University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands. Extracted from a eulogy delivered at a memorial service for YB Mangunwijaya on 6 May 1999. Mangun died on 10 February 1999 aged 69 (see Inside Indonesia no.58, April-June 1999). Dari Wikipedia Indonesia, ensiklopedia bebas berbahasa Indonesia

Paul David Hewson (Bono), Duta Kemanusiaan

"Greatest Artist of the Modern Era" Lama sudah saya mengagumi tokoh yang satu ini. Berawal dari ketertarikan akan musik U2, kemudian tertarik akan figur Bono sang Vokalis. Beberapa album U2 yang melekat ditelinga a.l : The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, All That You Cant Leave Behind, October, The Best Of 1980 1990, The Best Of 1990-2000, The Unforgettable Fire, Under A Blood Red Sky, War.

Sebagai orang "awam" dalam hal musik, mendengar U2, kita akan diajak berbicara tentang banyak hal sekitar kita dan musiknya seolah segar terus (dan jelas tidak komersil dan monoton).

Menilik Biography Bono dan beberapa Web yang memuat risalah perjuangannya membela hak-hak kemanusiaan dilintas negara, pantas dikatakan Bono adalah "Duta Kemanusiaan". Ketika para pesohor justru menikmati "bling-bling" keglamoran hidup justru Bono meninggalkan itu semua dan tinggal diantara manusia yang "ditindas secara lintas sektoral". (link ke : http://www.one.org/ ). Bono meneladankan saatnya para Pesohor dibidang industri musik, film, ekonomi, politik, agama, IT, turun langsung membela kemanusiaan. Dan ia bergaul dengan semua orang, mulai dari Para Politisi, hingga aktifis NGO dan stakeholder misi kemanusiaan lainnya. Ia juga memfasilitasi dan membuat gerakan kesadaran bagi kaum pesohor untuk peduli lingkungan, pendidikan, HIV AIDS, kejahatan perang, dan pengumpulan dana bagi kemanusiaan.

Kehadiran Bono menjadi inspirasi bagi banyak orang lintas profesi, bahwa mereka dapat menjadi pejuang hak-hak kemanusiaan (melawan pemiskinan yang dilakukan penjajah ekonomi, budaya, industri, dan penjajahan secara fisik).

Berikut Biography Bono

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), also known by his stage name Bono, is the main vocalist of the Irish rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his wife, Ali Hewson, and the future members of U2. Since that time he has been referred to as Bono, his stage and nickname, by his family and fellow band members. Bono writes almost all U2 lyrics, often using political, social and religious themes. During their early years, Bono's lyrics contributed to U2's rebellious tone. As the band matured, his lyrics became inspired more by personal experiences with members of U2. Among his non-U2 endeavors, he has collaborated and recorded with numerous artists, sits on the board of Elevation Partners and has refurbished and now owns a hotel with fellow band member, The Edge. Bono is also widely known for his activism concerning Africa, for which he co-founded DATA. He has organized and played in several benefit concerts and has met with influential politicians. He is the co-founder of EDUN, the ONE Campaign and Product Red. Bono has been praised and criticized for his activism and involvement with U2. Bono has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, was granted an honorary knighthood by the United Kingdom, and was named as a Person of the Year by Time, among many other awards and nominations. Biography Childhood Bono and his brother, Norman Hewson, were raised in Dublin, by their mother, Iris (née Rankin), a Church of Ireland Anglican, and father, Brendan Robert "Bob" Hewson, a Roman Catholic. His parents initially agreed that the first child would be raised Anglican and the second Catholic. Although Bono was the second child, he also attended Church of Ireland services with his mother and brother.

Bono was four years old when he first heard I Want To Hold Your Hand by The Beatles. Watching TV with his brother after Christmas, he was impressed by the sensation the song gave, the melodic potency, and the haircuts of the strange band. Then he heard singers such as Tom Jones, Elvis and Bob Dylan. When he was 12, he heard Imagine by John Lennon. He felt like Lennon was speaking directly to him, sharing his ideas and inspirations. His brother had a book of Beatles' songs and he tried to teach Bono to play the guitar. In the 80's Yoko Ono told Bono that he was the son of John. When Bono was 15, he started listening to rock bands such as The Who, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. Bono grew up in what could be called a medium-low class neighbourhood. His home was a typical three-room house. The smallest room was Bono's. Bono was 14 when his mother died on 10 September 1974 after suffering a cerebral aneurysm at her father's funeral. Many songs from U2's albums, including "I Will Follow", "Mofo", "Out of Control", "Lemon" and "Tomorrow", focus on the loss of his mother. Many other songs focus on the theme of childhood vs. maturity such as "Into the Heart," "Twilight" and "Stories for Boys." Bono was a teenager trying to find his place in a world that didn't seem to offer great possibilities. His father had the typical Irish attitude, he came from Dublin's center. He loved opera: his passion was music and he was a great tenor. Bob Hewson's greatest frustration was not having learned to play the piano. He didn't encourage Bono and his brother to have great ideas (musical; etc). He believed that dreaming was disillusion. Bono was a brilliant boy, until adolescence when he thought of himself an idiot. His school marks suffered: he couldn't concentrate. When he realized that there was world outside of school, he started meeting with a group of friends and doing performances to provoke people in buses. They invented a world called Lypton Village. This group had lots of fights with other bands from other neighborhoods. Bono and Guggi (one of Bono's friends in that time) managed to defend themselves from other people. Bono believes those teenagers who he used to fight with, didn't have any sense of mortality. The band in which Bono was involved didn't drink alcohol. They used to laugh about those who drank and fell in the street. In 1976, Bono was at school, was often feeling angry inside, he didn't do his homework often and at that time was living with his father and his brother. He thought his friends would have great lives because they were intelligent, and he probably would not because he could not concentrate. He had melodies in his head and while he could imagine the notes, he couldn't play them. Bono read an advert on the noticeboard at school from a younger schoolmate Larry Mullen who played drums and who wanted to form a band. (Bono was 16 at the time). On the advice of a friend, Reggie Manuel, Bono decided to audition. Larry was set up in a small kitchen with his drum kit ready. Other attendees included Dave Evans, who seemed to be an intelligent guy and was 15 years old. His brother Dick, who seemed even more intelligent, had managed to build his own guitar. Adam Clayton was present with his amplifier and bass guitar. The roots of U2 as we know them started here. About a month later Bono started seeing Ali, who later became his wife. That was a great month for Bono, joining a band and finding a girlfriend. The fledgling band had occasional sessions in which they did covers. Bono wanted to play Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys. They couldn't play those covers very well so they started writing their own songs, influenced by artists such as The Ramones, The Clash, David Bowie, Patti Smith and Tom Verlaine. In 2005, he told Rolling Stone that "I believe there's a force of love and logic...behind the universe. And I believe in the poetic genius of a creator who would choose to express such unfathomable power as a child born in 'straw poverty'; i.e., the story of Christ makes sense to me." He added, "I guess that would make me a Christian. Although I don't use the label, because it is very hard to live up to. I feel like I'm the worst example of it, so I just kinda keep my mouth shut."

Personal life Bono is married to Alison Hewson (née Alison Stewart). Their relationship began in 1975 and the couple were married on 21 August 1982 in a Church of Ireland (Anglican) ceremony at All Saints Church, Raheny (built by the Guinness family), with Adam Clayton acting as Bono's best man.[3] The couple have four children, daughters Jordan and Memphis Eve, and sons Elijah Bob Patricius and John Abraham. Bono lives in Killiney in south County Dublin, Ireland, with his family and shares a villa in Èze in the Alpes-Maritimes in the south of France with U2 bandmate The Edge, as well as an apartment at The San Remo in Manhattan. Bono is almost never seen in public without sunglasses. During a Rolling Stone interview he stated: “ [I have] very sensitive eyes to light. If somebody takes my photograph, I will see the flash for the rest of the day. My right eye swells up. I've a blockage there, so that my eyes go red a lot. So it's part vanity, it's part privacy and part sensitivity ” His use of sunglasses on stage has progressed through his career with U2. During the 1980s, he was rarely seen wearing sunglasses. During the 1992-93 Zoo TV Tour, he wore sunglasses for parts of the show, though usually in character as The Fly (with large, dark wraparound shades) or Mirrorball Man (with more typical, round sunglasses). In the 1997-98 Popmart Tour, he wore larger, tinted wraparound shades with thick frames. By the early 2000s, his sunglasses were commonly blue, and more goggle shaped. He would, however, remove them for most of the actual shows on the Elevation Tour. Starting around the time of U2's 2004 How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, Bono began wearing his signature Armani sunglasses. These were usually red or green tinted, and had no frames around the lenses. He wore these for most of every show on the Vertigo Tour, with the rare exceptions being songs like Sometimes You Can't Make it on Your Own, Running to Stand Still, and Miss Sarajevo. He has been wearing sunglasses in most interviews and public appearances since the late '90s. Bono also suffers from tinnitus, attributed to loud music. References to his condition can be heard in 'Staring At The Sun'.

Stage name Bono attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School, a multi denominational school in Clontarf. During his childhood and adolescence, Bono and his friends were part of a surrealist street gang called "Lypton Village," which had a ritual of nickname-giving. He had several names: first, he was "Steinvic von Huyseman", then just "Huyseman", then "Houseman", then "Bon Murray", "Bono Vox of O'Connell Street", and finally just "Bono". "Bono Vox" is an alteration of Bonavox, a Latin phrase which translates to "a good voice", as in "I'd do anything for a good voice". It is said he was nicknamed "Bono Vox" by his friend Gavin Friday, after a hearing aid shop they regularly passed in Dublin because he sang so loudly he seemed to be singing for the deaf. Initially, Bono did not like this name. However, when he learned it loosely translated to "good voice", he accepted it. Hewson has been known as "Bono" since the late seventies, even before formation of U2. Although he uses Bono as his stage name, close family and friends also refer to him as Bono, including his wife and fellow band members.

U2 On 25 September 1976, Bono, The Edge (David Howell Evans), Dick Evans, and Adam Clayton responded to an advertisement by fellow student Larry Mullen Jr. to form a rock band. The band had occasional sessions in which they did covers. Bono wanted to play Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys: he was tired of long guitar solos and hard rock. They couldn't play covers very well, so they started writing their own songs. In 1977 they started hearing The Ramones, The Clash, David Bowie, Patti Smith and Tom Verlaine. Their band went by the name "Feedback" for a few months, changing to "The Hype" later on. After Dick (nicknamed 'Dik') Evans left the group to join another local band, the Virgin Prunes, the remaining four officially changed the name from "The Hype" to "U2". Initially Bono sang, played guitar, and wrote the band's songs. He said of his early guitar playing in a 1982 interview, "When we started out I was the guitar player, along with the Edge - except I couldn't play guitar. I still can't. I was such a lousy guitar player that one day they broke it to me that maybe I should sing instead. I had tried before but I had no voice at all. I remember the day I found I could sing. I said, 'Oh, that's how you do it.'" When The Edge's guitar playing improved, Bono was relegated mostly to the microphone, although he occasionally still plays rhythm guitar and harmonica. Bono has recently taken piano lessons from his children's piano teacher. Bono writes the lyrics for almost all U2 songs, often rich in social and political themes. His lyrics frequently allude to a religious connection or meaning, evident in songs such as "Gloria" from the band's album October and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", from The Joshua Tree album. During the band's early years, Bono was known for his rebellious tone which turned to political anger and rage during the band's War, The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum eras. Following the Enniskillen bombing that left 11 dead and 63 injured on 8 November 1987, the Provisional IRA paramilitaries threatened to kidnap Bono. IRA supporters also attacked a vehicle carrying the band members. These acts were in response to his speech condemning the Remembrance Day Bombing during a live performance of "Sunday Bloody Sunday". The singer had been advised to cut his on-stage outburst from the Rattle and Hum film, but it was left in. U2's sound and focus dramatically changed with their next album, Achtung Baby. Bono's lyrics became more personal, inspired by experiences related to the private lives of the members of the band. During the band's Zoo TV Tour several of his stage personas were showcased; these included "The Fly", a stereotypical rock star, the "Mirror Ball Man", a parody of American televangelists, and "Mr. MacPhisto", a combination of a corrupted rock star and the Devil. During performances he attempts to interact with the crowd as often as possible and is known for pulling audience members onto the stage or moving himself down to the physical level of the audience. This has happened on several occasions including at the Live Aid concert in 1985 where he leapt off the stage, over a security barricade to the floor of the arena, and pulled a woman from the crowd to dance with her as the band played "Bad", and in 2005 during U2's Vertigo Tour stop in Chicago, where he pulled a boy onto the stage during the song "An Cat Dubh / Into the Heart". Bono has won numerous awards with U2, including 22 Grammy awards and the 2003 Golden Globe award for best original song, "The Hands That Built America" for the film Gangs of New York. During the live broadcast of the ceremony, Bono called the award "really, really fucking brilliant!" In response, the Parents Television Council condemned Bono for his profanity and started a campaign for its members to file complaints with the FCC. Although Bono's use of "fuck" violated FCC indecency standards, the FCC refused to fine NBC because the network did not receive advance notice of the consequences of broadcasting such profanity and the profanity in question was not used in its literal sexual meaning. In 2005, the U2 band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in their first year of eligibility. Bono and his bandmates were criticized in 2007 for moving part of their multi-million euro song catalogue from Ireland to Amsterdam six months before Ireland ended a tax exemption on musicians' royalties. Under Dutch tax law, bands are subject to low to non-existent tax rates. U2's manager, Paul McGuinness, stated that the arrangement is legal and customary and businesses often seek to minimize their tax burdens. The move prompted criticisms in the Oireachtas (Irish parliament).

Other endeavours In addition to his work with U2, he has collaborated with Zucchero, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Luciano Pavarotti, Sinéad O'Connor, Green Day, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Tina Turner, and BB King. He has recorded with Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Bruce Springsteen, Tony Bennett, Clannad, The Corrs, and Wyclef Jean, as well as reportedly completing an unreleased duet with Jennifer Lopez. On Robbie Robertson's 1987 eponymous album, he plays bass guitar and vocals. On Michael Hutchence's 1999 posthumous eponymous album Bono completed a recording of Slide Away as a duet with Hutchence. In 1992, together with The Edge, Bono bought and refurbished Dublin's two-star 70-bedroom Clarence Hotel and converted it into a five-star 49-bedroom hotel. The Edge and Bono have also recorded several songs together, exclusive of the band. They have also been working on penning the score for the upcoming Spider-Man Musical. Bono is on the board of the Elevation Partners private-equity firm, which attempted to purchase Eidos Interactive in 2005 and has since gone on to invest in other entertainment businesses. Bono is a known Celtic F.C. fan, and in 1998 it was rumoured that Bono was going to buy shares in the Scottish club. However, it was reported on 28 April 1998 that this was not the case with Bono saying "it's rubbish. I've been to a couple of games and I'm a fan, but I've got no financial connections."

In May 2007, MTV reported that Bono is working on a collection of poetry entitled "Third Rail". Bono said the poetry is inspired by rock music. The book's foreword gives detail of the meanings of the poetry, saying "The poets who fill the pews here have come to testify, to bear witness to the mysterious power of rock and roll...Rock and roll is truly a broad church, but each lights a candle to their vision of what it is." The collection, which is edited by poet Jonathan Wells, contains titles such as "Punk Rock You're My Big Crybaby," "Variation on a Theme by Whitesnake" and "Vince Neil Meets Josh in a Chinese Restaurant in Malibu (After Ezra Pound)." Bono has invested in the Forbes Media group in the US through his private equity investment firm Elevation Partners. Elevation Partners became the first outsider to invest in the company, taking a minority stake in Forbes Media LLC, a new company encompassing the 89-year-old business which includes Forbes magazine, the Forbes.com website and other assets. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but reports said the stake was worth about €194 million ($250m). In film, Bono has played the character of "Dr. Robert", an anti-war shaman, in the musical, Across the Universe. Also in this movie, he sang the Beatles songs "I am the Walrus" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". Bono's other acting credits include cameos in 1999's Entropy and 2000's Million Dollar Hotel. In 2000 he acted as himself in the short film Sightings of Bono, adapted from a short story by Irish writer Gerard Beirne.

Humanitarian work Bono has become one of the world's best-known philanthropic performers. He has been dubbed, "the face of fusion philanthropy", both for his success enlisting powerful allies from a diverse spectrum of leaders in government, religious institutions, philanthropic organizations, popular media, and the business world, as well as for spearheading new organizational networks binding global humanitarian relief with geopolitical activism and corporate commercial enterprise.

In a 1986 interview with Rolling Stone magazine Bono explained that he was motivated to become involved in social and political causes by seeing one of the benefit shows staged by John Cleese and producer Martin Lewis for the human-rights organization Amnesty International in 1979. In 2001 Bono arranged for U2 to videotape a special live performance for that year's Amnesty benefit show. Introducing the performance, Bono referred to The Secret Policeman's Ball as "a mysterious and extraordinary event that certainly changed my life..."

Bono and U2 performed on Amnesty's Conspiracy Of Hope tour of the United States in 1986 alongside Sting. U2 also performed in the Band Aid and Live Aid projects, organized by Bob Geldof. In 1984, Bono sang on the Band Aid single "Do They Know it's Christmas?/Feed the World" (a role that was reprised on the 2004 Band Aid 20 single of the same name). Geldof and Bono later collaborated to organize the 2005 Live 8 project, where U2 also performed. Since 1999, Bono has become increasingly involved in campaigning for third-world debt relief and raising awareness of the plight of Africa, including the AIDS pandemic. In the past decade Bono has met with several influential politicians, including United States President George W. Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. During a March 2002 visit to the White House, after President Bush unveiled a $5 billion aid package, he accompanied the President for a speech on the White House lawn. He stated, "This is an important first step, and a serious and impressive new level of commitment. ... This must happen urgently, because this is a crisis." In May of that year, Bono took US Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill on a four-country tour of Africa. In contrast, in 2005 Bono spoke on CBC Radio, alleging Prime Minister Martin was being slow about increasing Canada's foreign aid.

Bono spoke in advance of President Bush at the 54th Annual National Prayer Breakfast, held at the Hilton Washington Hotel on 2 February 2006. In a speech peppered with biblical references, Bono encouraged the care of the socially and economically depressed. His comments included a call for an extra 1 percent tithe of the United States' national budget. He brought his Christian views into harmony with other faiths by noting that Christian, Jewish, and Muslim writings all call for the care of the widow, orphan, and stranger. President Bush received praise from the singer-activist for the United States' increase in aid for the African continent. Bono continued by saying much work is left to be done to be a part of God's ongoing purposes. The organization DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) was established in 2002 by Bono and Bobby Shriver, along with activists from the Jubilee 2000 Drop the Debt Campaign. It is DATA's mission to eradicate poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa. DATA encourages Americans to contact senators and other legislators and elected officials to voice their opinions.

In early 2005, Bono, his wife Ali Hewson, and New York-based Irish fashion designer Rogan Gregory launched the socially-conscious line EDUN in an attempt to shift the focus in Africa from aid to trade. EDUN's goal is to use factories in Africa, South America, and India that provide fair wages to workers and practice good business ethics to create a business model that will encourage investment in developing nations. This work has not been without criticism. On 15 December 2005 Paul Theroux published an op-ed in the New York Times called The Rock Star's Burden (cf. Kipling's The White Man's Burden) criticizing such stars as Bono, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie as "mythomaniacs, people who wish to convince the world of their worth." Theroux, who lived in Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer, added that "the impression that Africa is fatally troubled and can be saved only by outside help — not to mention celebrities and charity concerts — is a destructive and misleading conceit." Bono responded to his critics in Times Online on February 19, 2006, calling them "cranks carping from the sidelines. A lot of them wouldn’t know what to do if they were on the field. They’re the party who will always be in opposition so they’ll never have to take responsibility for decisions because they know they’ll never be able to implement them. " Bono was a special guest editor of the July 2007 issue of Vanity Fair magazine. The issue was named "The Africa Issue: Politics & Power" and featured an assortment of 20 different covers, with photographs by Annie Leibovitz, taken of a number of prominent celebrities, political leaders, and philanthropists, each one showcased in the issue for their contributions to the humanitarian relief in Africa.

Further criticism came in November 2007, when Bono's various charity campaigns were targeted by Jobs Selasie, head of African Aid Action. Selasie claimed that these charities had increased corruption and dependency in Africa because they failed to work with African entrepreneurs and grassroots organizations, and as a result, Africa has become more dependent on international handouts. That same month, however, Bono was honoured by NBC Nightly News as someone "making a difference" in the world. He and anchor Brian Williams had traveled to Africa in May 2007 to showcase the humanitarian crisis on the continent. Product Red is another initiative begun by Bono and Bobby Shriver to raise money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Bobby Shriver has been announced as the CEO of Product Red, whilst Bono is currently an active public spokesperson for the brand. Product Red is a brand that is licensed to partner companies, such as American Express, Apple, Converse, Motorola, Microsoft, Dell, The Gap, and Giorgio Armani. Each company creates a product with the Product Red logo and a percentage of the profits from the sale of these labelled products will go to the Global Fund.

Recognition Bono after accepting the Philadelphia Liberty Medal on 27 September 2007 Bono is the only person to have been nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Grammy, and Nobel Peace Prize. Bono was a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, 2005, and 2006. In 2002, he was listed as one of the 100 Greatest Britons in a poll conducted among the general public, despite the fact that he is an Irish national. In 2004, Bono was awarded the Pablo Neruda International Presidential Medal of Honour from the Government of Chile. Time Magazine named Bono one of the "100 Most Influential People" in its May 2004 special issue, and again in the 2006 Time 100 special issue. In 2005, Time named Bono a Person of the Year along with Bill and Melinda Gates. Also in 2005, he received the Portuguese Order of Liberty for his humanitarian work. That year Bono was also among the first three recipients of the TED Prize, which grants each winner "A wish to change the world". Bono made three wishes, the first two related to the ONE campaign and the third that every hospital, health clinic and school in Ethiopia should be connected to the Internet. TED rejected the third wish as being a sub-optimal way for TED to help Africa and instead organized a TED conference in Arusha, Tanzania. Bono attended the conference, which was held in June 2007, and attracted headlines with his foul-mouthed heckling of a speech by Andrew Mwenda. In 2007, Bono was named in the United Kingdom's New Years Honours List as an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He was formally granted knighthood on 29 March 2007 in a ceremony at the residence of British Ambassador David Reddaway in Dublin, Ireland.

Bono also received the NAACP Image Award's Chairman's Award in 2007. On 24 May 2007, the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia announced that Bono would receive the Philadelphia Liberty Medal on September 27, 2007 for his work to end world poverty and hunger. On 28 September 2007, in accepting the Liberty Medal, Bono said, "When you are trapped by poverty, you are not free. When trade laws prevent you from selling the food you grew, you are not free, ... When you are a monk in Burma this very week, barred from entering a temple because of your gospel of peace ... well, then none of us are truly free." Bono donated the $100,000 prize to the organization. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala accepted the award for the Washington-based Debt AIDS Trade Africa. Nominated for the "Greatest Artist of the Modern Era" award by a group of his peers. He was recognized for his work with Band Aid, Live Aid, The KillJoy Papers for Change, and Project Red. tQ.