​Viral: Twin sisters, two religions, one smile

A photo showing what appears to be a pair of identical Indonesian twin sisters in Indonesia, one wearing the traditional Muslim hijab and one wearing the habit of a Catholic nun, has gone viral on the Indonesian twittersphere.

The image, which was posted on Saturday by @demityang2an, has already been retweeted over 800 times:

“Both of these twin sisters born of the same blood and womb, living with different faith”

How a pair of twin sisters in Indonesia could end up as devout followers of two different religions is an intriguing question that probably has a fascinating answer. But what’s really great about this photo is how relaxed and comfortable the two smiling sisters look sitting right next to each other. It’s like a symbol for the kind of pluralism, diversity and tolerance Indonesia is supposed to represent as a country.

We haven’t been able to find any more info on the sisters or even confirm if the photo is real (some cynical folks on Twitter say it’s Photoshopped). But we really want to believe it’s real, and that there are a pair of twin sisters in Indonesia who have chosen to follow different faiths but still remain the best of friends. That’s the kind of Indonesia we believe in.

Update: As journalist Yenni Kwok pointed out to us (thanks!),  @demityang2an actually already identified the sister on the right as Sister Tarsisiana, head of the Catholic orphanage in Merauke, Papua:



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