Yah inilah contoh sekularisme yg baik. --- In wanita-muslimah@yahoogroups.com, "ayeye1" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > The Jakarta Post > > French secularism: Religious liberty and the law > > Muhamad Ali, Manoa, Hawaii > > Endy M. Bayuni's article, Neither Secular nor Theocratic? Try Laicite, > is very interesting because it argues for Indonesia to consider the > French path of secularism or laicite. Despite Indonesia's formal > adoption of Pancasila as the state ideology, the government, religious > leaders, and the public remain confused about how the state ought to > deal with religious affairs and how religions should relate to the state. > > The issue is crucial and timely. The recent attacks and condemnation > of minority groups Ahmadiyah and Liberal Islam Network, the religious > edicts (fatwa) condemning pluralism, liberalism and secularism and the > forced closure of hundreds of churches by hard-liners, are not only > indicative of the constitutionally ambiguous state-religion > relationship, but also of the lack of understanding (and enforcement) > of religious liberty and supremacy of the law in Indonesia. > > Of course, Indonesia is not the only country facing such problems. But > Indonesia could have learned from other countries that have faced > similar problems and have generally coped with them more intelligently > and successfully. France could be one of them. The question, however, > is not whether or not Indonesia should adopt the exact and complete > form of French secularism, or laicite, due to its complexity there, > but about which aspects of French laicite could be feasibly > contextualized within Indonesia's situation. Localization or > domestication of some of the good things of French secularism is > perhaps more relevant and feasible today. Two of such elements are > religious liberty and the law. > > As Jacques Robert argued well in Enjeux du Siecle: Nos Libertes > (2002), France has experimented throughout its history with nearly all > of the existing forms of church-state relations. Since 1905, France > found that laicite conforms more than any other form to France's > inclinations and ideals. A regime of total separation -- by no means > hostile to, but tolerant of religions -- is the approach that conforms > most to France's democratic ideals of liberty, egalitarianism and > fraternity. > > The French Constitution of 1905 stipulates that the Republic ensures > the liberty of conscience and guarantees the free exercise of > religion, under restrictions prescribed by the interests of public > order. It also rules that the Republic does not recognize, remunerate, > or subsidize any religious denomination. > > Politically, France prefers the politics of non-recognition (that is, > to abandon the system of recognized religions) to the politics of > recognition (to recognize all religions without discrimination > (recently called the politics of multiculturalism or pluralism). > Although in both cases the state puts all religions at the same level > politically, France decided that in order to be neutral in terms of > religion, it should recognize none. French politics of non-recognition > does not mean, however, that the government does not wish to maintain > good relations with religious leaders and communities. It is not an > attitude of hostility or suspicion, as Jacques Robert aptly put it. > > Moreover, unlike Indonesia, the French government does not finance or > subsidize a religion. Yet, the 1905 French Constitution gives the > possibility of state subsidies for activities that have a general > character despite taking place in a religious setting like charities, > hospitals, nursing homes etc. > > The same subsidy is also provided for direct administration by public > collectives of certain religious services (religious instruction in > public establishments such as high schools, junior high schools, > hospitals, asylums, prisons, etc.) if the organization is deemed > indispensable to insure that everyone has the freedom to practice > their religion, and the payment of religious ministers when they > render services to the general public (national religious ceremonies, > media events, etc.). But as the basic principle, all churches are > given the liberty to organize themselves and to establish and apply > their internal rules. > > On liberty of conscience, France recognizes that there is no > second-class citizen based on ethnicity, class, or religion. In > accordance with one of the articles of The Declaration of the Rights > of Man and the Citizen, no one should be harassed due to his or her > opinions, including religious opinions. Article 2 of the Constitution > of Oct. 4, 1958 under the terms of which France is a secular state > also assures equality before the law for all citizens without > distinction based on origin, race or religion. > > The principle of the liberty of religion precludes any operation of > any type of distinction between religions, whether the religion is > practiced by cults, sects, heterodoxies, or by the mainstream. The > state must protect the minority religion in the name of the liberty of > religion. > > When religious liberty threatens public order, it is the law that > should be obeyed and enforced. In France, the state shall punish those > who utilize violent acts or threats against an individual (creating > either fear of job loss or causing injury to the individual's person, > family or wealth) to force that individual to participate, or to > refrain from participating, in a religion or religious sect. The > jurisprudence of French tribunals do not interfere in religious rules, > and the courts do not take jurisdiction unless a threat to public > order exists. > > Liberty only consists of the power to act in a manner that does not > endanger public safety or individual rights. The law is always > authorized to penalize the authors of these harmful acts, as Jacques > Robert pointed out. > > All religious movements that respect the public order must have their > religious practices protected equally. The European Convention on the > Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, for example, > recognizes the right of every person to receive or communicate ideas > without regard to national borders. > > In France, no religious people and movements should be above the law, > because everyone must respect the law. French law will not leave > unpunished the condemnable actions of those who come to illegitimately > proselytize and thus contravene the law. Fraud, abuse of trust, > violence and assault, illegal confinement, lack of assistance to a > person in danger, extreme breaches of fundamental social mores, > illegal practice of medicine, abduction and brainwashing of a minor, > etc. are all punishable under the law. > > Thus, what Indonesia can learn is the French principles of religious > liberty and supremacy of the law. Inter and intra-religious problems > should be first and foremost solved by the religious groups > themselves, whereas the state only interferes so long as it is aimed > to ensure the liberty of all religions and all parties involved, and > to ensure that no particular group harms other groups or endangers > public order, the criteria of which shall be governed by the law. > > The writer is a lecturer at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic > University, a Ph.D candidate in History at the University of Hawaii at > Manoa, and a fellow at the East-West Center. He can be reached at > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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