http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/taufik-darusman-tolerating-indonesian-intolerance/399391
Taufik Darusman: Tolerating Indonesian Intolerance October 03, 2010 President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last week warned that mosques should not be used to preach hate and violence. "We should be providing comfort and peace to everyone and not turn mosques into places to encourage provocation," Yudhoyono said after opening the renovated Baiturrahim Mosque inside the State Palace complex. One mosque that surely will not be going against the president's words is that belonging to the Ahmadiyah sect in Ciampea, Bogor, just an hour's drive from here. Last week, hundreds of ax-wielding villagers torched the Muslim place of worship and, for good measure, four houses and a car as well. The zealots were apparently acting on false rumors that two Ahmadiyah members had committed an act of violence against two villagers. To many, the attack on the Ahmadiyah mosque in Ciampea rang a familiar tone - in February last year a mosque in South Jakarta belonging to the same Islamic sect, which the government has labeled as "deviant," was damaged in an arson attack. Ahmadiyah is based on Islamic teachings but is considered heretical by mainstream Indonesian Muslims. By way of a joint ministerial decree, the government in 2008 banned members of the minority sect from propagating their teachings. But they are allowed to maintain their faith and perform their daily religious duties as the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Two of the country's largest Muslim organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, also insist that Ahmadiyah followers have the right to exist. Some 80 percent of Indonesia's 237 million people are Muslim, making this the world's largest Muslim community. Indonesia has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but Western countries, which rarely fail to decry violent acts against religious groups, have inexplicably turned a deaf ear to the attacks on Ahmadiyah followers. Attacks on Ahmadiyah mosques have begun to take on a routine nature because security authorities have repeatedly failed to prevent them. Which is why former Vice President Jusuf Kalla blamed the police for last Friday's attack. "Security authorities should take stiff actions against offenders of the law and not be afraid of being accused of violating human rights, which do not prohibit them from taking firm measures," Kalla said. While the corruption-ridden police force admittedly accounts for a large part of the nation's host of seemingly never-ending social woes, another even more serious national problem looms: that of intolerance. Media reports say that a survey by the Center for the Study of Islam and Society found "a worrying increase" in religious intolerance among Muslims in 2010 compared to 2001. The center's chief, Jajat Burhanudin, has blamed certain ministers in Yudhoyono's cabinet for actively encouraging intolerance, while the police too often have failed to protect minority groups. "The process of democracy in this country will be disrupted if people justify their acts in the name of Islam," he said last week. In the study, which showed an increase in religious intolerance, roughly 58 percent of 1,200 adult Muslim men and women nationwide were against new churches and other non-Muslim places of worship. It also showed that almost 28 percent minded if non-Muslims taught their children, up from 21.4 percent in 2008. "Religious intolerance can encourage people to become radicals, join terrorist networks or at least support the agenda of fundamentalists who commit violence in the name of religion," Burhanudin said. "There is no systematic or serious effort to reduce religious intolerance," he added, in a veiled but apparent denouncement on the religious affairs minister, who is reportedly on the short list of ministers to be fired in a probable cabinet reshuffle at the end of the month. In the aftermath of the Ciampea incident, Yudhoyono has instructed the home affairs minister the National Police and local governments to hold discussions to find a "permanent solution." However, those in charge should tread carefully. If we have a Constitution that allows freedom of religion to run in parallel with a joint ministerial decree banning Ahmadiyah - a distinct possibility - this so-called permanent solution cannot be expected to address the root problem of intolerance. Taufik Darusman is a veteran Jakarta-based journalist. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
