> ''Islam has contributed so much to the democratisation of Indonesia. This must be emphasised,'' says Ulil, the founder of the Liberal Islam Network and himself a target of Indonesian terrorists.
Hehehe... biasa, orang Islam ngibul gede2an. Apa kontribusi Islam atas demokratisasi Indonesia? Minus, krn Islam udah nindas agama lain selama puluhan thn. >________________________________ >From: Sunny <[email protected]> >To: [email protected] >Sent: Monday, September 5, 2011 6:45 PM >Subject: [proletar] Jihad cornered but intolerance rising > > > >http://www.smh.com.au/world/jihad-cornered-but-intolerance-rising-20110904-1jsdb.html >Jihad cornered but intolerance rising >September 5, 2011 > >Changing face of Islam in Indonesia ... Muslims gather for Friday prayers at >Istiqlal mosque in Jakarta, one of the largest in south-east Asia. Photo: >Irwin Fedriansyah > >Authorities are placating extremists, writes Tom Allard in Indonesia. > >Ulil Abshar Abdalla is one of Indonesia's most perceptive intellectuals, a >Harvard-educated Islamic reformer and an adviser to the President, Susilo >Bambang Yudhoyono. > >When asked what has happened to Islam in Indonesia since the September 11 >attacks, he says: ''I think there has been a trend towards intolerance … there >is also a trend towards tolerance.'' > >It's an odd response, but it captures succinctly the vexing paradox that lies >within Australia's near neighbour and the nation with the world's largest >Muslim population. > >Erik de Hart consoles Bill McNeil after losing many of their Coogee Dolphins >teammates in the bombings. Photo: Dallas Kilponen > >After emerging as the fulcrum of the global jihadist movement in south-east >Asia in 2002 when the twin nightclub bombings in Bali killed and maimed >hundreds, Indonesia can rightly point to impressive counter-terrorism >successes. > >Hundreds have been arrested and dozens of plots have been foiled. The radical >cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has been handed a long prison term while almost every >other terrorist leader of note has either been killed or arrested. > >A tiny minority remains inspired by al-Qaeda and poses an enduring threat but >the campaign to spread the ideology of offensive jihad against Western >infidels and their lackeys to achieve an Islamic caliphate has been >comprehensively rejected. > >''Islam has contributed so much to the democratisation of Indonesia. This must >be emphasised,'' says Ulil, the founder of the Liberal Islam Network and >himself a target of Indonesian terrorists. > >''Most Muslims here understand that religion is a system of morality, an >ethical system, and that politics is not part of the essential teaching of >religion. > >''The popularity of this proposal of the adoption of sharia in our national >law is withering away, it's fading.'' > >Indonesia's Islamic parties were rebuffed at the polls in 2009, and its most >potent Islamist political force, the Prosperous Justice Party, recently >formally adopted pluralism as a core principle in its platform. > >But while Indonesian authorities remain vigilant in pursuing terrorists, they >seem incapable and, worse, unwilling to address another, arguably more >pernicious form of religious radicalism. > >Rather than explosives, these mobs of militants will use machetes, stones or >tins of petrol to attack perceived deviants and destroy houses of worship. > >The increase in violence has been particularly pronounced against members of >the Ahmadiyah Islamic sect, whose followers believe the Indian religious >figure Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was a messiah who followed the Prophet Muhammad. > >In the western Javanese province of Banten, a frenzied mob attacked an >Ahmadiyah house and killed three men in February. The 12 accused, including a >teenager caught on film bludgeoning a man to death with a stone, got sentences >ranging between three and six months. > >The light sentences, some argue, reflected local factors. The verdict was >handed down by judges in a district court in one of Indonesia's traditional >hardline Islamic heartlands. About 2000 locals voiced support for the accused >and intimidated the judges and prosecutors throughout the trial. > >But the argument that the case is an anomaly is hard to square against the >increase in communal violence, invariably attacks by Islamic fundamentalists >on Ahmadis and Christians. > >Recent research by the Pew Research Centre found Indonesia was one of two >countries that had recorded significant increases in both religious >restrictions and incidents of social hostilities in the past five years. > >Harder still to reconcile with the notion that Indonesia remains abidingly >tolerant is the tepid response from Indonesia's political elites to the rise >in religious violence and, in particular, the attacks and court proceedings in >Banten. > >President Yudhoyono failed to condemn the verdicts, citing the need to respect >the rule of law. > >If Islamists are failing to make any political inroads, and Indonesian Muslims >are overwhelmingly moderate, why does Indonesia's political class refuse to >speak clearly and loudly for the country's secular constitution that >recognises freedom of religion? Could it be they have made a political >calculation that attacks on minorities are popular? > >''It's because conservatives are very clever in framing the debate in black >and white terms,'' argues Yenny Wahid, the daughter of Indonesia's former >president and moderate Islamic cleric Abdurrahman Wahid and a rare, >uncompromising voice for tolerance. > >''For example, if you condemn attacks on Ahmadiyah, then you are not a good >follower of the Prophet Muhammad. So politicians are afraid to speak out >because they don't want to appear un-Islamic.'' > >Wahid says a steady influx of money from the Middle East to fund mosques and >schools has had an impact. > >The new breed of conservative clerics are not only cashed up, she says, they >are passionate, noisy and activist. > >When Yudhoyono speaks about maintaining harmony, he sometimes talks about the >need to placate militants, rather than defending diversity. > >Asked about perceptions by the American interviewer Charlie Rose that the >Indonesian state was weak in protecting religious minorities, Yudhoyono >replied: ''Of course, I have to maintain the climate of brotherhood here in >Indonesia, because the majority of the population are Muslim, so I try to >maintain their feelings.'' > >Wahid counters that ''this policy of appeasement won't work''. ''In the >short-term, it may create a measure of stability that the government needs,'' >she says. ''But it gives [conservatives] too much power. The greater good is >sacrificed. We have to worry about where this will lead us in the future.'' > >[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > [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/
