Joint religious office must be independent: Scholars<\/p>\n
Muhammad Nafik, Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post,
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Scholars from different faiths gave backing on Wednesday for a
\ncall to establish a joint office to promote religious harmony
\nacross the country, but stressed that it must be independent and
\ncredible.<\/p>\n
They warned that such a joint religious secretariat would
\nbecome ineffective once it allowed the government to intervene
\nand accommodated only government-recognized religions.<\/p>\n
"The proposal is good as long as such an office is initiated
\nand undertaken by the people, not the government," Azyumardi
\nAzra, rector of Jakarta's State Islamic University (UIN), told
\nThe Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He argued that similar bodies had been set up during former
\npresident Soeharto's authoritarian regime of 32 years but proved
\nuseless as they were under government control.<\/p>\n
"If the proposed secretariat is formed by the government, it
\nwill be ungenuine and formal so that people are reluctant to
\nfreely express their grievances," Azyumardi added.<\/p>\n
Another Muslim scholar Ulil Abshar Abdalla shared a similar
\nopinion, saying a possible structural relation between the joint
\noffice and the Ministry of Religious Affairs should be avoided to
\nensure its independence and credibility.<\/p>\n
He said the proposed secretariat was possibly not enough and
\nthat its status could be upgraded as a joint commission for
\ndifferent religions similar to the National Commission on Human
\nRights (Komnas HAM).<\/p>\n
"It should serve as a clearing house that will intensify
\ncoordination and communications among religious leaders and
\nfollowers, particularly in cases of conflict," said Ulil, who is
\na project coordinator with the Indonesian Conference on Religion
\nand Peace (ICRP).<\/p>\n
He said the proposed joint secretariat should also play a role
\nas a pressure group advocating campaigns against discriminatory
\npolicies on interfaith.<\/p>\n
The policies may include a decree jointly issued in 1969 by
\nthe Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Ministry of Home
\nAffairs, which bans interfaith proselytizing.<\/p>\n
The decree requires the construction of houses of worship (not
\nexcluding mosques as reported by the Post on Wednesday) to obtain
\npermission from the local government and residents.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday Muslim, Christian, Buddhist and Hindu leaders
\ntogether with the House of Representatives agreed on the need to
\nset up a joint office in Jakarta and regional levels.<\/p>\n
They said the secretariat was aimed at helping restore the
\nrelationship between religious adherents, which has been
\ntarnished by sectarian conflicts in several parts of the country.<\/p>\n
The initiators hoped the government would facilitate the move
\nby helping cover its operational costs.<\/p>\n
But Johannes Hariyanto, a deputy chairman of the ICRP, opposed
\nthe establishment of any joint religious institution should it be
\nlinked structurally with the government.<\/p>\n
"Formalizing a religious body will only make it bureaucratic
\nand this will pose a new burden on us and will thus be
\nunacceptable to the people," he said.<\/p>\n
Trisno S. Sutanto, coordinator of the Dialog for the Inter-
\nReligious Society (Madia) program belonging to the Indonesian
\nBishops Conference (KWI), concurred, saying the secretariat
\nshould completely be independent and should serve as an umbrella
\nfor all religious organizations.<\/p>\n
"If the government is allowed to join, that the proposed body
\nis feared to exclude unrecognized religions, such as Confucianism
\nand Taoism," he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/joint-religious-office-must-be-independent-scholars-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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