Sang Timur affair exposes government discrimination<\/p>\n
Pandaya, Jakarta<\/p>\n
In recent years Indonesia has sadly been witnessing a wide
\nvariety of religious conflicts that have corroded the glue that
\nkeeps this multiethnic, multireligious nation together.<\/p>\n
Sectarian flare-ups have been occurring throughout the
\narchipelago at higher frequency and magnitude. One major shock
\ncame in 1996 with the burning of churches in Situbondo, East
\nJava. A few years later we were hit with the deadly Muslim-
\nChristian conflicts in Maluku and Sulawesi. On Christmas Eve
\n2000, over a dozen churches in almost all major cities were
\nsimultaneously bombed, killing many of the Christian worshipers
\ninside.<\/p>\n
This year, the increasingly volatile interreligious
\nrelationships have again been put to the test with the forced
\nclosure of a church at the Sang Timur Catholic school and the
\nsubsequent blockage of the school by a group of local Islamists
\nin Karang Tengah, Tangerang, just outside Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The incident, right on the capital's doorstep, following the
\nrevocation of the official permit to use the premises for worship
\nservices, has provoked quite a lot of heated debate on the
\nfreedom of religion as guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution.<\/p>\n
This time the government can no longer sweep the discord under
\nthe carpet and pretend nothing serious happened, because the
\nmedia has exposed it.<\/p>\n
While the problem remains unresolved, (a concrete wall erected
\nby Muslims, is still in place, and 9,000 Catholics have nowhere
\nto worship) people wonder if religious tolerance will ever become
\nsomething of the past.<\/p>\n
The Sang Timur incident, in which members of the Islamic Youth
\nFront of Karang Tengah forcibly broke up Sunday mass on Oct. 3
\nand demanded the services be stopped for good, was an ugly
\ndisplay of religious discrimination, in which the majority
\nbullies the minority and the state just lets it happen.<\/p>\n
The local Muslim residents appointed themselves the sheriff on
\nthe pretext that they were legally enforcing the disputed 1969
\njoint ministerial decree that requires local residents'
\nendorsement whenever a place of worship is to be built.<\/p>\n
The decree, which the new Minister of Religious Affairs M.
\nMaftuh Basyuni insists on maintaining, remains in force despite
\nfierce opposition from religious minorities. Under the ruling, it
\nis practically impossible for the minority to build a place of
\nworship in the midst of the majority. This ruling also applies in
\nareas where Muslims are the minority, such as predominantly
\nChristian Papua, East Nusa Tenggara, South Sumatra, North
\nSulawesi and predominantly Hindu Bali.<\/p>\n
Obviously, the decree treats the followers of the majority
\nreligion, in any particular area, like a spoiled brat who can do
\nanything they wish, no matter if what they do in fact gives their
\nown religion a bad name. Imagine how chaotic Indonesia could be
\nif Hindus in Bali or Christians in Manado -- both in the majority
\n-- did the same thing at a mosque or a pesantren?<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, Christians bear the brunt of the discrimination
\nand threats of violence: Building a church is practically
\nimpossible, but they are subject to harassment, or even violence,
\nif they worship elsewhere. Likewise in Papua, the minority
\nMuslims find it difficult to get the locals' endorsement for a
\nmosque.<\/p>\n
The Sang Timur affair only gives credence to the fear of
\nIslamic extremism that finds fertile ground with the rise of
\n\"political Islam\" in this era of political reform. Since the fall
\nof strongman Soeharto in 1998, those promoting sharia as the
\nstate ideology have come out in the open without fear of
\npersecution. Along with them came the extremist groups like FPI
\n(Islam Defenders Front) cashing in on weak law enforcement and
\ntaking the law into their hands in the name of religion.<\/p>\n
Again, the Sang Timur affair is a case that illustrates how
\nthe government becomes part of the problem when there is
\nreligious tension. The revocation of the permit to use the
\nschool's hall for worship, after 12 years of letting them do it,
\nserves as a bad example of public policy making. It clearly
\nsmacks of systematic discrimination against the minority and
\nreduces the government's assurances of respecting pluralism to
\ncheap, empty slogans. Above all, such a forced closure of a place
\nof worship is not only against the Constitution, but also a
\nblatant abuse of human rights.<\/p>\n
The bizarre policies that have provoked the problem also
\nproves that state intervention in religious affairs often ends up
\nin disaster because such policies, alienates the minority and
\nsolves problems in favor of the majority.<\/p>\n
While the joint ministerial decree continues to stir up
\ndangerous religious sentiment, another debate has been brewing
\nover a bill on \"religious harmony\" drafted by the ministry of
\nreligious affairs during the Megawati regime. Academics have
\nwarned that if the bill eventually became law, the discrimination
\nwould be more institutionalized and sectarian conflicts would
\nonly worsen.<\/p>\n
All the conflicts that come with the weakening religious
\ntolerance would endanger the international recognition of
\nIndonesia's reputation as a place to learn religious harmony.<\/p>\n
The religious tensions call for intensive interfaith dialogs
\nwhich involve people at the grassroots level, where open
\nconflicts start. The hard work of institutions like the Center
\nfor Peaceful Religious Coexistence (PKUB), the religious ministry
\nand Interfidei has not yet reached the masses.<\/p>\n
The lack of tolerance and mutual understanding has given rise
\nto suspicions that any initiative by either side would have
\n\"Christianization\" or \"Islamization\" motives.<\/p>\n
The Sang Timur affair is the first actual case for the new
\nadministration of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to handle and prove
\nhis commitment to protecting pluralism in Indonesia. SBY's stand
\nis yet to be seen -- an interventionist or facilitator.<\/p>\n
The author is a staff writer for The Jakarta Post.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sang-timur-affair-exposes-government-discrimination-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }