Sharia defenders lose latest battle<\/p>\n
The Straits Times, Asia News Network, Singapore<\/p>\n
Indonesia passed through a moment of danger last week when
\nMuslim groups failed in their bid to have Islamic sharia law
\nintroduced as an integral part of the country's Constitution. The
\ntwo parties which lobbied hardest for its introduction -- the
\nUnited Development Party of Vice-President Hamzah Haz and the
\nCrescent Star Party -- backed down from a demand that the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly vote on the issue.<\/p>\n
Their move came in the face of overwhelming opposition at the
\nassembly, or MPR, the country's highest legislative body. The
\ndevelopment was a relief given that earlier in the week, Muslim
\ngroups increased pressure on lawmakers in Jakarta to introduce
\nIslamic law. Thousands took to the streets in several cities
\ndemanding that the Sharia be incorporated in the Constitution. In
\nJakarta, members and supporters of 10 Muslim groups led by
\nclerics, including terror suspect Abu Bakar Bashir, called on
\nlegislators to make Islamic law applicable to all Muslims.<\/p>\n
The episode provides a sobering commentary on Indonesian
\npolitics. It is natural for democratization to create space for
\nmarginal groups that seek to advance specific agendas. A case can
\neven be made for including them in the political process because
\ninclusion should temper their aspirations and methods, whereas
\nleaving them out of the process would create discontent. However,
\nwhen political inclusiveness impinges on an issue as basic as the
\nrelationship between the state and religion, caution is
\nnecessary.<\/p>\n
It is unlikely that the demands which were advanced for the
\nSharia last week will be the last. Indonesia -- which is known
\nfor its tolerant Islam and in which the majority of Muslims
\nremains tolerant -- is being subjected to a pressure that is
\ntruly global in scope. As in many other countries, radical
\nMuslims are trying to set the agenda for the entire community,
\nand react to attempts to resist them by questioning the Islamic
\ncredentials of their opponents.<\/p>\n
There are two answers to their strategy.<\/p>\n
The first, which is religious and applies to Muslim thinkers,
\nis to engage the radicals from within the traditions of Islam, to
\nshow that the faith is not only capable of diversity but is also
\nmarked by a history of intellectual engagement and openness.
\nIslam is a single religion, but there are many kinds of Muslims.
\nThe challenge is to show that the reality of Islam in pluralistic
\nIndonesia is very much a part of the diversity of Islam
\ninternationally. The struggle is over the hearts and minds of the
\nsilent majority of Indonesian Muslims who lean towards moderation
\ntemperamentally but who are open to the increasing stridency of
\nradical manipulation.<\/p>\n
The second answer is political, and applies to both moderate
\nMuslims and non-Muslims. They must realize that, whatever their
\npolitical differences, they have to unite against the radicals'
\nuse of religion for political purposes. What confronts Indonesia
\nis no less than two versions of politics. One is a democracy in
\nwhich the state continues not to interfere in religious freedom.
\nThe other is a democratic mechanism which radicals exploit to
\nfoist their blueprint of the state on the population. Once
\ndemocracy leads to a religious state, extricating politics from
\nthat process is arduous.<\/p>\n
The point is not that Islam is undemocratic; it is, indeed,
\ncompatible with democracy. However, democracy in a pluralistic
\ncountry requires a certain distance to be maintained between the
\nstate and religion. Indonesia's founding fathers understood that
\nfact well. The times have not changed the basis for their
\nunderstanding.<\/p>",
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