When tolerance is no longer enough<\/p>\n
Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta<\/p>\n
This Christmas provided another fine display to the outside
\nworld of the religious tolerance that has developed among peoples
\nof different faiths in Indonesia, the country with the world's
\nlargest Muslim population.<\/p>\n
As Christians observed Christmas inside churches, hotel
\nballrooms and other venues, outside, young people from Muslim
\norganizations worked with the police to provide security.<\/p>\n
Amid reports that radical Islamic groups were planning to
\nlaunch another massive bombing campaign targeting churches, the
\nsecurity forces were out in full force to ensure the minority
\nChristians in this country could celebrate Christmas in peace.<\/p>\n
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day passed without any reported
\nviolence.<\/p>\n
In yet another gesture of tolerance on the part of Muslims,
\nMuhammadiyah, one of Indonesia's largest Muslim organizations,
\noffered the use of its schools and other buildings for Christians
\nto mark Christmas. Some of the faithful reportedly took up this
\noffer.<\/p>\n
Picture-perfect religious tolerance in Indonesia?<\/p>\n
Not quite.<\/p>\n
Underneath these displays of religious tolerance -- cynics
\nmight describe them as PR stunts -- tension has quietly been
\nbuilding up in many parts of Indonesia this past year, pitting
\nthe majority Muslims, who make up 88 percent of the population,
\nagainst other religious minorities.<\/p>\n
No, this is not just about Ambon in Maluku, or Poso in Central
\nSulawesi, which have seen their share of bloody communal
\nconflicts between Christians and Muslims these past few years.<\/p>\n
Tensions are also building up much closer to home, here in
\nJakarta and in many parts of Java. In 2005, some of these
\ntensions erupted into violence.<\/p>\n
The attacks and the forced closure of more than two dozen
\nchurches in West Java as reported by the Communion of Indonesian
\nChurches; the lockout of believers from the Sang Timur Catholic
\nSchool by residents in Ciledug near Jakarta; the skirmishes
\nbetween Muslim residents and members of a Christian Batak Church
\nin nearby Bekasi; the violent attack against followers of the
\nMuslim Ahmadiyah sect in Parung near Bogor, all these point to
\ntwo disturbing patterns: That religious intolerance is on the
\nrise in this country, and that the authorities, particularly the
\npolice, have failed to protect people's constitutional rights.
\nFreedom of religion and the right to practice one's faith are
\nguaranteed in this country -- but at times police even sided with
\nthe lawbreakers.<\/p>\n
These are not isolated cases as some people would have us
\nbelieve. They show an evolving pattern that could spread to other
\nparts of the country, unless the nation, particularly the
\ngovernment, takes immediate steps to address the issue seriously.<\/p>\n
Staying in denial mode, as people in the highest authority
\nprefer to do, is certainly not helping.<\/p>\n
To the outside world, Indonesian officials and diplomats often
\ncite tolerance as among the chief virtues this nation possesses.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has no other alternative. Given the diversity of
\nthis nation in terms of race, ethnicity, culture, religion and
\ntradition, nurturing a sense of tolerance, including religious
\ntolerance, becomes imperative if we are to coexist peacefully.
\nThe alternative is simply unthinkable. There may not be an
\nIndonesia left if intolerance is allowed to reign.<\/p>\n
To some scholars here and abroad, Indonesia, like Malaysia,
\nhas become the antithesis of Samuel Huntington's Clash of
\nCivilizations theorem. The brand of Islam that has developed in
\nthis part of the world in the eight or nine centuries since the
\nreligion hit our shores appears to be far more moderate and
\ntolerant than the strain found in the Middle East, so they say.
\nIndonesia and Malaysia could become models where Islam and
\ndemocracy are indeed compatible.<\/p>\n
But peaceful coexistence between people with diverse races,
\nethnicities, cultures, languages, religions and traditions is
\nsomething that one should never take for granted. Since 1945, the
\nhistory of post-independence Indonesia has been one of a long and
\npainful struggle to remain under a single republic.<\/p>\n
If Soeharto, and to a lesser extent Sukarno, managed to impose
\nsome semblance of unity -- largely through coercive means -- in a
\ndemocracy, the rules of the game have changed. Tolerance alone,
\nas the rising incidents of communal tensions and conflicts tell
\nus, is no longer sufficient.<\/p>\n
If Indonesia wants to continue to remain a multiracial,
\nmultiethnic and multireligious society, the nation has to go
\nbeyond tolerance to the next higher step: mutual respect.<\/p>\n
Tolerance, as useful as it has been in promoting harmonious
\ncoexistence in Indonesia these past 60 years, does not guarantee
\nall will be well.<\/p>\n
For one, there is a thin line between tolerance and
\nintolerance. People switch easily from one to another overnight
\nfor the flimsiest reasons. In the case of Muslims rejecting the
\npresence of a church in their neighborhood, the flashpoint of
\nintolerance was the unsubstantiated rumor the churches were being
\nused for proselytizing.<\/p>\n
Tolerance also implies passivity. Muslims may tolerate the
\npresence of non-Muslims, but if something were to happen to non-
\nMuslims, would they lend a hand? The situation is likely to be
\nthe same if the situation were reversed, say of Christians in
\npredominantly Christian areas, or of Hindus in predominantly
\nHindu Bali.<\/p>\n
Underpinning this passivity are feelings of superiority. \"I am
\nbetter than you, but I am tolerating you\" is a common view among
\npeople who are divided by race, ethnicity or religion but who
\nhave to coexist nevertheless.<\/p>\n
This may explain why few people come to the Christians' rescue
\nwhen dozens of churches in West Java were vandalized; when the
\nAhmadiyah headquarters in Parung came under a massive attack;
\nwhen residents stopped children going to the Sang Timur Catholic
\nschool in Ciledug near Jakarta; and when residents and the
\nIslamic Defenders Front (FPI) prevented Christians from praying
\nat a Batak Christian Church (HKBP) in Bekasi.<\/p>\n
There were, however, a few exceptions to the rule.<\/p>\n
Former president Abdurrahman Wahid, ever the true pluralist,
\nwent to Sang Timur with the Nahdlatul Ulama youth group, Banser,
\nto defend the right of the children, some of whom are autistic,
\nto go to their school. He also deployed his young men to defend
\nthe offices of the Liberal Islamic Network when it was being
\nthreatened by FPI members. The FPI was acting on an Islamic Ulema
\nCouncil (MUI) fatwa that banned all teachings of liberalism,
\nsecularism and pluralism.<\/p>\n
But people like Gus Dur, as the former president is
\naffectionately called, are rare in this nation.<\/p>\n
If only the nation, with some leadership from the government,
\nwould move beyond tolerance to mutual respect, then Indonesia
\nwould be well on its way to becoming a truly pluralistic nation.<\/p>\n
Mutual respect, as Gus Dur has shown, means not only
\ntolerating others, but also being obliged to protect them, to
\nensure their rights are upheld in the republic.<\/p>\n
Mutual respect also means finding out more about other groups,
\ngetting a better understanding of them, and working to prevent
\nrifts and mutual suspicion that are often the cause of tensions
\nand conflicts. Mutual respect, therefore, can only come about
\nthrough dialog and a greater interaction between people of
\ndiverse backgrounds.<\/p>\n
Interfaith dialog initiated by the leaders of different
\nreligions, is but a first step to building mutual respect. Such
\ndialog should be encouraged and promoted at the grass roots level
\n-- the place where tension and conflict usually develop.<\/p>\n
We have learned to live with our differences for the past 60
\nyears and we have managed relatively well as a nation.<\/p>\n
But as recent communal conflicts show, we have yet to learn to
\nrespect the differences that exist among us.<\/p>\n
Indonesians still have a long way to go to forge greater unity
\namong our people of diverse backgrounds. But we know that
\ntolerance -- that quality we often tout to outsiders -- is no
\nlonger sufficient to ensure this unity. Building mutual respect,
\nthe basis of a true pluralist society, is the way to go.<\/p>\n
The writer is Chief Editor of The Jakarta Post.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/when-tolerance-is-no-longer-enough-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }