Ban of preacher roundly criticized by Moslem leaders
Ban of preacher roundly criticized by Moslem leaders
JAKARTA (JP): Moslem leaders spoke out yesterday against the
military authorities who banned the prominent preacher Dr. Deliar
Noer from delivering his Idul Fitri sermon last week.
"Now I don't know where to lodge my complaint over what
happened to me," Deliar told The Jakarta Post. "This ban only
proves that not much has changed in our political situation."
Deliar, who received his degree in politics from Cornell
University in Ithaca, New York, and was once a staff lecturer at
Griffith University in Australia, was scheduled to deliver a
sermon for the Idul Fitri prayer at the Al-Ihya Mosque, Duren
Sawit subdistrict, East Jakarta, last Friday.
On Wednesday, however, he was notified by the mosque's
managers that the local military office wanted to replace him
with another preacher. Deliar was not told the reason.
Deliar was quoted by the Kompas daily as saying that he was
not exactly surprised by the ban. "This has happened more than
once, so I can only be concerned," he said.
Another prominent preacher, A.M. Fatwa, told the Post that he
was allowed to speak, though the local military asked to go over
his text beforehand.
Fatwa, however, promptly expressed hope that news over the
censorship would not adversely affect the current trend of
improved relations between the government and Moslem society.
Deliar said he had not prepared any text for his sermon
because he believed "what I was about to tell the Idul Fitri
congregation was entirely my right."
In addition, the mosque managers did not ask him to write his
sermon on paper, he said.
Legislator A.M. Saefuddin of the Moslem-based United
Development Party was surprised that the ban and attempts to
censor were carried out by the military and not the city branch
of the national security agency.
"Koramil (the local military office) has no right to ban Idul
Fitri preachers," he said.
Saefuddin speculated that the actions were carried out by
"snipers", a term he used to describe some lower level military
personnel who acted without their superiors' knowledge or against
"national policy".
He called on leaders of the Armed Forces (ABRI) to beware of
"snipers" or civilians who try to tarnish ABRI's name by taking
unauthorized measures on some sensitive subjects.
He also called on the authorities to explain the procedures
and regulations that preachers have to follow before delivering
Idul Fitri sermons.
"Banning Deliar Noer is proof that the local military office
and the mosques don't know the correct procedures," he said. "I
believe the local military office acted against their superiors'
policies."
He also called on the authorities to "stop being suspicious"
of preachers and, instead, to start monitoring their activities
through recordings or by taking their pictures.
"Preachers are mere citizens who have the right to legal
protection," he said. "This is a law-abiding country...the ban,
without any legal grounds, only proved that the law has been
trampled by power."
Fatwa said the non-commission officer from the Jakarta
military command's intelligence unit who asked to go over the
text of his sermon on Thursday admitted he was acting on his own
and without orders from his superiors
Fatwa also said that he had sent his text beforehand to
various parties, including ABRI's chief of social and political
affairs, Lt, Gen. Moh. Ma'ruf, who recently said no Idul Fitri
sermons would be banned.
"I even sent a copy to Vice President Try Sutrisno to show
that I have nothing to hide," Fatwa said.
His sermon was on the role of science and technology in
bringing the country to a better future. He had no problems
delivering the sermon on the Cikini school ground. (30)