Bandung scholar defends freedom of religion
Bandung scholar defends freedom of religion
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung
Two years ago, before the recent attack on the Muslim Ahmadiyah
group, 230 members of the "Prophet Hut" Christian sect were
forcibly removed by police from a church in Bale Endah, Bandung.
After dispersing the group, police arrested and sent to trial
the sect's leader, Mangapin Sibuea, who was later sentenced to
two years' jail after being found guilty of denigrating
Christianity.
The sect, which was outlawed in 2000, had quietly continued
its religious activities. It is one of some 120 faiths and
religious sects that are still banned in West Java.
"We issued that ban in order to prevent a religion
(Christianity) from being besmirched," said Teten Setiawan, the
chief of the intelligence and social affairs division of the West
Java Prosecutor's Office.
Teten said the division was still closely monitoring 13 non-
banned religious sects, including the Indonesian Ahmadiyah
Congregation (JAI), the group that was attacked in Bogor last
week when it tried to conduct a religious service.
Ahmadiyah, which began in Pakistan in the 19th century, is a
controversial offshoot of Islam, with followers believing in the
literal resurrection of Jesus Christ and the existence of another
prophet, Gulam Ahmad Khan, after traditional Islam's last
messenger of God, Muhammad.
Teten said monitoring the group was necessary to ensure public
order.
Other non-traditional religious sects could be found in
Cianjur, Sukabumi, Bogor and Kuningan, he said.
However, Sunan Gunung Djati Islamic Institute lecturer Affif
Muhammad, an expert on modern Islamic thought, said banning
groups and unnecessarily monitoring their followers was a
violation. People should have the right to practice their
religion without fear of persecution, he said.
There was nothing wrong with the growing number of faiths and
religious groups in the country.
"One thing that people are not supposed to be allowed to do is
to force other people (to abandon their faiths) or to impose
their faiths on them; certainly not if they resort to violence."
Affif regretted that the differences between faiths and sects
had intensified in recent years, something he blamed on a narrow,
bigoted view of religion.
He called on the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) to step in
an manage the conflicts responsibly. "MUI must disseminate the
idea that people should accept the differences among religious
sects and different faiths. It should also work to promote
concepts of religious pluralism within society."
The idea of religious tolerance should also be taught in the
nation's schools, he said.