Incitement to religious hate law sought

JAKARTA (JP): A political and religious observer has underlined the need for an incitement to religious hatred law to deal with provocateurs in interreligious conflicts, who have so far managed to escape any legal sanction.

Azyumardi Azra, rector of the Jakarta State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN), said on Wednesday that the existing law was not sufficient to charge those who provoke interreligious conflicts.

The current law only gives a legal basis to charge anyone who does something that offends people of other religions, he said.

However, according to Azyumardi, what is considered offensive for some people does not automatically constitute a crime.

"This may be acceptable if someone has to give an opinion on other religions as part of the religion teaching process in their religious community," Azyumardi told a discussion on religious issues at the Habibie Centre.

"What we should watch out for is the possibility of anyone who has the intention to use the issue to provoke interreligious conflicts," he added.

He pointed out one case as an example. The Bandung Ulemas' Forum has recently reported two Jakarta-based Protestant priests to the city police over their statements which are considered to have insulted Muslims.

According to the forum, the two priests had said that the Moslems' God was the hajar aswad, the black stone in front of the Kaaba holy shrine in Mecca, and that the divine revelations which had been received by Prophet Muhammad came from the devils.

Azyumardi said the law should have been available as the legal basis for charging anyone who intended to use the priests' statements to provoke conflict between the two religions, instead of charging the two priests themselves.

He also said the prolonged conflicts between the Muslims and the Christians in Maluku was not due to any religious reason.

"It was caused by political reasons," he said, adding that the lack of government concern on this matter had worsened the situation.

Priest Nus Riemas earlier said that openness was badly needed to prevent any interreligious conflict, especially in dealing with any effort to provoke the people.

Former minister of justice Muladi, who also joined the discussion, said the government is preparing an additional chapter on religious offenses for the new Criminal Code.

The existing law classifies a religious crime as a public order violation, he added. (04)