It's the iron fist that matters

It's the iron fist that matters

This is in response to the opinion piece Are Indonesians truly
tolerant by M. Tholchah on Dec. 9.

In spite of the impressive critical views given by the
writer of this article, he somehow missed out on the fact that
the "tolerant society" created in Indonesia during the 32 years
of Soeharto's rule, as he has pointed out, was, in my view, not
because of the successful indoctrination of Pancasila as the
writer has claimed. It was because of the iron-fist-in-a-velvet-
glove rule of the Soeharto regime that the volcano in Indonesian
society that erupted in the post Soeharto era lay dormant for
more than three decades.

The regime's iron-fist approach had created a calm surface
with a river of boiling lava below that was ready to
erupt at any time. The riots and violence that occurred in the
post-Soeharto Indonesia prove my proposition.

With the absence of the sort of strict control by the
government over the populace that we witnessed during the
Soeharto period has resulted in conflagrations all over
Indonesia.

At the same time, claiming that the grim reality in the
world's most populous Muslim country, Indonesia
(rampant corruption, violence, crime and other criminal acts),
shows the true face of Islam in my view, a mistake. It is the
individual, and not the religion, that needs to be blamed. It is
not Islamic teachings that produce these conditions but
the understanding of individuals about Islam that need
to be reviewed. I am quite convinced, given the writer's
background, that my view will prove to be entirely acceptable.

AHMAD QISA, New Delhi