JK Clarifies Remarks at UGM Lecture, Denies Blasphemy Against Religion

Vice President of Indonesia’s 10th and 12th administrations, Jusuf Kalla (JK), has provided clarification regarding his lecture at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) that was reported to the police.

JK stated that what he conveyed was not an act of religious blasphemy.

He noted that the lecture at UGM took place during this year’s Ramadan. He was invited to deliver a lecture on the theme of peace.

“The event at UGM was a Ramadan lecture, similar to those held in mosques everywhere. I was invited and attended because the theme was peace. Peace. Specifically, the theme was about steps towards peace,” JK said at his residence in South Jakarta on Saturday (18/4).

JK also explained what peace and conflict entail. He discussed conflicts in the world and in Indonesia. He then touched on the conflicts in Poso and Ambon.

“There are conflicts due to ideology like in Madiun, conflicts due to ideology, conflicts due to territory like in East Timor, conflicts due to economy like in Aceh. I explained them one by one. Then, for just one or two minutes, I discussed conflicts due to religion. That includes Ambon-Poso,” he said.

He stated that at the time, the conflicts in those two regions were prolonged and no one could reconcile them. JK then decided to intervene in resolving the conflicts.

“Did I blaspheme religion? I reconciled them—did I blaspheme religion? I risked my life with Hamid, entering the areas you saw earlier. Entering those areas. No Minister, President Gus Dur, or Mrs Megawati could do it,” JK said.

JK explained that the conflicts in those two regions occurred because the communities thought they were fighting for religion. There was a belief among the people there that anyone who died would be considered a martyr or shahid.

He used the word “shahid” because he was in a mosque at the time.

“They thought it was a religious war. Whoever dies will be a shahid for Islam. Christians call it martyr. But actually, I was in a mosque and didn’t understand ‘martir’. What I said was that they are almost the same, shahid and martyr are almost the same. The only difference is the method,” JK said.

“If it’s shahid, they are all the same, dying for defending religion. That’s shahid. Martyr is the same, dying for defending religion. So it’s just a matter of terminology,” he added.

He emphasised that what he said was not about religious dogma or ideology. According to him, neither religion teaches killing each other.

“I didn’t talk about religious dogma, I didn’t talk about religious ideology, no. About why they killed each other? Does Islam and Christianity teach that? No. So they all violated religious teachings,” he said.

Previously, the Central Executive Board of the Indonesian Christian Youth Movement (GAMKI) along with several organisations reported JK to the police.

GAMKI General Chairman Sahat Sinurat stated that JK’s remarks were deemed to offend Christian teachings and caused a stir during the lecture at UGM Mosque discussing the Poso and Ambon conflicts. He affirmed that Christian teachings never justify killing as a path to heaven.

Additionally, on 14 April, a similar report emerged from North Sumatra. Several organisations under the North Sumatra Civil Society Alliance also reported JK to the North Sumatra Police with accusations of blaspheming religious teachings.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai encouraged resolving the polemic through dialogue, not legal channels.

“As Human Rights Minister, I disagree with the police report against Mr JK. I firmly reject it. To be honest, there is no benefit in it either,” Pigai said, as quoted by Antara on Wednesday (15/4).