Muslims, minorities, and the state in Indonesia

Muslims, minorities, and the state in Indonesia

Muhamad Ali
Manoa, Honolulu

Indonesian Islam will remain moderate and tolerant by and
large, but problems and challenges will continue to exist. The
future of Indonesia depends on the ways in which the government
and various Muslim groups actually act in public life. While
violence, discrimination, and grievances are still felt among the
minorities, especially non-Muslims, the Muslim majority continue
maintaining the tolerant, moderate character of the country. A
small number of hard-liners and terrorists will be
disproportionately influential, but the tolerant, moderate
majority and the government will not be silent.

Most Muslim groups no longer challenge the state ideology of
Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution which guarantee freedom of
religion, despite a small group who advocate an Islamic Caliphate
or the implementation of Islamic law. Generally speaking,
Catholics, Protestants, Hindus, Buddhists, Confucians, Sikhs,
Bahais, Jews, indigenous believers, foreigners, and other groups,
will continue to live freely and peacefully in the country if
their leaders and communities continue to work together with
others and if the government facilitates dialog and solves common
issues, concerns and disputes.

The promotion of the implementation of a more "comprehensive
Islamic law" will continue to be outside the mainstream political
discourse. But with regional autonomy, some provinces such as
Aceh have begun to implement sharia. Others such as South
Sulawesi and Banten have attempted to follow suit. Some
regencies, such as Bulukumba in South Sulawesi, launched in 2003
a bylaw implementing civil Islamic law there for all Muslims. The
regent of Cianjur required all government workers to wear Islamic
clothing every day, and some men and women were afraid not to
comply. However conservative these measures may be, non-Muslims
are not subject to such regulations, their advocates claim.

However, the Muslim moderates and minorities are worried about
such measures and other programs of implementation of any
exclusivist sectarian system of law and ethics at the national
and local levels. For these groups, the advocates of Islamic law
at the local level shows insensitivity toward others, including
the minorities.

Grievances, discrimination, hatred and violence have the
potential to occur. Legally speaking, few problems exist. It is
true that an effort is being made to revise the ministerial
decree on the building of houses of worship of 1969, involving
different religious groups. But other regulations such as the
guidelines for the propagation of religion of 1978, overseas aid
to religious institutions in Indonesia, 1978, and proselytizing
guidelines, 1978, will also need to be reexamined. There still
exists the problem of "Islamization versus Christianization".
Muslims and Christians accuse each other of proselytizing in an
unfair manner.

The law does not discriminate against any religious group in
employment, education, housing, or health care. However, if the
government does not take proper action, actual discrimination
will still persist, such as civil registration, national
identification cards, access to public education and to
government jobs, and registration of interfaith marriages. Many
members of minority groups will continue to complain that the
government or local officials make it harder for them than for
Muslims to build a house of worship, to get access to public
universities, to gain government jobs, or to register their
marriages.

Hard-line groups will continue to use pressure, intimidation
or violence against those whose message they view offensive to
their interpretation of Islam if the government and the police
fail to uphold law and order and if the moderate groups simply
leave them as they are, without initiating dialog to avoid
violent measures.

Some extremists claiming to uphold Islamic morality may
sometimes attack cafes, nightclubs, and foreigners when the
occasion allows. They can also threaten freedom of expression
such as music, paintings and films which they consider insulting
to their version of Islam.

Sporadic incidents of ethno-religious violence will continue
in conflict areas, particularly Sulawesi and the Maluku, if the
government does not prevent this from happening. Apart from these
local conflicts, regional and global terrorism, albeit relatively
reduced with the death of Dr. Azahari and the capture of some two
hundred terrorists by the police, will still be a potential
threat to the country. Terrorism remains the major problem,
albeit difficult to detect, but more collaborative measures are
extremely crucial.

Recently, the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI), the Hizbut
Tahrir Indonesia, and the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), declared
that terrorism was against Islam, but despite this condemnation,
religious opinions in their speeches and publications still
contain a lack of insight, exclusivity, and condemnation of other
Muslims who do not share their interpretation. The forced closure
of churches by members of FPI simply shows their intolerance.

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI)'s fatwa condemning
secularism, pluralism, and liberalism as they understand them,
and declaring Ahmadiyah as un-Islamic, is counterproductive to
freedom of religion. The attacks against Ahmadiyah and the
intimidation of the Liberal Islam Network (JIL) will continue to
occur if the government tolerates such abuse of religious freedom
or fails to punish the perpetrators and actors.

So far there have been no reports of forced religious
conversions by Muslims or by minorities, but this could occur if
the religious preachers and missionaries do not respect the
faiths of others. No restrictions exist on the publication of
religious materials, the use of religious symbols, and on
televised religious programming, but some religious publications
and television programs are insulting to members of other faiths.

Conspiracy theories and blaming others to explain one's own
problems and weaknesses are still popular in some Islamic
publications. Religious absolutism and extreme exclusivism are
still part of the interreligious problem that should be addressed
properly through communication, education, and dialog.

Non-governmental organizations such as the Society for
Interfaith Dialog (Madia), the Indonesian Antidiscrimination
Movement (Gandi), the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace
(ICRP), the Institute for Interfaith Dialog (Interfidei), the
National People's Solidarity, the Islam Liberal Network (JIL),
the International Center for Islam and Pluralism (ICIP) and some
others, will have to play a more crucial role in promoting
interreligious dialog and cooperation.

Islamic parties have become less ideological, as they endorse
democracy. The emerging of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS)
seems more pragmatic now and its future development remains to be
seen; it attempts to attract non-Muslim members and supporters as
well. The more religiously inclusive National Mandate Party (PAN)
and National Awakening Party (PKB), and other parties will have
to do more on interreligious cooperation.

Religion for most Indonesians remains a principal factor of
social ties, group identity and morality. More individuals and
groups are searching for spiritual peace and transcendental
answers to the real and perceived social and political turmoil.
Indonesia has now witnessed a growing Islamic awareness and
public piety, with regard to dress, business, and publications.

The faces and voices are largely conservative, in the sense
that rituals and symbols are more important, whereas religious
reinterpretation, interreligious education and dialog have not
received their attention and efforts.

Not only at times of conflict, but also at times of peace
should Muslims, the minorities, and the state work together
through peaceful methods in bringing about peace, justice and
prosperity. The future of Indonesia is on their shoulders.

Muhamad Ali is a lecturer at the State Islamic University,
Jakarta, a PhD candidate in History at the University of Hawaii
at Manoa and a fellow at the East-West Center, Honolulu. He can
be reached at muhali74@hotmail.com.