NU opts for tolerance, not decree revocation
NU opts for tolerance, not decree revocation
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The revocation of a joint ministerial decree on the establishment
of houses of worship would not stop violence against followers of
other religions, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leader Hasyim Muzadi said
on Tuesday.
He argued that the key issue in settling religious conflict in
the world's largest Muslim nation was promoting tolerance and
improving interfaith relations.
Calls are growing for the government to scrap a decree issued
jointly by the religious affairs ministry and the home ministry
in 1969, after Islamic hard-liners forcibly shut down dozens of
Christian places of worship in Bandung and neighboring districts
in West Java recently.
Current Minister of Home Affairs M. Ma'ruf has said there was
a need to review the decree, which he conceded was outdated.
However, Hasyim said revoking the decree was not a solution to
the problem.
"Should the SKB (the ministerial decree) be revoked while
churches and their neighbors don't have good relations, it would
continue to create problems. So, I call on Muslims to increase
tolerance and on outsiders not to interfere," he was quoted by
Antara as saying.
The ministerial decree, blamed partly by some people for
attacks on followers of other faiths, requires that permission
from local residents and authorities to establish places of
worship be obtained before construction starts.
A similar sediment was voiced by clerics from East Java's
Madura island, who said the ministerial decree should be made
into law in order to strengthen regulations on the establishment
of places of worship.
"The SKB is substantial in religious life. It's a pillar that
should not be weakened, let alone revoked ... I disagree with the
perception that the decree has led to violations of human
rights," Madurese Muslim cleric Kholilurrohman said recently.
Hasyim also appealed to Christians to engage in "self-
correction" with regard to their relations with Muslims and
others in their community.
"For instance, building a musholla (a small mosque) in Bali is
sometimes difficult (in certain areas) but sometimes easy.
Likewise for the establishment of a mosque in East Nusa Tenggara
(NTT). The most important thing is how Muslim and Christian
leaders have 'conditioned' their respective followers," he said.
Bali is a predominantly Hindu province while NTT is mainly a
Christian province.
Hasyim said promoting tolerance was a serious problem that
should be settled in the long term with "hard efforts", adding
that he was optimistic that in time Indonesians would be very
religious but very tolerant.
The leader of NU, the nation's biggest Muslim organization,
reiterated his call for police to take firm action against those
involved in closing down houses of worship in Bandung.
"The authorities must not be afraid to enforce the law. Don't
make me get out there on the field. If they need public
assistance, we will give it," Hasyim said.
The National Police have not arrested any hard-liners grouped
in the Anti-Apostasy Movement Alliance (AGAP), which was blamed
for the forcible closure of churches in West Java, despite
mounting calls from many Muslim leaders.
The police have justified their inaction against AGAP members,
including the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), by saying the church
closures were not violent. However, the law forbids people from
taking the law into their own hands.
During their meeting on Monday, Hasyim told FPI leader Jaffar
Sidiq that his group had to stop being violent when carrying out
religious activities.
"I reminded him that what FPI has done is wrong. I read out
Koranic verses that forbid that (the use of violence). It has
tarnished the image of Muslims," he said.
The violent campaign by the FPI, Hasyim added, also made it
difficult for Indonesia to improve its economic and political
ties with Western countries.
In response, Jaffar said he could accept Hasyim's comments,
but made no assurances that his group would stop using violence.