Scholar says politics may be behind riots

JAKARTA (JP): Observers yesterday voiced their suspicion that recent attacks on East Java churches had been "engineered" by certain political interests rather than driven by religious hatred.

Sociologist Daniel Dhakidae, senior journalist Syu'bah Asa and Ismet Natsir of the Islamic Boarding School and Community Development Association (P3M) yesterday discussed the attacks that killed five and damaged a score of churches on Oct. 10 in the small East Java town of Situbondo.

"I don't believe that Moslems would deliberately attack Christians," said Daniel, a researcher at the Kompas daily.

Syu'bah, an ex-journalist from the banned Tempo magazine, agreed. Islam does not teach violence and Moslems are basically tolerant of other religions, he said.

The speakers analysis of the riots has led them to suspect political maneuvering may be behind the riots which erupted after the prosecution demanded what some Moslems perceived to be "too lenient" a sentence for a local Moslem standing trial for blasphemy against Islam.

Politicians have always been jealous of religious leaders because they are better able to control people, Daniel said. This is why politicians often exploit religions to maintain power, he said.

"There has always been conflict of interest between politics and religion. The Situbondo riots are just one example," he said.

Syu'bah expressed his regret that religions, time and again, are turned into scapegoats while social gaps were actually the root of the problems.

Followers of different faiths in Situbondo co-existed well in the past.

Social and cultural observer Ismed Natsir, formerly a researcher at the Institute of Economic and Social Research, Education and Information (LP3ES), said he was convinced the riots were instigated by a small group of frustrated people.

"They're only a small group, but their actions have disadvantaged the whole community," he said.

"The riots were engineered," said Natsir.

Syu'bah said he agreed with National Commission on Human Rights member H.A.A. Baramuli and a priest in Situbondo who said the riots could not have been spontaneous.

Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher said in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, that without an awareness of its own diversity, the nation may fall into extremism and radicalism.

He called on the followers of all of religions here -- Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism and Hinduism -- to learn from the brutality and violence that has scarred East Timor, East Nusa Tenggara and Situbondo.

This nation is being dehumanized and spirituality is decreasing, he was quoted by Antara as saying on Wednesday.

"We need a warning so everybody remembers never to let such tragedies happen again," he was quoted by Antara as saying on Wednesday.

He called on the Moslems in particular to shoulder the greater moral responsibility. They are in the majority here, so they could contribute more the country, he said. (05/swe)