Sectarianism against the political trend
Political parties formed along religious and ethnic lines have emerged in recent weeks. Ulil Abshar Abdalla of the Agency for Human Resources Research and Development at Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) addresses the public fears of rising sectarian politics.
Question: Are Indonesians becoming sectarian?
Ulil: Not necessarily. These new parties have been encouraged by increasing opportunities for people to express their political aspirations. They have been oppressed for a long time. These new parties aim to restore the people's civil and political rights.
Fears of sectarian politics and the possibility of national disintegration are unfounded because sectarianism is against the political trend. Besides, our socio-political climate is strong enough to maintain national unity.
Q: Can you describe the elements that provide such a climate?
U: First, people of different religious and ethnic groups are familiar with one another. They have cooperated in various organizations, such as in the bureaucracy and professional associations, to achieve common goals. They have managed to ignore their religious and ethnic differences.
Second, the majority of Indonesian Moslems are becoming more inclusive and open-minded, and value democracy, plurality and human rights. People from other religions, including Christianity and Buddhism, also have similar values and commitments.
We need not fear too much about the establishment of parties with religious sentiments. Islamic parties, for one, will not likely receive widespread support.
Q: NU youths recently prevented Muhammadiyah chairman Amien Rais from visiting East Java towns. Why did that happen?
U: Their number is small. They were manipulated by certain people to serve their own political interests.
The number of more tolerant Moslems, particularly those in urban areas, is growing steadily and they have considerable influence over rural followers. This trend toward greater tolerance is driven by religious discourses by influential figures like Amien Rais and NU chairman Abdurrahman Wahid.
Q: What about the attacks against Chinese-Indonesians?
U: These were partly motivated by sectarian feeling. But social and economic gaps, disenchantment with the government and conflict among the political elite contributed much more to the incidents than sectarian sentiments.
Q: Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid has appealed to people not to set up parties based on religion?
U: He still approaches politics with the old mentality. We should not take officials like him seriously because in this era of reform, the people will be more involved in shaping the country's future. Public initiatives will be more important than those of officials with an old political mind-set.
Q: Some people say that the increasing influence of the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI) has fanned sectarian sentiments. Is that true?
U: There is no proof to support such an allegation. ICMI is a fragmented group of people with different and, sometimes, contradictory interests. ICMI is (politically) insignificant because it has no charismatic ideologist who can influence the direction of its aspirations.
Q: Do you think religious-based parties would support the development of religions in the country?
U: No. These parties could even damage the image of religion. Their leaders might use religious teachings to legitimize their policies. So they would be exploiting religion for their interests.
Q: Is the international community concerned about the possibility of a Moslem party dominating Indonesian politics?
U: No. They have seen the trend of inclusiveness from Indonesian Moslems, as reflected by the behavior of Amien Rais and Abdurrahman Wahid. Both men have won respect from the international community for quickly condemning the rioting against Chinese-Indonesians. (riz)