Society and tolerance

Several articles in The Jakarta Post have referred to the need to refute proponents of terrorism such as Imam Samudra.

One proposal is to ban Imam Samudra's book. This is impractical since people will inevitably encounter similar ideas "underground" and the sense of persecution to which they refer will be more justified.

Another proposal is education by clerics about the true nature of jihad. This can certainly be helpful, but it is largely a discussion about nuances of interpretation. People who are convinced that massacre is justified are unlikely to be easily dissuaded by Koranic hermeneutics.

Therefore, in the long run it will be useful to consider what characteristics make people susceptible to terrorist propaganda. Statements by terrorist sympathizers reveal the following traits. First, a narrow perspective on world history and international affairs. Second, rejection of reason or impaired reasoning ability. Third, a system of values in which people are made to fit laws rather than laws being made to fit people. Fourth, a lack of empathy with other people.

One would expect the government to aim to discourage such traits among the population. But in fact many policies tend to promote them as widely as possible.

For example, officials want to prevent people from receiving foreign news broadcasts, thus fostering ignorance of international perspectives.

They maintain a long-standing ban on proselytizing to people of different religions. While preachers, like any salesmen, can occasionally be annoying, they are surely not so annoying that they need to be outlawed. This ban only prevents people from learning to compare, contrast and rationally evaluate religious ideas. Instead, they learn from childhood that outside religious ideas need to be shut out, in case they lead to contamination or betrayal. This defensive religious identity is the soul of extremism.

Of course government leaders have as much interest as anyone in combating terrorism, which threatens both their person and their power. But they inevitably favor "big splash" measures, such as stricter identity checks, whose waves disturb lots of people, but can easily be ridden out by terrorists.

In the long term it is essential to reduce the number of people susceptible to terrorist propaganda. This cannot be achieved through security controls, or a campaign of counterpropaganda, but only by nurturing a society in which tolerance can flourish.

JOHN HARGREAVES, Jakarta