Tarmizi defends his remarks on rioters
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher defended yesterday his controversial statement that rioters could be killed, saying it was a warning for Moslems against the danger of communism.
Tarmizi told The Jakarta Post yesterday that when he said last week that "it is halal (religiously permissible) to shed the blood and lives of rioters," he was referring to a Koran verse which had been interpreted by noted Moslem scholar Quraish Shihab.
Quraish, the rector of Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta State Institute for Islamic Studies, is known for his extensive knowledge and critical interpretation of the Koran.
Tarmizi did not mention the exact verse, but Sura Al Maidah: 32, which explains about the murder of Adam's son Habil by his brother Qabil, says: "We ordained that for the children of Israel, if anyone slew a person -- unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land -- it would be as if he slew the whole people."
Tarmizi said that it was obligatory for him and other Moslem leaders, including Abdurrahman Wahid of the 30-million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), and even the Armed Forces to caution people against the provocation of the remnants of the now defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).
"This (warning) is necessary because Moslems here are easily provoked into rioting," he said.
Therefore, he said, there should be no hesitation in fighting the rioters. "If we feel doubt in our fight against them, then the murderers and looters will continue disrupting our national stability," he said.
Tarmizi made his controversial statement when addressing 500 East Java ulemas in Surabaya last Tuesday. He was discussing the unrest that had occurred in various parts of the country over recent months, especially during the general election campaign.
The statement has sparked strong criticism from Moslem leaders, including Said Agil Siraj of NU who said that the remark should not have been uttered by the minister in his capacity as a national religious leader. Some students of the Yogyakarta state- run State Institute for Islamic Studies also protested the statement, arguing that it could be used by other people to condone the use of coercive means to settle national problems.
Tarmizi dismissed the students' protests. "They are only students. They'd do better to discuss the matter with Quraish Shihab," he said.
Tarmizi speculated that those who rioted were atheists and members of PKI.
Meanwhile in Yogyakarta, hundreds of students demanded yesterday that Tarmizi resign. Calling themselves the Antiviolence Movement of the People, the students marched around the state-run Gadjah Mada University, brandishing placards that denounced Tarmizi for "blowing a deadly wind".
After a reading poetry and singing, the students made a statement. They urged Tarmizi to place an advertisement of apology in both local and foreign media. (11/23)