Treating mystic believers

The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) recently held discussions concerning a topic uncommon in any other country: old-style traditional mystic beliefs, or non-denominational faiths as they are called here.

The debate was provoked by the United Development Party's demand that the country's mystical movements, which are popular mainly in Central Java, not be officially given a similar status as that of the five recognized religions. It was a call to reverse a decree which the country's highest lawmaking body passed 19 years ago.

The dominant Golkar faction, supported by all other factions, rejected the proposal stating that it wanted to retain the status of this element of the old Javanese way of life because "religion is closely related to culture".

To the United Development Party (PPP), this statement sounded humorous because religion can be closely related to many things. The Moslem-based party maintained that there must be a clear separation between religion and local mystic beliefs, otherwise it could lead to Syirk (idolatry or polytheism -- the two most serious sins in Islam).

The controversy reminds us of the ferocious debate in the same state body 19 years ago when Golkar passed an MPR decree in an effort to give mystic believers legal protection under the state.

That debate saw the PPP faction, which was fighting alone but with many supporters from Moslem organizations outside the MPR, walk out of the meeting in protest.

The controversial MPR decision was soon followed by special treatment for mystic believers. A special directorate was established at the Ministry of Education and Culture to nurture mystic beliefs. A special hall was designated for mysticism along the row of houses of worship of all the recognized religions at the prestigious Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in East Jakarta. And mystics were invited to run a special forum broadcasted on the state-owned TV station just like religious bodies.

What has been neglected during the last 20 years is the effort to persuade mystic believers to return to mainstream religions, just as President Soeharto called for not long after the decree was passed.

Mystic believers, who are grouped in 245 societies called Aliran Kepercayaan (which literally means "streams of belief"), are quite varied in their denominations -- from Sufism to quasi- religious organizations to fortune tellers.

The fact that many of them base their beliefs on the old way of life has made their movements look like a reaction against the modernization of society, which many believe could crush old sets of values.

The pursuit of a mystical way of life does not uniquely belong to the Javanese or to people in other Moslem countries. It is also a trend in the West. Many westerners have flown as far as the Himalayas to find peace through mysticism.

However, the recent debate on this issue did not look so clear-cut as Golkar's points were also defended by noted Moslem scholars, whose recruitment has marked a drastic shift in government policy since the birth of the Moslem Intellectuals Association (ICMI) in 1990. The problem has deeply concerned Moslem scholars and organizations because a government survey has found that 99 percent of mystic believers are Moslem.

The result was that the PPP did not fight Golkar's position at all costs, especially after Golkar agreed to insert a special article into the old decree stressing that, in the treatment of mystic believers, all efforts should be made to guide them toward one of the five official religions.

Mystic believers are members of our society who deserve recognition and relevant treatment by the MPR. The revamped decree, which stipulates that they should return to one of the recognized religions, puts a great responsibility on the government -- a responsibility they should not neglect, as has happened over the past 20 years.

After the revision is passed in March, the government should sponsor a bill in the House of Representatives which addresses ways to call on mystic believers to return to a recognized religion. Following the passing of such a bill, a special body should be set up for its implementation, perhaps under the auspices of the Ministry of Religious Affairs (instead of the Ministry of Education and Culture which currently deals with the issue), to make the MPR decree work.