The Jakarta Post, February 9, 2006
Minorities fall in line with the majority's rules
Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, The Jakarta Post, Padang
In her baju kurung (traditional long dress) and headscarf, high school senior "Dewi"
blends in with the other students at her state-run school.
As one of a handful of Christians at the school, she says she has been pressured into
going along with last year's recommendation of the Padang city administration for
students to wear Muslim attire.
"I actually feel uncomfortable," she told The Jakarta Post. "I feel depressed and
anguished because this is against my religion, but what can I do? Although I'm not
(officially) obligated to wear the scarf, I would feel different from other students (if I
didn't wear it) with only six students who are not Muslims here."
She said teachers stated that a Muslim school uniform was the dress code for all
students, regardless of their religion. They said a student who did not wear the
uniform would be fined Rp 5,000 (about 50 U.S. cents) a day.
"Once, during the flag-hoisting ceremony, I didn't wear the scarf properly, with my hair
still visible, and I was reprimanded by the teacher. When I told the teacher I wasn't a
Muslim, I was told it was the same for everybody," she said.
Dewi, who is Catholic, said she considered transferring to another school, but decided
against it because she only has a year left before graduation.
Initially, what the administration called a "recommendation" to wear Muslim uniform
was not only made for state and private Islamic schools but also for Christian
institutions.
In his circular to the schools in 2005, Padang Mayor Fauzi Bahar recommended all
schools -- from elementary to senior high school levels, including Christian ones -- to
inform students to wear a uniform based on Islamic principles of appropriate dress,
with headscarves obligated for female students.
The call was flatly rejected by several Christian schools.
The recommendation was part of the Padang city administration's programs to
encourage the implementation of Islamic teachings.
In 2003, the administration issued a bylaw which obligated students to be proficient in
Islamic calligraphy and to be able to read from the Koran. The bylaw also stated that
an elementary school student could not graduate to junior high without being able to
read from the Koran.
Since 2004, the mayor also issued several more circulars, including ones obligating
students and civil servants to wear Muslim uniform, to take crash courses in religion
during the fasting month of Ramadhan and study religion every Sunday.
Fauzi told the Post his policies caused no problems since the city's cultural
background, such as wearing the baju kurung dress, was Islamic.
The move, he said, was also in the spirit of showing the country's diversity.
"Read the circulars. I only made the recommendations for Muslims and it is also
intended to uphold custom because the baju kurung is from Minang culture," he said.
He denied requiring that non-Muslim students also wear the headscarf.
"If the teacher makes such a suggestion, it's OK since she lives in Minang (society).
Adjusting to the Minang culture is OK but not obligated. If it becomes an obligation, it
has its risks but not with this, it's only a recommendation," he said.
Sudarto, director of Pusaka non-governmental organization that promotes pluralism in
Padang, regretted the administration's attempt to regulate religious issues.
"If the mayor is a religious person, it's no problem but don't make it public policy. He
has to ensure that a state is of service to all citizens without considering their religion
and background," he told the Post.
Such religious-based policies, he said, would not be a problem if they did not affect
other communities.
"But if someone who belongs to the minority has to adjust by wearing a headscarf, it's
enforcement," Sudarto said.
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