The Jakarta Post, February 23, 2006
A place to pray
Talk of pluralism, or the lack of it, brings to mind various scenes and images that
speak to the long history of Indonesians living in diverse communities. One such
image is of the sunny coastal villages of Tual island in southern Maluku, where
mosques sit next to churches along dirt roads. Tual was not spared from the
communal bloodshed that r! ocked Maluku beginning in 2000 -- but locals fortunately
remembered that communal ties are thicker and older than religious affiliations -- and
the violence stopped sooner than in other areas in the province.
That even relatively idyllic, remote Tual was not spared from the religious strife tells us
that havens of pluralism and harmony are becoming rare here.
Earlier this week the public got a glimpse of the final draft of a new ministerial decree
that aims to reduce the friction when it comes to neighbors of different faiths wanting
to build places of worship. The religious affairs minister says all of the points of the
draft have been agreed on, while representatives of minority religions say the devilish
details have yet to be worked out.
When approved, the decree will lead to the establishment of a Communication Forum
for Religious Harmony to review requests for permits to build places of worship; the
forum will then send its recommendations to local governments. The contentious
details include the minimum number of congregation members to be allowed to build a
new mosque, church or Buddhist temple, as the case may be, and also the minimum
number of local residents who must agree to the construction of a place of worship in
their neighborhood.
The decree will update one issued in 1969, which also regulated the construction of
houses of worship. The aim of the decree is "to prevent public disorder", at least
according to the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI). But some minority religious groups
say it violates t! he Constitution, which guarantees freedom of worship, and potentially
increases disputes for exercising that freedom.
Political logic dictates that those in power must watch over the interests of their
constituents. In Indonesia's case, keeping Muslims content and balancing the
interests of the different groups among them has been the inevitable priority of all
governments.
But we believe the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also would
like to maintain the country's international and domestic image as an aspiring
democracy that respects human rights, and allegations of discriminating against
minority groups do not fit with such an image.
The question is, what is being done apart from merely following the to-do list of
increasingly intolerant groups claiming to represent the bulk of Muslims here.
Ask Indonesians about having neighbors of other faiths building places of worship and
you will receive a range of responses, from "Drive out all the Christians" to "What's the
fuss? Are they criminals?"
The new decree would indeed succeed in keeping annoying evangelists at bay, the
kind MUI and others of the same view say are seeking to convert everyone in sight.
But the decree is clearly far from adequate, to the point even of irrelevance, to help the
country build a society where communities resp! ect each other regardless of race,
color or creed. If there was true respect for different faiths, would people have to seek
permission from their neighbors to build a place to pray?
We would ask the President to remember that he rose to power on the votes of the
majority of Indonesians, not just a vocal few -- and not to allow his subordinates, down
to district heads and local police, to let the intolerant get their way.
The country has recently seen more places of worship being forcibly closed down by
groups opposed to their presence. Such incidents sadly undermine any claims we
may make of being a largely tolerant people.
As a nation, it is ! clear we have much work to do when it comes to understanding
what tolerance and respect entail. This work will have to involve communities, schools
and parents, as well as religious figures. But it would certainly help if the authorities
would stop sending signals that it caters only to those who shout the loudest.
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