Religious Affairs Minister doubts claims of intolerance in Indonesia

Jakarta, NU Online
Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali claimed that Indonesia was a bastion of religious tolerance on Thursday, setting off a chorus of critics who accused the controversial minister of ignoring instances of violence in this pluralist nation.<>

“There are those who said that Indonesia is intolerant,” Suryadharma said in an interview with the Indonesian newspaper Kompas. “Is this reality or conjecture? Because I see, all around Indonesia, harmony is still in place.”

Suryadharma said claims of widespread intolerance in Indonesia were confusing, emphasizing that the vast majority of Indonesians lived in religious harmony. It’s a controversial statement for many rights groups in Indonesia. While the nation’s constitution — the Pancasila — officially recognizes six major religions and the vast majority practice a moderate form of Islam, members of minority religious groups or those not recognized by the state are prone to harassment and intimidation in some of the country’s more conservative regions.

Organizations such as Human Rights Watch and the National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM) have accused the government of not doing enough to curb the influence of Islamist hard-liners, such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), or punish those who enforced their views with violence. The minister, for his part, has consistently denied the claims, explaining that inter-faith strife was just “human nature.” Suryadharma has called “Indonesia… the best country in the world in terms of religious tolerance.”

On Thursday he reiterated his views, telling the newspaper that he attended religious events from all of the six religions in a peci — a traditional men’s Muslim cap — as a sign of his acceptance of other religions.

“Now the minister is from an Islamic political party, yet he is willing to attend the religious events held by members of other religions.” Suryadharma said, referring to himself.

A recent campaign to promote religious harmony in Jakarta was attended by 150,000 people of different faiths, he said.

“So you can see how well harmony is kept here,” he said as quoted by The Jakarta Globe.

The problem, Suryadharma said, is one of perception. Intolerant acts, including terrorism, are committed by a fringe minority, he said.

“Yet, us, who are Muslims ourselves, are angry over those acts of terrorism.” Suryadharma said.

Critics took exception not with that comment, but with the minister’s insistence that religious intolerance was a non-issue in Indonesia. It’s another example of the central government’s indifference to the plight of the country’s marginalized religious minorities, said Bona Sigalingging, spokesman for the shuttered GKI Yasmin Protestant church in Bogor, West Java.

The problem would persist until those in charge, including Suryadharma, addressed the issue head-on, he said.

“In reality, the state is indifferent to, if not responsible for, the intolerant groups in various regions which spread terror and intimidation to Indonesians who are considered minorities in their respective regions,” Bona said.

Earlier this week Bona was among the GKI Yasmin and HKBP Filadelfia members forced to hold services outside the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta.

Despite repeated instances of discrimination against Christian and Muslim minority groups, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the central government has said little — or, in some instances, accepted praise and awards for commitment to religious tolerance.

“GKI Yasmin, HKBP Filadelfia, Ahmadiyah, Syiah, Penghayat, all still face discrimination and the president is silent about it.” Bona said.

The Setara Institute said that the situation on the ground improved in 2013.

“Overall there is an improvement,” said Bonar Tigor, vice chairman of the Setara Institute. “It was recorded that there were 264 cases of violations of religious freedom in 2012. In 2013, there were only 214 cases.”

But an improvement in the data does not mean the issue has ceased to exist, Bonar said.

“Although our research shows that 70 percent of Indonesians do uphold tolerance and plurality, we cannot be complacent,” he said. “There are intolerant groups in many regions which continue to intimidate minority groups and are left unaccountable by the state.”

Editing by Sudarto Murtaufiq