Followers of Ahmadiyah and Shia have been the targets of violent attacks because of their faith. Christians, the largest religious minority group, have felt the heat also, with many being prevented from building houses of worship. In almost all instances of religious intolerance, Muslims or those professing to act for Islam are the culprits.
Source/Credit: The Jakarta Post
By Editorial | Excerpt | July 20, 2011
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Indonesia may be the country with the world’s largest Muslim population, but it is not an Islamic state. The state has no final say in matters of faith. Even the fatwa of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) are not binding. Everyone is free to believe what they want to believe. And with NU, Muhammadiyah, and other organizations and sects (and we can throw in Ahmadiyah and Shia), people have a choice about which one they want to follow. Everybody, including the state, must respect individual choices.
The debate about the start and end of Ramadhan is a reflection of the plurality of Islam in Indonesia, while the respect that people extend to the choices of others underpins the freedom that religious adherents in this country enjoy, as they rightly should.
Celebrating pluralism this Ramadhan would be particularly timely since there have been signs of late of rising intolerance among people of different religions.
Followers of Ahmadiyah and Shia have been the targets of violent attacks because of their faith. Christians, the largest religious minority group, have felt the heat also, with many being prevented from building houses of worship. In almost all instances of religious intolerance, Muslims or those professing to act for Islam are the culprits.
This year’s Ramadhan would therefore be a good time for Muslims, who make up about 88 percent of the Indonesian population, to reflect on the events of the past year. Religious intolerance does not define Islam, and every decent Muslim must fight this.
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Read original post here: Editorial: Feting pluralism in Ramadhan
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