In a bid to garner as much support as possible, Prabowo-Hatta ticket has managed to secure the FPI’s backing. However, we have reasons to worry the alliance will come at a very high cost.
Source/Credit: The Jakarta Globe
By Jakarta Globe | June 2, 2014
French philosopher Michael Foucault pointed out that what emerges as dominant voice within a society is not necessarily the right one. But most Indonesian politicians seem to possess the naive belief that the Islamic Defenders Front’s brand of vigilante activism represents the voice of the country’s Muslims.
Officials seem confident that courting the hard-line organization is somehow equivalent to appeasing all Muslim voters, and thus securing the larger chance of winning over 90 percent of the country’s 240 million population — this logic is not only deeply flawed, it can also turn toxic.
For all its noise, the so-called religious organization, or FPI, has only thousands of supporters nationwide and would therefore be meaningless in a direct presidential election, which has more than 170 million registered voters.
With regard to influencing other Muslims, the notoriously violent group — known for their attacks on religious minorities — will be a huge liability. Instead of drawing support, it’s mere mention will drive away millions of moderate Muslims, minority groups and non-Islamic constituents.
In a bid to garner as much support as possible, Prabowo-Hatta ticket has managed to secure the FPI’s backing. However, we have reasons to worry the alliance will come at a very high cost.
The FPI indicated it would back Prabowo if he committed to a slew of conditions, which includes disbanding the Ahmadiyah — a minority Islamic sect — and evaluating Densus 88, the counterterrorism squad, which it accused of “murdering Muslims.”
We demand both tickets to stop glorifying radical groups by exaggerating their influence only because they shout louder than others.
Protecting the minority is the backbone principle of Indonesia. Otherwise, it’s only a matter of time before we see the demise of our country.
Read original post here: Indonesia: Loudest Voice Not Always the Right One | Jakarta Globe Editorial
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