Indonesian religious minorities hope for tolerance, safety under Jokowi

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While there is optimism about the new government's approach, there also is scepticism in a country with a poor record on protecting minorities.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
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By Agence France-Presse | February 14, 2015

The Ahmadiyya sect sees promise in the Jokowi administration's commitment to defeating religious intolerance.

Indonesian Ahmadis are no strangers to persecution. Attacks and discrimination against them are rife, but Iskandar Gumay hopes that things for the minority Muslim sect will improve under Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, Indonesia's new president.

 The cleric has witnessed attempts to torch his mosque and seen worshippers elsewhere prevented from burying their dead. Yet Iskandar sees a draft law that aims to protect all religions as evidence of Jokowi's commitment to tackling intolerance in Indonesia.

Indonesia has seen its image as tolerant and pluralistic suffer from a spike in religious violence. Apart from Ahmadis, minority Shiites and Christians have been targeted.

The constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Six faiths are officially recognised: Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism.

But this has not stopped attacks, and Ahmadis in particular have been targeted by hard-line groups who oppose the sect's belief that a lesser prophet followed Mohammad.

Iskandar says Ahmadis are sometimes denied ID cards. His sister was refused a marriage certificate because authorities claimed she was not a Muslim, he said.

His fellow Ahmadis just west of Jakarta have faced much worse, as three adherents were brutally murdered by a mob in 2011 as police stood by.

Iskandar says Jokowi faces a challenge addressing this scourge, yet he is confident that the president, who has pledged to defend religious minorities, is up to the task.

"If the spirit of Jokowi ... comes down through the government to the people, I think things will get better," he said.

The new legislation, expected to go before parliament in April, is an ambitious step toward bolstering protection.

The bill, which is still being drafted, would guarantee religious minorities protection from persecution, said Abdurrahman Mas'ud, head of research in the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

The draft legislation would outlaw the destruction of houses of worship and aim to offer protection to all minorities, not just to those whose religions are recognised under the constitution.

Progressive ministers

The law is being pushed by new Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin , who has been praised for his progressive attitude.

In another move that won praise, the new government recently ended the requirement for people to select one of the officially recognised religions on their ID cards, allowing them instead to put nothing.

The new approach is a stark contrast to Jokowi's predecessor, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

He was criticised for inaction against hard-line groups during his ten-year tenure and for remaining quiet as politicians rammed through changes that activists claimed were a backward step for religious freedom.

Strict new approval processes for houses of worship ushered in in 2006 prompted hundreds of church closures , while another ministerial decree two years later that outlawed the spread of Ahmadiyya teachings prompted an increase in attacks against the sect.

The courts meanwhile took a soft approach to perpetrators of religious violence, with the accused often given light sentences or going unprosecuted altogether.

Twelve men charged with beating three Ahmadis to death in 2011 were given sentences of three to six months, despite the entire grisly incident being captured on video and widely circulated.

Persecution has continued in recent years, with regular reports of minority Muslims and Christians being targeted.

While there is optimism about the new government's approach, there also is scepticism in a country with a poor record on protecting minorities.

Even if the law gets through parliament, some are concerned that local authorities may continue to pass discriminatory bylaws that enable persecution.

Others question Jokowi's long-term commitment to helping minorities.

"With the focus on economic development, ideas that are important in the long term, like religious freedom and human rights, will be put on the back burner by the Jokowi government," said Tobias Basuki, from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.


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