08.47
Unknown
By: Franz Magnis-Suseno SJ
(Note: Father Franz Magnis-Suseno SJ, a German born Jesuit Priest and since long Indonesian citizen, professor for philosophy at Driyarkara School of Philosophy and Universitas Indonesia in Jakarta, was member of Delegation by the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia who visited Washington DC March 26-30, 2001; the following points are the gist of what he wanted to convey; they are his personal opinions and have been sanctioned by the delegation or Minister of Religious Affairs).
These conflicts have already left their scars in religious communities. Many Christians ask themselves about their future in Indonesia. The existence of hard-line groups that sometime resort to violence (especially against "sinful places" like gambling-dens, but in some instances also against Christian institutions that are said to be engaging in "christianization") like Fron Pembela Islam (Front of the Defense of Islam) and especially the Lasykar Jihad - whose actions have, up to now, never been checked by police or the judiciary while the government keeps silent - add to this atmosphere of apprehension. Hard-line Islamic publications openly voice extremely sectarian views, often directly alluding to Christians. There has been a, in my view, unfortunate tendency to religious segregation. F.i. since, more that 10 years ago, the (National) Council of the Islamic Community (MUI) promulgated a fatwa that Muslims should refrain from expressing Christmas greetings to Christians. Since then, a whole tradition of grass root level inter religious contacts has dried up. I heard Muslim friends express their dismay at the fact that at school the teacher of religion told the children not to have contacts with non-Muslim and Chinese children.
The destruction of Churches, in some instances in pogrom like ways, still happens. An ongoing complaint of Christians is that, because of a Government decree from 1970 stipulating that religious buildings can only be erected if the local religious (majority) community does not object to, it is extremely difficult to build churches on Java and Sumatra even when there clearly does exist a big Christian community needing a church. I do not have data whether similar complaints are voiced by Muslim communities in Christian regions.
Thus there is reason to worry. But precisely in order to get a balanced image of the situation, it is necessary to put these fact into perspective. It has been stated that there have never been as much attacks on churches than during the president ships of Mr. Habibie and Mr. Abdurrachman Wahid.. But this statement has to be qualified. If one disregards the churches that have been destroyed during the still ongoing interreligious wars in the Mollukkas and in and around Poso (where also mosques have been destroyed), then the number of attacks on churches has in fact sharply declined during the last two years.
Religious life of the Christian communities on Jawa, Sumatra, South-Sulawesi and other Muslim regions of Indonesia goes on as usual without any hindrance. There is freedom of worship, freedom of religious instruction, freedom to baptize and of becoming a Christian (or Muslim). Church bells are ringing out at liturgical hours every day in churches on Jawa.
Although since long being Christian is not an advantage if one wants to make a carrier in Government of as state employee, Christians are not discriminated against and there are Christians in the Government, in state administration, as professors at state universities, ini the military and in many other places. I believe that in case of a Government with stronger Muslim orientation this would not change.
To sum up: Today Christians are under pressure in Indonesia, this pressure has grown during the last ten years, there is reason for worrying. But religious freedom as enshrined in the Constitution of 1945 is still a fact in Indonesia, There is freedom of worship, freedom to change one's religion and there is, with occasional exceptions, no discrimination against Christians. Christians can openly show their Christian belief.
2. Social background
Why has inter-religious violence increased so much in Indonesia during the last years? Here I shall not enter into the complex and brutality that obtains in Indonesian society today. This general proneness to violence has two characteristics. (1) Small frictions, misunderstandings or confrontation easily evoke violent reactions, physical fighting, using weapons. (2) These fight easily take on a communal character: the involved individuals involve their kampungs (neighborhoods), villages, schools a.s.o. If there is a fight between a extortionist and a taxi driver and the one is a Muslim and the other a Christian (as happened on Ambon), it may always become a war between these religions (or tribes). In Jakarta there are neighborhoods regularly fighting each other, villages on Jawa are warring every two months with some deaths while they are of the same tribe, the same religion, the same social strata.
One can only speculate about the deeper reasons for this climate of communal violence. Under President Suharto people were not allowed to voice their grievances, they often felt as "victim of development", f.i. because they were driven from their land in favor of a government project, with insufficient compensation which in turn often still evaporated before reaching the people. Complaining would have exposed them to being accused of being communists. Thus they had to accept and be silent. Communal conflicts too were silenced. Thus people got disappointed, felt isolated and abused, and their anger grew. After the democratic opening after the fall of Suharto their anger burst to the surface. At the same time, all injustices from more than 30 years were now remembered. Besides, rapid modernization with its breaking down of traditional social structures makes a plural society unstable. In other words, we have just begun to realize how big the task is to unite such a number of different social component within the boundaries of a national state, in such way, that they all feel at home, evolve a positive commitment and are reconfirmed in their respective social identities.
3. Christian Muslim relations
Thus in my opinion, the background for ongoing conflicts among religious communities in Indonesia should not, in the first place, be looked for within these communities. They are first of all one of the expressions of the phenomena of general social disintegrative tendencies of Indonesian society.
Only after this has been stated it must be added, that there have always existed deep suspicions and prejudices between the Christian and Muslim communities. We have a very difficult common history together which entered our collective identities, a history of crusades and colonialism, of Arab invasions (remember the song of Roland) and 300 years of threat by the Turks. Muslim in Indonesia are suspicious about Christian intentions since Christianity came with the colonialists. These suspicions have been reinforced by reckless proselytizing by certain Christian sects. Christians, on the other hand, are suspicious that Muslims, should they come to power, would restrict their religious freedoms. If conflicts break out, regardless from what causes, or if they are provoked from outside parties with certain political intentional, they may feed on these suspicions and prejudices.
Thus, religious sensitivities form a constant danger to religious harmony and practical tolerance.
4. The attitude of the Indonesian Government
As all previous Indonesian Governments, the Government of K.H. Abdurrachman Wahid is firmly committed to upholding religious freedom according to the state values of Pancasila and the Constitution. As regards the President himself - whom I happen to know very well since more than 20 years - there can be no doubt about his deep rooted commitment to openness in religious affairs and to a secular, non-Islamic state. Since many years he is the Muslim cleric spreading "the gospel" of religious tolerance, openness and the separation between religion and state. Christians fully trust him.
The same commitment cannot be doubted of Ms. Megawati Sukarnoputri, our Vice President. But from personal knowledge and observation I am convinced that also the other most prominent political personalities of today's Indonesia - they happen to be "Islamist" in the same way as President Abdurrachman Wahid, meaning that they come from strongly Muslim oriented environments - are committed to religious freedom.
In the mean time, radical Muslim elements, but also political parties representing about 13 percent of the electorate, have demanded the introduction of syariah law for the Muslim community. The repeated assurance that the syariah is "safe for non Muslims" does not asure most of us, including myself. But in the opinion of many knowing Indonesians the introduction of syariah has no chance at the present time. Both Megawati's PDI-P (33%), Golkar (22%), Abdurrachman Wahid's PKB (10%) and Amien Rais' PAN (7%) have rejected syariah.
This does not mean that everything is oke. The powers of the Government to not always extend down to real life. Some problems Christian encounter I have already mentioned: The difficulty in building churches. Especially worrying is the fact that not a single case of vandalizing of Churches has, to my knowledge, even been brought to court. If religious buildings are attacked by mobs, security forces will, as a rule, stand by and do nothing while afterwards the rebuilding of the destroyed facilities may meet with bureaucratic obstacles. But it must be said, that this unwillingness of inability of the securityforces shows in all cases where mobs on the rampage.
Thus while there can be no doubt about the commitment of the Government to religious freedom, its ability or willingness to guarantee this freedom on the level of every day life against acts of violence cannot be taken for granted.
I want to point out a very positive fact (which is seldom given attention too, also in Indonesia), namely that the quasi-war between Christian and Muslims - where, in fact, both sides now regard themselves as the victims of violence from the other side - has not been used for political gain by the political elite in Jakarta, the political parties a.s.o. In other word, the political elite has resisted the temptation to use these tragic conflicts in a sectarian way.
Thus inter religious conflict is not unavoidable. The overwhelming majority of Indonesians of every creed, including their formal and informal leaders, want peace and tolerance. But in order to achieve this, reconciliation is not enough (and reconciliation is, of course, only necessary where there is an open conflict between religious communities, thus not in Indonesia in general). The underlying causes have to be addressed. First of all the condition of our Indonesian society in general into which I do not enter here.
But also problems between the religious communities have to be addressed. Christians would insist on their right of building churches where there is a community. The resp. majority community can rightly expect that churches are not built in a provocative, insensitive way (f.i. a luxurious church in the midst of poor Muslim neighborhood). Muslim would insist that the question of "christianization" (Christians would say: proselytism) is taken up. Muslims have since long demanded regulations regarding religious preaching, which Christian up to now have categorically rejected because, in view of the misuse of the decree on building permits for religious buildings, they are afraid that such regulations would be used to rescind religious freedom. I share this fear. But I am also of the opinion that religious freedom cannot be understood completely out of the social-cultural context of its application. In my opinion religious freedom does not give the right to actively approach members of another religion in order to persuade them to become Christians, still more so if these people are offered kinds of rewards (I may point out that the Catholic Church has outlined, in my opinion very convincingly, both the essence of religious freedom and its necessary limitations during the second Vatican Council [Dignitatis Humanae 4., Ad Gentes 13.]). Thus if the question of the right to build churches could be satisfactorily resolved, an understanding with the Indonesian Catholic Church and the greater Protestant Churches on how not to preach the gospel should be possible too.
5. Some final remarks
What would I hope from "the United States of America" (please excuse this general expression)? Since Indonesia is in the midst of her greatest crisis since her beginning 55 years ago, she should be given the greatest possible assistance in developing democracy. In my opinion Indonesia either succeeds in become a viable democracy, or she will disintegrate, with disastrous consequences, also internationally. America should show great patience with Indonesia because it will take Indonesia a lot of muddling through, and any rush or black-white policies or too perfectionist demands will kill her.
America should not be silent about violations of human rights, but should make a distinction between gross violations of human rights and others. America should patiently insist that Indonesia keeps her commitment to religious freedom and tolerance, knowing that this commitment is shared by at least 90% of the Indonesian people.
America should be balanced in her judgements. Especially she should avoid an anti-Islam bias (which is prominent in many Western media), not only because bias is not conducive to understanding the real issues, but because giving the impression of a pro Christian bias would be counter productive for Christians in Indonesia (when the conflict in Ambon and the Molukkas began, there was some misconception on the West that this was a case of prosecution of Christians by Muslims, although [up to this day] there are about four times more Muslim refugees, mostly migrants from South Sulawesi, than Christian refugees; in fact, both sides have committed terrible crimes)
(Note: Father Franz Magnis-Suseno SJ, a German born Jesuit Priest and since long Indonesian citizen, professor for philosophy at Driyarkara School of Philosophy and Universitas Indonesia in Jakarta, was member of Delegation by the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia who visited Washington DC March 26-30, 2001; the following points are the gist of what he wanted to convey; they are his personal opinions and have been sanctioned by the delegation or Minister of Religious Affairs).
During the last ten years instances of inter-religious violence, destruction of religious building and other acts of religious intolerance have been steadily on the increase in Indonesia, climaxing in the still ongoing physical conflict between Christians and Muslims in and around Ambon, the Northern Molukkas and Poso in the Central part of the island of Sulawesi. In this paper I (1) present part of the actual situation of interreligious relation at the present, (2) point out what I perceive as general social background, (3) enter specifically into Christian - Muslim relations and (4) the attitude of the Indonesian Government, pointing out some positive development, and (5) add some final remarks.
1. The actual situation
Most of the conflicts in the Molukkas, on Sulawesi and otherwise have complex social, political, economic and cultural causes. The disturbing fact is that these conflicts tend to become simplified to a confrontation between Christians and Muslims. Thereby, religious hatred can grow and develop its own momentum. Add existing suspicions and prejudices between religious communities and new outbreaks of conflict can be easily provoked by (politically and otherwise) interested parties.
These conflicts have already left their scars in religious communities. Many Christians ask themselves about their future in Indonesia. The existence of hard-line groups that sometime resort to violence (especially against "sinful places" like gambling-dens, but in some instances also against Christian institutions that are said to be engaging in "christianization") like Fron Pembela Islam (Front of the Defense of Islam) and especially the Lasykar Jihad - whose actions have, up to now, never been checked by police or the judiciary while the government keeps silent - add to this atmosphere of apprehension. Hard-line Islamic publications openly voice extremely sectarian views, often directly alluding to Christians. There has been a, in my view, unfortunate tendency to religious segregation. F.i. since, more that 10 years ago, the (National) Council of the Islamic Community (MUI) promulgated a fatwa that Muslims should refrain from expressing Christmas greetings to Christians. Since then, a whole tradition of grass root level inter religious contacts has dried up. I heard Muslim friends express their dismay at the fact that at school the teacher of religion told the children not to have contacts with non-Muslim and Chinese children.
The destruction of Churches, in some instances in pogrom like ways, still happens. An ongoing complaint of Christians is that, because of a Government decree from 1970 stipulating that religious buildings can only be erected if the local religious (majority) community does not object to, it is extremely difficult to build churches on Java and Sumatra even when there clearly does exist a big Christian community needing a church. I do not have data whether similar complaints are voiced by Muslim communities in Christian regions.
Thus there is reason to worry. But precisely in order to get a balanced image of the situation, it is necessary to put these fact into perspective. It has been stated that there have never been as much attacks on churches than during the president ships of Mr. Habibie and Mr. Abdurrachman Wahid.. But this statement has to be qualified. If one disregards the churches that have been destroyed during the still ongoing interreligious wars in the Mollukkas and in and around Poso (where also mosques have been destroyed), then the number of attacks on churches has in fact sharply declined during the last two years.
Religious life of the Christian communities on Jawa, Sumatra, South-Sulawesi and other Muslim regions of Indonesia goes on as usual without any hindrance. There is freedom of worship, freedom of religious instruction, freedom to baptize and of becoming a Christian (or Muslim). Church bells are ringing out at liturgical hours every day in churches on Jawa.
Although since long being Christian is not an advantage if one wants to make a carrier in Government of as state employee, Christians are not discriminated against and there are Christians in the Government, in state administration, as professors at state universities, ini the military and in many other places. I believe that in case of a Government with stronger Muslim orientation this would not change.
To sum up: Today Christians are under pressure in Indonesia, this pressure has grown during the last ten years, there is reason for worrying. But religious freedom as enshrined in the Constitution of 1945 is still a fact in Indonesia, There is freedom of worship, freedom to change one's religion and there is, with occasional exceptions, no discrimination against Christians. Christians can openly show their Christian belief.
2. Social background
Why has inter-religious violence increased so much in Indonesia during the last years? Here I shall not enter into the complex and brutality that obtains in Indonesian society today. This general proneness to violence has two characteristics. (1) Small frictions, misunderstandings or confrontation easily evoke violent reactions, physical fighting, using weapons. (2) These fight easily take on a communal character: the involved individuals involve their kampungs (neighborhoods), villages, schools a.s.o. If there is a fight between a extortionist and a taxi driver and the one is a Muslim and the other a Christian (as happened on Ambon), it may always become a war between these religions (or tribes). In Jakarta there are neighborhoods regularly fighting each other, villages on Jawa are warring every two months with some deaths while they are of the same tribe, the same religion, the same social strata.
One can only speculate about the deeper reasons for this climate of communal violence. Under President Suharto people were not allowed to voice their grievances, they often felt as "victim of development", f.i. because they were driven from their land in favor of a government project, with insufficient compensation which in turn often still evaporated before reaching the people. Complaining would have exposed them to being accused of being communists. Thus they had to accept and be silent. Communal conflicts too were silenced. Thus people got disappointed, felt isolated and abused, and their anger grew. After the democratic opening after the fall of Suharto their anger burst to the surface. At the same time, all injustices from more than 30 years were now remembered. Besides, rapid modernization with its breaking down of traditional social structures makes a plural society unstable. In other words, we have just begun to realize how big the task is to unite such a number of different social component within the boundaries of a national state, in such way, that they all feel at home, evolve a positive commitment and are reconfirmed in their respective social identities.
3. Christian Muslim relations
Thus in my opinion, the background for ongoing conflicts among religious communities in Indonesia should not, in the first place, be looked for within these communities. They are first of all one of the expressions of the phenomena of general social disintegrative tendencies of Indonesian society.
Only after this has been stated it must be added, that there have always existed deep suspicions and prejudices between the Christian and Muslim communities. We have a very difficult common history together which entered our collective identities, a history of crusades and colonialism, of Arab invasions (remember the song of Roland) and 300 years of threat by the Turks. Muslim in Indonesia are suspicious about Christian intentions since Christianity came with the colonialists. These suspicions have been reinforced by reckless proselytizing by certain Christian sects. Christians, on the other hand, are suspicious that Muslims, should they come to power, would restrict their religious freedoms. If conflicts break out, regardless from what causes, or if they are provoked from outside parties with certain political intentional, they may feed on these suspicions and prejudices.
Thus, religious sensitivities form a constant danger to religious harmony and practical tolerance.
4. The attitude of the Indonesian Government
As all previous Indonesian Governments, the Government of K.H. Abdurrachman Wahid is firmly committed to upholding religious freedom according to the state values of Pancasila and the Constitution. As regards the President himself - whom I happen to know very well since more than 20 years - there can be no doubt about his deep rooted commitment to openness in religious affairs and to a secular, non-Islamic state. Since many years he is the Muslim cleric spreading "the gospel" of religious tolerance, openness and the separation between religion and state. Christians fully trust him.
The same commitment cannot be doubted of Ms. Megawati Sukarnoputri, our Vice President. But from personal knowledge and observation I am convinced that also the other most prominent political personalities of today's Indonesia - they happen to be "Islamist" in the same way as President Abdurrachman Wahid, meaning that they come from strongly Muslim oriented environments - are committed to religious freedom.
In the mean time, radical Muslim elements, but also political parties representing about 13 percent of the electorate, have demanded the introduction of syariah law for the Muslim community. The repeated assurance that the syariah is "safe for non Muslims" does not asure most of us, including myself. But in the opinion of many knowing Indonesians the introduction of syariah has no chance at the present time. Both Megawati's PDI-P (33%), Golkar (22%), Abdurrachman Wahid's PKB (10%) and Amien Rais' PAN (7%) have rejected syariah.
This does not mean that everything is oke. The powers of the Government to not always extend down to real life. Some problems Christian encounter I have already mentioned: The difficulty in building churches. Especially worrying is the fact that not a single case of vandalizing of Churches has, to my knowledge, even been brought to court. If religious buildings are attacked by mobs, security forces will, as a rule, stand by and do nothing while afterwards the rebuilding of the destroyed facilities may meet with bureaucratic obstacles. But it must be said, that this unwillingness of inability of the securityforces shows in all cases where mobs on the rampage.
Thus while there can be no doubt about the commitment of the Government to religious freedom, its ability or willingness to guarantee this freedom on the level of every day life against acts of violence cannot be taken for granted.
I want to point out a very positive fact (which is seldom given attention too, also in Indonesia), namely that the quasi-war between Christian and Muslims - where, in fact, both sides now regard themselves as the victims of violence from the other side - has not been used for political gain by the political elite in Jakarta, the political parties a.s.o. In other word, the political elite has resisted the temptation to use these tragic conflicts in a sectarian way.
Thus inter religious conflict is not unavoidable. The overwhelming majority of Indonesians of every creed, including their formal and informal leaders, want peace and tolerance. But in order to achieve this, reconciliation is not enough (and reconciliation is, of course, only necessary where there is an open conflict between religious communities, thus not in Indonesia in general). The underlying causes have to be addressed. First of all the condition of our Indonesian society in general into which I do not enter here.
But also problems between the religious communities have to be addressed. Christians would insist on their right of building churches where there is a community. The resp. majority community can rightly expect that churches are not built in a provocative, insensitive way (f.i. a luxurious church in the midst of poor Muslim neighborhood). Muslim would insist that the question of "christianization" (Christians would say: proselytism) is taken up. Muslims have since long demanded regulations regarding religious preaching, which Christian up to now have categorically rejected because, in view of the misuse of the decree on building permits for religious buildings, they are afraid that such regulations would be used to rescind religious freedom. I share this fear. But I am also of the opinion that religious freedom cannot be understood completely out of the social-cultural context of its application. In my opinion religious freedom does not give the right to actively approach members of another religion in order to persuade them to become Christians, still more so if these people are offered kinds of rewards (I may point out that the Catholic Church has outlined, in my opinion very convincingly, both the essence of religious freedom and its necessary limitations during the second Vatican Council [Dignitatis Humanae 4., Ad Gentes 13.]). Thus if the question of the right to build churches could be satisfactorily resolved, an understanding with the Indonesian Catholic Church and the greater Protestant Churches on how not to preach the gospel should be possible too.
5. Some final remarks
What would I hope from "the United States of America" (please excuse this general expression)? Since Indonesia is in the midst of her greatest crisis since her beginning 55 years ago, she should be given the greatest possible assistance in developing democracy. In my opinion Indonesia either succeeds in become a viable democracy, or she will disintegrate, with disastrous consequences, also internationally. America should show great patience with Indonesia because it will take Indonesia a lot of muddling through, and any rush or black-white policies or too perfectionist demands will kill her.
America should not be silent about violations of human rights, but should make a distinction between gross violations of human rights and others. America should patiently insist that Indonesia keeps her commitment to religious freedom and tolerance, knowing that this commitment is shared by at least 90% of the Indonesian people.
America should be balanced in her judgements. Especially she should avoid an anti-Islam bias (which is prominent in many Western media), not only because bias is not conducive to understanding the real issues, but because giving the impression of a pro Christian bias would be counter productive for Christians in Indonesia (when the conflict in Ambon and the Molukkas began, there was some misconception on the West that this was a case of prosecution of Christians by Muslims, although [up to this day] there are about four times more Muslim refugees, mostly migrants from South Sulawesi, than Christian refugees; in fact, both sides have committed terrible crimes)
