Indonesia celebrated for diversity, but minority faiths discriminated against

Soldiers file past a burned out Ahmadiyah mosque in Java,
Indonesia.

Indonesia is often heralded for its pluralism by Western leaders as a nation showing other Muslim-majority states how to do moderate Islam. It is, we are told, a land of peace and pluralism. One pundit, in today's Jakarta Globe says otherwise.

Calvin Michel Sidjaja, a researcher for HD Asia Advisory in Jakarta, calls Indonesia's pluralism "questionable."

Sidjaja alleges that religious violence has increased due to bias at Government levels. The Religious Affairs Ministry, he says, "has been traditionally slanted to favor Muslims. The Religious Affairs Minister openly stated his preference for disbanding Ahmadiyah in August 2010."
The Jakarta Post reported in 2011 that at least 26 regencies and municipalities had "passed bylaws restricting or banning the Ahmadiyah sect." The Ahmadiyah faith was founded in India during the 19th century, and inspired by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad who claimed to be the Mahdi or final messenger of Islam.

"The absence of conflict does not mean our nation is peaceful;" says Sidjaja, "it is, in fact, a negative peace. Conflict is still likely in this nation of ours where oppression still continues."

Although it is possible to leave the religious denomination section blank, Indonesians are requested to specify that they belong to one of six officially recognized religions. And, as Sidjaja notes, creates problems, since "the religions of the world are not limited to these six. There are many world religions and faith systems such as Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Paganism and countless indigenous religions that remain unrecognized by the government. Atheism and agnosticism are not allowed, either. To be irreligious or secularist is to be an infidel."

Leaving black the space for religious affiliation means that the citizen gives away the fact that he is a member of a despised class. In the Lebanon state ID also included religious affiliation -- and was used by the warring factions in the civil war to identify members of the religion they were fighting. This meant that citizens could be murdered at the whim of militias.

Sidjaja calls "The open discrimination toward Ahmadis, Baduys or members of any faith outside the six official religions is a serious violation of basic human rights. Public officials should watch their words when commenting about their distaste toward other faiths as they could be charged on the basis of violating laws."

"The sad picture of human rights is ironic as Indonesia constantly appears in headlines as a model example of how Islam and democracy can work together. Despite being the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia is not an Islamic nation."

You can read the whole opinion piece here.