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EDITORIAL: Separating faith and state
His critics, unsurprisingly, have accused him of failing to understand the state philosophy Pancasila, the first principle of which is faith in God; and of failing to understand his own religion.
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Upbeat: North Sumatra Governor T. Erry Nuradi (left) welcomes President Joko (JP/Apriadi Gunawan)
D
espite having much more freedom of expression today, we still maintain a taboo topic – the separation of religion and politics. No lesser figure than the President has now broken that taboo, whether deliberately or not. As it is often our tendency to go around in circles on delicate issues, many have wondered when the unresolved, fundamental issue of the role of religion in politics should be brought up, and how. Maybe sometime later, some have thought, in cooler times.
But President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo just did that, in plain language, in Sibolga, North Sumatra, on Sunday.
Expressing what seemed to be his frustration with “minor friction” during local direct elections, he said, “Don’t let politics and religion mix [the two] should really be separate so people can know what is religion is and what is politics,” he said.
During the unveiling of a monument to Islam Nusantara (Islam in the Archipelago) in the South Tapanuli regency he praised the peaceful nature of the Batak and other ethnicities in the province who adhered to a variety of faiths. The country’s richness of over 700 ethnicities is “God’s gift”, which we must nurture, he said.
Many commentators have rejected his plea, with some accusing Jokowi of slyly maneuvering in favor of Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, the incumbent governor of Jakarta, who is on trial for blasphemy, ahead of the April 19 runoff round of the Jakarta gubernatorial election.
Jokowi and his aides may still try to clarify his remarks – but the Pandora’s Box is now wide open.
We support the President’s statement, understanding that he meant that we should all avoid politicizing religion. His critics, unsurprisingly, have accused him of failing to understand the state philosophy Pancasila, the first principle of which is faith in God; and of failing to understand his own religion.
