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Should Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia be banned?
Banning the group runs counter to the Constitution, which gives all citizens equal rights, including the right to express faith and belief.
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Against Pancasila: Female members of hardline Islamic organization Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) stage a rally to promote the establishment of an Islamic caliphate in Malang, East Java. (Kompas.com/File)
T
he government’s announcement that it would ban Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) has sparked controversy and debate. Many support the ban because the Islamic organization promotes the establishment of a caliphate, which threatens the unity of the country and Pancasila state ideology. Many others view the ban as a clear sign of the government of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s anti-Islam posture.
Although I do not agree with the idea of the global caliphate HTI promotes, I am against the banning of the group. Such a policy would be counterproductive for Indonesia’s democracy.
HTI’s visions and activities are different from those of mainstream of Indonesian Muslim organizations. The HTI envisions the formation of a khilafah (caliphate) as the universal Islamic political goal and rejects democracy. As prominent historian Azyumardi Azra stated, the HTI is very popular among the young generation, both in the Middle East and in the West.
Along with other Islamic groups, such as the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), the Indonesian Young Ulema and Intellectuals Council (MIUMI) and Wahdah Islamiyah, the HTI formed the National Movement to Safeguard the Indonesian Council of Ulema’s Fatwa (GNPF-MUI) and organized a series of rallies to demand the imprisonment of Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian of Chinese descent, for insulting Islam.
