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Religious supremacy and our silence
However, tolerant Indonesians are the majority here, yet remain powerless and voiceless toward bigotry and intolerance.
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Public Order Agnecy (Satpol PP) personnel stay on guard in front of Al-Hidayah mosque on Jl Muchtar Raya in Sawangan, Depok, West Java, on Friday. The Depok administration sealed the mosque, which had been used by congregations of the minority Ahmadiyah faith. (JP/Bagas Rahadian)
I
t was inspiring to see thousands of people staging vigils and peaceful rallies in Charlottesville in the United States to pay tribute to those killed during the violence instigated by white supremacists on Aug.12th in the Virginian city. One day after the deadly riot, reports said 500 rallies were planned across the US.
Despite US President Donald Trump’s display of indecisiveness, the outraged American public clearly and loudly denounced the act of white supremacy, together affirming that bigotry and racism are against American values.
By contrast, in a country dubbed the world’s third-largest democracy, religious supremacism, bigotry and persecution are left almost unchallenged. The spirit of collectively condemning religious supremacism does not exist in Indonesia, a nation claiming to be harmonious amid ethnic and cultural diversity. In fact, most Indonesians stay silent, if not fearful, of ultra-conservative groups aiming to enforce their beliefs on others.
Putra Mario Alfian, a 15-year old boy from Tangerang, Banten, was abused by a number of people in May after posting a Facebook status and image deemed offensive to Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab. After being forced to make a written apology to the leader, he and his family were eventually forced out of their rented house by the landlord.
