Editorial: To ban or not to ban

Tue, 06/10/2008 10:20 AM  |  Opinion

Have sympathy for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who must be having one of those sleepless nights again as he has to make two potentially contentious rulings in the next few days. Pressures have mounted on the former general, not known for making swift decisions, to rule on whether to ban Ahmadiyah, a religious sect declared by conservative Islam as heretical, and also to ban the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), which was responsible for the attack on a peaceful interfaith rally at the National Monument (Monas) in Jakarta early this month.

It does not help his case that the two issues are related.

The FPI has been at the forefront in demanding the President implement a recommendation from a government panel to ban Ahmadiyah, to the point of making physical attacks on the group's property in many places around Indonesia. FPI leaders have justified their violent behavior at Monas on June 1, saying the rally participants who were demanding government guarantees to defend freedom of religion were essentially supporting Ahmadiyah.

Should Yudhoyono ban only one of them? Which one? Or should he ban both? Although each is its own case, how he decides has consequences on his political image and reputation. Ignoring these two competing demands is not an option, coming as they are from influential groups and public figures.

Leading the camp in calling for Ahmadiyah's ban is the conservative Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), which earlier came out with a fatwa (Islamic edict) declaring Ahmadiyah not only un-Islamic, but also a threat to Islam. This demand finds widespread support among conservative Muslims as well as radical groups like the FPI which did not hesitate to "enforce" the fatwa in the absence of government action.

Leading the other camp calling for a ban on the FPI is former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and many prominent national figures who have grown tired of the way the group always finds its way to impunity after each physical attack. The Monas violence must have come as the last straw for Gus Dur; he dispatched Banser and Ansor, militias and youth organization under the Nahdlatul Ulama Muslim organization which he once chaired, to confront the FPI in many towns in Java. In some places, this led to the local FPI branches to dissolve themselves.

It was also after a lot of public pressure that the police eventually arrested some of the FPI members involved in the Monas attack, and after more public criticism, to detain FPI leader Rizieq Shihab and declare him a suspect on multiple charges connected with the violence.

The bad news for the President is that these issues aren't likely to go away with time. The longer he delays his decisions, the louder the demands are getting. The Monas clash reminds us that the two sides might collide again as they press on with their demands. It is unlikely that they would stop their action if the President decided not to bow to pressures and ruled against banning either organization.

What about banning both of them outright?

This seems to be the obvious choice. After all, the President has the recommendation of a panel made up of representatives from the National Police, the Attorney General's Office, the ministry of religious affairs and the ministry of home affairs, as well as the MUI fatwa to ban Ahmadiyah. And police must by now have sufficient evidence of the FPI's alleged criminal acts to have the organization banned.

Not so fast, Jose. Banning any of these groups will have political consequences. With Yudhoyono facing an election a year away, outlawing Ahmadiyah or the FPI, or both, could cost him politically.

Outlawing Ahmadiyah would raise the issue of freedom of religion, which is guaranteed by the Constitution. It would also set a precedent for the government to tamper with the substance of religion, raising questions of where do you draw the line? It was bad enough that the government failed to protect Ahmadiyah from FPI attacks. A government ban on Ahmadiyah would send a signal that the state officially sanctions persecution of people on the basis of their faith. The President is committing an impeachable offense if he goes ahead and implements the recommendation.

Banning the FPI is also going to set a precedent, unless the police go through the lengthy and time consuming process. There will also be strong reactions from the conservative Islam groups, none of which seemed to be disturbed by the violence perpetrated by the FPI against a peaceful demonstration, which included children and women. Would the President dare upset conservative Islam ahead of an election year? Time will tell.

In both the Ahmadiyah and FPI cases, President Yudhoyono faces a catch-22 situation. Whether he bans them or not, it could affect his political standing. He probably needs to sleep on it a few more nights to reach a decision -- that is, if he can sleep at all.

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