Editorial: A mob country

Wed, 06/11/2008 10:37 AM  |  Opinion

The government finally issued a decision on Ahmadiyah, imposing restrictions on the leaders and followers of the minority Islamic sect. A decree issued Monday essentially warned Ahmadiyah against portraying itself as Islamic as long as it recognizes its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, as the last prophet instead of Muhammad, as mainstream Islam believes.

Signed by the home and religious affairs ministers and the attorney general, the ruling falls short of the ban sought by conservative Islamic groups. But the government still threatens Ahmadiyah leaders and followers with legal prosecution if they continue with their religious activities. It does not say what laws they would be accused of violating, but the police would likely resort to blasphemy, tarnishing religion or causing public unrest and disorder.

Leaving the substance (and confusion) of the decree aside for now, what is most disturbing about this episode is the chain of events on Monday that led to this decision.

It started with a massive demonstration in the streets of Jakarta by conservative Islamic groups demanding the government ban Ahmadiyah, a sect that has its origins in India and has been in Indonesia since the 1930s, and now counts hundreds of thousands of people among its followers.

Dozens of demonstration leaders were received by presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng, and as captured on television, the "men in white robes" were not so much interested in a dialog as in imposing their views on him, shouting him down every time he tried to open his mouth to explain the government's position.

They left him with an ultimatum: ban Ahmadiyah, or else. Sure enough, a few hours later, the new decree was announced, clearly showing the government going out of its way, to the point of violating the Constitution, to try and appease the protesters.

Have we really sunk so low? Is the way to influence President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono through the power of the mob and the power of intimidation? Can a president who was elected with 62 percent of the vote in 2004 be cowed by a bunch of men in white robes whose claim of representing the people is widely in doubt?

Monday's demonstration came after the June 1 violent attack by the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) on a peaceful rally of people concerned about the loss of freedom of religion in Indonesia if the government banned Ahmadiyah. These radical groups obviously will stop at nothing to get what they want, and, unfortunately, the government just as obviously will succumb to pressure even if it means depriving a minority group of the right to practice their beliefs.

The decree, as carefully as it was worded by the government, still represents an intrusion by the state into the substance of religious teachings. By decrying the sect for portraying itself as Islamic, the government is passing judgment that Ahmadiyah's teachings are wrong. In preventing Ahmadiyah from using the name Islam, the government again is siding with conservative Islam's claim of a monopoly over the religion.

If Indonesia were an Islamic state, this would probably be acceptable. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan both have banned Ahmadiyah. But Indonesia is not an Islamic state, at least not the last time we checked. This is still by our reckoning a state in which freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution and where the state is expected to protect all citizens in practicing their beliefs.

One can also forcibly argue that preventing people from practicing their beliefs itself contravenes the Islamic principle that "there shall be no coercion in matters of faith".

The style of the decree was characteristic of President Yudhoyono: vague and subject to multiple interpretations. Admittedly the President has bought himself time to momentarily calm the tension. But sooner or later, the government has to decide clearly where it stands on the question of freedom of religion.

And most importantly, after this episode, President Yudhoyono has to come out and show that he, and not the mob, is still in charge of the country.

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