T

em>The Italian Foreign Ministry and the Rome-based Sant' Egidio Community hosted a high-level conference on unity and diversity, on March 4, 2009, which highlighted the culture of coexistence in Indonesia. A number of prominent Indonesian religious leaders and scholars were invited to the discussion. The Jakarta Post's Dwi Atmanta provides the report.

The winter breeze failed to dampen the enthusiasm of some 200 scholars, religious figures and NGO activists gathered at the Italian Foreign Ministry building for the first international conference ever held on Indonesia's religious harmony, in Rome, Italy.

The topic was intriguing, as much of the public in the West, including Italy, had heard a lot about what the media had dubbed "creeping Islamization" in predominantly Muslim Indonesia.

For most people in the West, at least as Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini put it, the Indonesian model of coexistence was something "unfamiliar" as well, particularly now that they were confronting the issue of immigrants.

Frattini dubbed Indonesia "a good example and experiment" of a pluralist society, where people of different ethnicities and religions shared a room to live, and a place where respect for diversity could find fertile ground to grow.

"Indonesia embodies the added value of cultural diversity and can become the bridge between the West and Islam on the road to world peace," Frattini, who plans to visit Indonesia next year, told the conference.

The Southeast Asian country, added Frattini, had continued to prove its commitment to democracy, which helped found an open and tolerant society, despite the fact that Muslims made up the outright majority.

"Indonesia ensures respect for all religions, and this has led to a strengthening democracy," he said.

Indonesia, the third largest democracy in the world, is gearing up for legislative elections next month and the direct presidential election in July.

There have been concerns about politicization of Islam ahead of the elections, which to some extent was expressed at the conference. Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, however, dismissed the fears, citing the more than 60 years of Indonesian history that saw efforts to formalize Islamic law doomed to failure.

Hassan said the culture of coexistence was one of the pillars of the Constitution, which represented the wish of Indonesians since the birth of the nation state in 1945.

"The Constitution is a charter that sanctions separation of state and religion, and in which the rule of law and respect for human rights and minorities are the key priorities," Hassan said.

Since the reform movement in 1998, the People's Consultative Assembly have twice voted against a motion to introduce sharia law. A number of regional administrations, however, have made full use of autonomy to introduce sharia-based ordinances, almost without challenge from the central government.

Hasyim Muzadi, chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, asserted there was nothing to fear from Indonesian Muslims, as most of them shared moderate values.

"Islam in itself provides a built-in and very large room for tolerance. The NU in particular also strives to promote Islam as rahmatan lil' alamin *promoter of world peace* at international forums," Hasyim said.

He insisted Islam in Indonesia followed the cultural selectivity path, as the original cultures had already existed for centuries. The multicultural realities of Indonesia, he added, had shaped the moderate character of mainstream Islamic organizations such as NU and Muhammadiyah.

"Indonesia is a mosaic of more than 200 cultures in one country, as against the Middle East, where one culture is shared among 32 countries," he said.

While a harmonious relationship between democracy and Islam should strengthen Indonesia as a nation state, Hasyim warned that the challenge facing democracy and Islam today was to ensure they could work together to nurture a market-based economy and promote innovation, increase productivity, generate wealth and create justice.

Martinus Situmorang, head of the Indonesian Council of Bishops (KWI), also warned that international acclaim should serve as a challenge for Indonesia to prove the sustainability of religious harmony.

"We should not be carried away by this kind of euphoria, as there are problems that are not necessarily related to religion but that can spark conflicts between people of different ethnicities or religions, such as social injustice," Martinus said.

While calling on Indonesian Catholics to cherish the country's diversity as a precious gift, he urged religious leaders to refrain from practical politics.

"Tensions between faith groups will arise if religious figures exploit religion to win sympathy or support for the sake of their political or group interests," the bishop said.

"The morality and integrity of religious leaders will help tackle the challenges to our unity."

He appealed to the government to stick to the rule of law and take more steps to protect minority groups.

"If Indonesia wants to maintain its tolerant and pacifist nature, minority groups must be protected more than the majority," he said.