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nter-religious harmony in Central Java remains elitist in nature among religious leaders and community figures, says activist.

“Consequently, religious issues could easily trigger conflict at the grassroots level as religious leaders fail to promote religious tolerance among followers,” Head of the Central Java chapter Religious Harmony Community Forum (FKUB) Abu Hafsin said in an interview with The Jakarta Post recently.

He said the recent rioting in Temanggung, Central Java, and deadly attacks on Ahmadiyah followers in Pandeglang, Banten, testified how this area was prone to communal conflicts due to the lack of tolerance.

“This has been taking place for a long time,” he said.

Abu said examples of religious tolerance could not yet be promoted widely due to a limited understanding and education at the grassroots level as many groups remained reluctant to spread the concept of pluralism.

The majority of people from the middle to low-income brackets are not ready to move toward democracy, he says, and create institutions under the name of democracy, but fail to implement these values in their daily lives.

“Consequently, religion could spark conflict within the community because those at the grassroots level are still easily provoked by religious issues,” he said.

The FKUB promotes inter-faith tolerance by organizing various activities such as inter-religious camp and discussions on ethics.

From such informal activities, Abu said, a clear understanding on other religious teachings could develop, such as the trinity concept in Catholicism.

“But the participants are still elitist figures. There is yet an exact concept to campaign for pluralism at the grassroots level,” he said.

The Ahmadiyah attack killed three sect members while the Temanggung riots left scores of churches burned and damaged, triggered by the crowd’s disappointment at the court’s verdict on a blasphemy case on Islam.

Central Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang said a number of groups were still trying to provoke the situation of the Temanggung riots.

“Rumors were around that there might by repeated rioting and that the remains of priests had been found among the ruins. When the National Police asked for confirmation on the matter, I emphasized that they were false,” he said on Monday.

He added the replacement of the Temanggung Police chief was carried out so approaching people from the grassroots level could be more intensive and effective as the new police chief was from Temanggung.

“We emphasize that we have not found indications of a particular mass organization involved in the riots, as they were purely criminal acts carried out by crowds,” he said.