I

n spite of the recent public condemnation of violent raids in Makassar, South Sulawesi, and Kendal, Central Java, the firebrand group Islam Defenders Front (FPI) will remain a feature of the country'€™s political life, with no major political parties prepared to curb the hard-line organization.

Almost all political parties, except for the United Development Party (PPP), which is chaired by Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, have issued condemnations of the role of the FPI in the fatal clash in Kendal, which left a pregnant resident, Tri Muniarti, dead.

But when pressed about what to do next with the organization, three major political parties, the ruling Democratic Party, the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) maintained that it was up to the National Police and the Home Ministry to deal with it.

After calling for the disbandment of the FPI '€” following a statement from FPI chairman Rizieq Shihab calling President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono a '€œloser'€ '€” Democratic Party lawmaker Ruhut Sitompul said that Yudhoyono, who is also chairman of the party, would make no efforts to outlaw the FPI, in spite of their violent activities.

Ruhut said that Yudhoyono respected the law by not disbanding the FPI. '€œI must emphasize that Pak SBY will not disband the FPI. We live in a country where the law and the Pancasila ideology must be upheld. Therefore, we must fully trust law enforcers to strictly enforce the law against violators,'€ he said.

Senior politician of the Democratic Party Melanie Leimena Suharly meanwhile said that '€œthe President will likely take action if he gets support from all elements, especially the country'€™s largest Islamic groups Nahdatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah because he [Yudhoyono] doesn'€™t want to break the law'€.

Such a tepid stance against the FPI has also been adopted by other political parties.

Golkar Party secretary-general Idrus Marham said action against the FPI could only be based on the law.

'€œI know this sounds normative, but the fact is that Indonesia is a law-based state. The law should govern all aspects of life in this country. Law enforcers, including the police, are responsible for ensuring that everybody, including members of the FPI, abide by the law. So it should be the police who lead the charge against the FPI,'€ Idrus told The Jakarta Post.

PDI-P secretary-general Tjahjo Kumolo said that what the party could do was call on the police to take concrete action against the FPI.

'€œThe police, for example, should have no excuse but to follow up on the President'€™s instruction to enforce the law against members of the FPI who commit violence. Simultaneously, the Home Ministry must implement the [newly endorsed] Law on Mass Organizations to crack down on the organization,'€ Tjahjo told the Post.

Leader of the PPP faction at the House, Hasrul Azwar, however, defended the FPI.

He said the FPI could not be faulted for its actions because its members were fighting for the country'€™s morality. '€œThe FPI would not take over the role of the police if the police, as well as the government, were capable of enforcing the law on morality.'€

Hasrul said the PPP encouraged FPI to resort to '€œmore peaceful means'€ to promote their values.

The FPI was officially established in August 1998 in Jakarta by a number of local religious figures and Muslim activists. The group has been associated with violence as its members have frequently conducted regular raids and sweeps in places deemed to be promoting blasphemy or immorality, with the authorities rarely taking action against the body.

Leaders of the FPI decided to suspend the organization in November 2002 after the Jakarta Police detained chairman Habib Riziqie over a number of illegal raids by his followers. The suspension only lasted for a month as the group resumed operations later that December.