T

he Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has supported a recent call from Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo to allow people who do not belong to one of the six religions recognized by the state to leave the religion column on their identity cards blank.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician announced last week that adherents of faiths other than the country'€™s six official religions '€” Islam, Christianity, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism '€” may leave the religion column on their ID cards blank, after being forced for decades to fill in the column with one of the six religions.

MUI deputy chairman Ma'€™ruf Amin said on Thursday that the home minister had followed the rules by suggesting the policy, as the 2013 Civil Administration Law stipulated it as an option.

'€œIf someone adheres to a faith outside of the six, then they should leave [the column] blank but still have to register [their faith] with civil administration offices,'€ he said after a meeting to address the religion-column issue at the MUI office in Jakarta, as quoted by Antara news agency.

The council held the meeting following public controversy surrounding Tjahjo'€™s statement.

In a predominantly Muslim country with conservative views on religion, many have expressed concern that the home minister is planning to scrap the religion column on identity cards.

Despite supporting leaving the religion column blank, the council maintains that the state should not allow followers of religions and non-denominational faiths outside the recognized six to mention their faith specifically in the column. It also rebuffed the idea of scrapping the religion column altogether.

'€œA non-denominational belief is not a religion so it should not be stated in the religion column,'€ said Ma'€™ruf.

Data from the Home Ministry recorded in June showed there were a total of 295 organizations affiliated with non-state recognized religions and non-denominational faiths in the country, with more than 9.9 million followers.

Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, who recently revealed a plan to draft a new bill that would serve as legal grounds to provide protection to adherents of all religions in the country, said there was no plan to remove the religion column from identity cards.

'€œThe home minister firmly said the religion column will be maintained,'€ Lukman said on Thursday in Palembang, South Sumatra.

He argued that religion, however, was still needed as part of the identity of each citizen of the country that embraces the principle of '€œbelief in one God'€ as stipulated in the state ideology of Pancasila.

Lukman gave his assurances that the bill, which was expected to be submitted to the House of Representatives for approval by April next year, would regulate the civil rights of adherents of non-officially recognized religions, including in obtaining identity cards and birth certificates, as well as administrative processes for marriages and funerals.

'€œAll people will be covered under this bill. We will not exclude a particular religion or belief system,'€ he said when asked whether Ahmaddiyah and Shia followers would also be covered by the law.

Former Constitutional Court justice Harjono said the most important thing was that central and local administrations were able to ensure the civil rights of all citizens, regardless of religion or beliefs.

'€œWith or without the religion column, this issue can only be solved if the government ensures and fulfils the civil rights of all citizens without discrimination,'€ he said.