Nov. 18, p8

On a wider canvas, Indonesia is intolerant of anything that is different. This intolerance, this insular thinking, manifests itself in a myriad of ways in society and in politics. It'€™s there at the root of protectionist policies '€” no land ownership by foreigners, no foreign doctors in Indonesian hospitals, Bahasa Indonesia requirements for foreign workers, tightened Temporary Stay Permit (KITAS) regulations, foreign multinationals such as Freeport that must divest more shares to Indonesians and so on and so forth.

It'€™s there in chest-thumping nationalism '€” burn those foreign fishing boats, execute those foreign drug smugglers, prosecute those British journalists, foreigners must be the main culprits for the slash-and-burn forest fires.

And it'€™s even there in eating habits. Where can we get Indonesian food? This was a question asked by a group of Indonesian senior managers after hardly a day in London on a sponsored study tour.

Your comments:

I kid you not; I have friends who think the terrorist attack in Paris was arranged by France so the country could step up its bombings against the Islamic State (IS) movement. If generations of Muslims of born, bred and educated in the EU think this way, what do you expect from Indonesian Muslims?

It seems that the cities considered the most tolerant in Indonesia are those with a majority non-Muslim population. Surely this is not just a coincidence.

AnimisticGod

For the past 1,400 years, Islam in most of its various manifestations has brainwashed and propagandized its adherents into a Muslim-superiority mindset.

This ideology, writ large over the centuries has slaughtered untold millions across the globe, and even local Muslim sects are engrossed in internecine warfare.

The brainwashing and propaganda over that period has produced individuals, mostly male with sexual insecurities, who fear women'€™s sexuality, loath those of other faiths (as per the Koran) and have a general feeling that killing others is OK.

It is also OK to lie to others, if it is considered necessary or convenient.

Couple all this with no access to learning, literature, or a need to make the local environment better, safer, cleaner or improved.

Kindness to others is utterly alien, and because of the insecurities, laughed at.

There is also no sense of conscience at work. Non-Muslims have a sense of right and wrong, but here, any action, however evil and sickening, can be justified by finding something, somewhere in the Koran.

In addition, with the low-educated, low-esteem, brain-washed individuals, it is not hard to radicalize them. Sociopathic clerics recruit and train suicide bombers, terrorists, and general cannon-fodder to suit their perversions.

Mauricegold

The intolerance in Bogor in particular and Indonesia in general is not so much a sign of '€œIslamization'€ or '€œnationalization'€, but rather a clear sign of failures in the democratic system.

Information from media is often biased and people only talk about their rights with no consideration for their own responsibilities.

The Indonesian democracy is still stuck in a feudal thinking with an elite that feel the people are for them and the people themselves just wait to serve. This ends up in populism and stagnation in reforms.

To put it in simple words, Indonesians are not intolerant, it'€™s just that they don'€™t care about anything that doesn'€™t concern themselves.

Orang Biasa

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