T

he Religious Affairs Ministry has warned television and radio stations to be mindful when hiring religious preachers amid concerns that radical teachings are gaining ground in the public sphere.

The ministry’s secretary-general, Nur Syam, said on Thursday that TV and radio stations should not take part in spreading radicalism by inviting people, such as preachers or other religious figures, who were known to hold radical views.

“We’re disappointed that some people who may be labeled radical by the public are given airtime on television or radio stations as hosts or guests. [TV and radio stations] should pay attention to this,” Nur said. He did not mention any specific individuals as radical preachers.

The official was speaking to members of the House of Representatives special committee as part of the deliberation of the terrorism bill, which aims to strengthen the government’s efforts to curb extremist ideologies.

Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population, has seen rising religious intolerance and has been hit by a series of deadly terrorist attacks carried out by local militants linked to violent terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) group.

Nur said his ministry could not do much to address the matter except remind and advise the Communications and Information Ministry and Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) to closely monitor television and radio content because they had the final say on handing out sanctions.

He suggested that the KPI and Communications and Information Ministry should have an accurate database of people who had been indicated to have radical religious views or proven to have radical
networks and then order media outlets not to invite those people onto their programs.

Recently, a Batam-based radio station, Hang FM, made headlines in Indonesian and Singaporean media after Singaporean authorities claimed it had radicalized two of its citizens, who were arrested under the nation’s Internal Security Act for allegedly trying to join IS in Syria.

The two citizens allegedly became interested in armed jihad and IS after listening to Hang FM between 2009 and 2010. The radio station has strongly denied the allegations, saying that they are only trying to propagate Islam.

The KPI, which questioned the radio station, said that Hang FM had changed the tone of its religious messages in 2014.

KPI commissioner Mayong Suryo Laksono said his office had always been vigilant. “We already follow the Broadcasting Law. Religious programs which violate the diversity principles will receive sanctions, from warnings to temporary bans of programs.”

He added that three weeks ago the KPI warned TVOne for airing a Damai Indonesiaku program that featured a dialogue between a preacher and his followers about whether it was halal or haram (forbidden or allowed by Islamic Law) for a non-Muslim to lead Muslim majority electorates.

National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian, previously the chairman of the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), has said that terrorists were now using sophisticated technologies to spread their extremist views. The younger generation, he said, was the most vulnerable target. “Thus we should make more of an effort to implement preventive measures.”

Lawmaker Martin Hutabarat of the Gerindra Party said that the Religious Affairs Ministry should be leading the monitoring of religious broadcasts because it was more neutral than any other institution.

“It should focus on other religions as well, not just Islamic radicalism. Because radical ideologies don’t
always come from one religion,” Martin said.

To step up efforts to curb radicalism, the ministry has inserted tolerance values into Islamic religious education since 2015. It has deployed 30 instructors to train teachers how to teach tolerance in classrooms.