T

he ghost of the Christmas Eve bombings in 2000 has begun to haunt the country yet again after the National Police’s Densus 88 counterterrorism squad arrested a number of terrorism suspects — shooting three of them dead in the process — in a series of raids aimed at preempting a suicide bombing that could have turned what should be a festive holiday for Christians into a bloodbath.

It comes as no surprise that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has ordered the police to take necessary measures to keep security and order intact during Christmas and New Year celebrations. The state’s responsibility to protect is therefore a justifiable reason for the counterterrorism operations over the last few weeks.

The police say all the terrorism plots were orchestrated from overseas by an Indonesian militant linked to the Islamic State (IS) group, 33-year-old Bahrun Naim, who reportedly has managed to breed new cells across the country via the internet.

Credit should go to the police for their extraordinary efforts to enable minority Christians to observe Christmas and the whole nation to savor the year-end holiday untroubled. Although for many, the beefing of up security has sent a wrong message that Christmas is a frightening time of year.

In Jakarta, churchgoers have been advised not to carry bags when attending Christmas services as they will undergo security checks prior to entering houses of worship, which will come under close watch by police and military personnel as well as civilian security guards.

Such a semblance of insecurity could barely unfold in the past, when a tough security approach prevailed and stability was not something the government would allow to be compromised. The democracy that we embrace, however, has opened Indonesia wide for various thoughts and aspirations, including the aborted constitutional attempts to convert Indonesia into an Islamic state given the fact that Muslims account for nearly 90 percent of its population.

Terrorists whom the National Police have been fighting clearly intend to establish a caliphate in the country by means of violence. That they have managed to recruit new members indicates a certain level of acceptance of extremist teachings within society.

Indonesia has consistently combated terrorists not only because they endanger the lives of citizens but also due to their goal of eliminating state ideology Pancasila.

The first pillar of Pancasila constitutes freedom of religion, a prerequisite for religious tolerance. But early this month a hard-line group in Bandung forced a Christian congregation to cancel a Christmas service at the Sasana Budaya Ganesha (Sabuga) and another group disrupted a Christmas choir of Padjadjaran University students at the Trans Studio Mall, also in Bandung.

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has unnecessarily helped nurture the seeds of religious intolerance, the latest being one of its fatwas that calls on employers not to force Muslim employees to wear Christmas accessories.

The state has proven its firm stance against terrorism, but it has not done enough to combat intolerance, as evinced in incidents in the run-up to Christmas this year. Due to its threat to national unity, it would not be excessive to declare intolerance a common enemy.