T

he celebrations following the Constitutional Court’s decision on Nov. 7 stipulating that native-faith followers have the same rights as those of the six major religions may be short lived as the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has rejected the idea.

“Native faiths cannot be on an equal basis with religions […]. It is clear from the 1965 presidential regulation that our nation only recognizes six religions. Aside from those six, others are not acknowledged, although they may exist,” head of the MUI advisory council, Din Syamsuddin, said on Wednesday after announcing the result of the council meeting.

The court said in its ruling that despite agama (religion) and kepercayaan (faith) being different, they were equal. However, the MUI insists that there must be different treatment, arguing that native beliefs cannot enjoy the same status as religions.

The MUI also questioned the court’s definition of the word “faith” in Article 29 of the Constitution. “[The court] must not arbitrarily make its own definition of the word kepercayaan, which is not in line with the law. If we want, we can debate that definition and find out what it really meant when the Constitution was drafted,” Din said.

“Tomorrow, MUI leaders will explain our stance to the President and the House [of Representatives], that the MUI and other Islamic organizations reject the court’s decision,” Din added.

He added that the MUI would invite the religious affairs and home ministers and lawmakers to join the MUI in its next meeting to discuss the decision further.

Din said the MUI was left with the option of a judicial review.

Muhammad Isnu, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI), said the objections from the MUI or other organizations to the court’s decision were understandable and must be respected.

“The hearings were not held quietly, there was full publicity, they were open to the public and covered widely by the media [the court] never invites interested bodies to the court, but if at any time the MUI wanted to propose itself as a relevant institution, they were free to do so,” Isnu said.

“We must respect every organization’s opinion but the government also has to obey the Constitution and the law. We can’t change them simply because some organizations have different opinions on the decision.”

According to Education and Culture Ministry data, there are about 1,200 native-faith groups with at least 12 million followers across the archipelago.

Meanwhile, most non-Islamic bodies welcomed the court’s ruling as positive progress in the state’s efforts to protect the right of all citizens to follow their faith without discrimination.

“Our native faith-believing brothers have been discriminated against for years, this court decision will guarantee their protection, and give power to law enforcers to protect and fight for them if they are attacked or discriminated against,” Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) spokesman Jerry Sumampouw said.

Ketut Parwata, secretary of Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia, agreed with the ruling, saying the decision not only protected native-faith followers but also honored their faiths.

“Religion or faith, whatever you call it, is a belief in our heart that cannot be restricted by anything. And we have to respect what they believe,” he said.

Executive secretary of the Bishops’ Conference of Indonesia’s Justice and Peace Commission, Paulus Christian Siswantoko, said if the government really wanted to accommodate the rights of native-faith followers, it had to protect them and educate those who have been rejecting them.

“Since the policy is new, there have been different reactions from society. The government must make a peaceful statement defending the native-faith followers,” he said.