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View all search resultsTime for humankind to create new reality
If Indonesia rises to the challenge and establishes credibility at home, as a place where people of all faiths and none are able to live peacefully together, it can become a torchbearer of tolerance on the world stage.
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Going sharia: A man stands in front of officers before being caned for gambling outside Al Munawaroh Mosque in Jantho, Aceh Besar regency, Aceh, on Friday. Despite being Buddhist, two people who were recently caught participating in cockfighting opted for caning as punishment instead of facing criminal charges. (Antara/Ampelsa)
D
onald Trump had barely spent a month in the White House when his administration began translating his divisive campaign rhetoric into policy.
Targeting people for their faith, his administration issued executive orders banning the entry of citizens from half a dozen Muslim majority countries.
At a stroke of a pen, by curbing travel from countries which suffer war and strife and shutting down the United States refugee resettlement program, the US imperiled its storied tradition of welcoming refugees from across the world.
Mercifully, there are those who refuse to capitulate to fearmongering politicians. Both of Trump’s executive orders were suspended by courts, against the backdrop of large demonstrations across the US.
In the Netherlands, more recently, Geert Wilders, another supporter of banning Muslims, was denied victory at the general elections, though worryingly the ruling party chose to adopt some of his rhetoric.
These developments hint at what’s possible when people are not afraid to stand against religious intolerance, but there are no grounds for complacency.
In Hungary, Viktor Orban’s brand of populism has become increasingly poisonous. After losing an anti-refugee referendum last year, his government is pressing ahead with plans to force mostly Muslim migrants and refugees into container camps, secluded by razor wire, to create ghettoes with worrisome echoes in European history.
