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span class="caption" style="width: 331px;">Wise words: Maarif Institute is a journal published quarterly by the Maarif Institute for Culture and Humanity to promote tolerance, democracy and human rights. (JP)Fajar Riza Ul-Haq, the executive director of the Maarif Institute for Culture and Humanity, says that Indonesia was built on the principle of pluralism, giving people of all creeds equal rights.

This principle, however, has been in jeopardy. Over the past 10 years, Fajar said, Indonesia has been slowly doing away with pluralism and has turned more sectarian and exclusive.

The persecution of Ahmadis and Shiites, he said, was proof that religious intolerance was on the rise in the Muslim-majority nation.

Fajar said that his organization attempted to counter that trend, which he described as no easy task. 'More Islamists emerged at the end of the New Order regime. Their presence has caused our society to become more religiously conservative.'

'Soeharto repressed Muslim radicals. In the Reform era, the government no longer represses them. This has caused an explosion of radicalism,' Fajar added.

The Maarif Institute was established in 2003, named after former Muhammadiyah chairman Syafii Maarif, who received the prestigious Magsaysay Award in 2008 for promoting tolerance and pluralism among Muslims.

The organization has been actively promoting numerous public education programs and dialogues aimed at establishing good civil society. 'In 2007 and 2009, we cooperated with Muhammadiyah and state schools to incorporate a human rights perspective in Islamic religious and civic education. We want to help teachers and students comprehend the principles of human rights,' Fajar said. 'We also have conducted discussions to fight radicalism with critical thinking,' Fajar added.

The organization, which has been labeled as 'liberal', has faced many challenges in carrying out its mission, Fajar said. 'Once an association of Muslim students reported us to the MUI [Indonesian Ulema Council], accusing us of being a liberal organization that promotes pluralism, which is forbidden by the MUI.'

In 2005, the MUI issued an edict banning pluralism, liberalism and secularism. The edict drew protests from liberal Muslims, mainly those in the Liberal Islam Network (JIL) then led by Democratic Party politician Ulil Abshar Abdalla.

'The word liberal has taken on a negative connotation within the context of Islam. This is caused by the fundamentalist Muslim's resentment of the JIL, which takes a confrontational approach in reforming Islam,' Fajar said. 'Before the JIL was formed, Muslims did not make such a fuss about liberalism and pluralism,' Fajar said.

Political analyst Hamdi Muluk said that the nation needed more organizations like the Maarif Institute to curb the rise of radical Islamists. 'But aside from public education, we also need to improve people's economic welfare to combat radicalism, because poverty makes it easier for politicians to exploit people using radical ideologies,' Hamdi said.

Ahmad Syafii Maarif, one of the founders of the Maarif Institute, said that he wished the organization could accelerate the development of impartial justice in Indonesia.

'The institute's programs should be consistent with the Prophet Muhammad's mission to spread grace to all mankind regardless of their religious identity,' Maarif said. (ogi)