TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Retired general’s appointment as religious affairs minister raises major doubts
Change Size
Religious Affairs Minister Fachrul Razi (JP/Donny Fernando)
P
resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has appointed retired military general Fachrul Razi as the new religious affairs minister in an apparent attempt to fight radicalism. However, activists have expressed deep concern over religious minorities being further marginalized under Fachrul's watch.
The executive director of human rights group Amnesty International Indonesia, Usman Hamid, said the decision to assign a former security officer to counter radicalism "feels wrong" on so many levels.
Instead of putting its entire focus on deradicalization efforts, Usman said the government must first restore and guarantee the right of various minority groups – including Ahmadiyah and the Fajar Nusantara Movement (Gafatar) – to practice their respective beliefs, as guaranteed under the Constitution.
The government, he further said, also had a track record of issuing policies that violated the rights of minority groups, as seen with the disbandment of Muslim organization Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) in 2017 for being against the state ideology Pancasila.
"The HTI case was proof that the government had unilaterally made a decision that appeared to violate people's basic right to public assembly," Usman said on Wednesday.
Terrorism expert Kharis Hadirin echoed Usman’s concerns, saying that the new minister, given his military background, "potentially will take repressive measures against marginalized religious groups".
Kharis, who is involved in the ruangobrol.id platform that campaigns against radical ideas, also questioned the relevance of military experience in the religious affairs post.
