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Indonesia’s religious minority students struggle against systemic bigotry
School can be tough for many people, especially if they’re struggling just to fit in; it could be even more unnerving for religious minority students in the country.
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An illustration photo of a high school student in Indonesia wearing the typical white grey uniform. (Shutterstock/Quon_ID)
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chool can be tough for many people, especially if they’re struggling just to fit in; it could be even more unnerving for religious minority students in Indonesia.
Dhea, a 26-year-old private employee and a Catholic, knows too well how this feels. She was only 15 when she attended a public high school in Blitar, East Java. While there, she was a victim of intolerance, ironically perpetrated by the very institution that was supposed to protect her from it, and all the while her teachers taught her about the importance of religious tolerance in the classroom.
It all began when her friend, Bejo (not his real name), showed an interest in Christianity and then later decided to renounce his Muslim faith. Things went downhill for him and other Christian students at the school from there.
Bejo was treated differently by the other Muslim students after he converted to Christianity, said Dhea, and that wasn’t even the worst part. She said the school was apparently so perturbed by Bejo’s conversion and decided to ban communal prayer for Christian students as well as Christmas and Easter celebrations.
“Bejo was often mocked when he put some money into the charity box that was set out every Friday. The [Islamic studies teacher] also particularly refused to receive any cash charity from Bejo [after he converted],” she recounted.
Dhea was no stranger to religious discrimination, either.
“When I was in junior high school, my school did not provide a permanent [Catholic studies] teacher. We Catholic students mostly spent the religious studies class by reading books in the library on our own,” she said.
