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Analysis: Test to Prabowo’s commitment to freedom of religion
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Members of the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) pray on the veranda of Nur Khilafat Mosque in Ciamis, West Java, on June 26, 2014. Local authorities sealed the mosque and hung posters detailing the prohibition of JAI members from practicing their faith ther. ( Perkumpulan 6211/File)
P
resident Prabowo Subianto faced the first test of his commitment to freedom of religion last week, when police banned a national gathering for the followers of Ahmadiyyah, a sect that Indonesia’s majority Sunni community refuse to recognize as Islam.
It would be premature and unfair to say that the President has failed to fulfill the oath of office he took in October to uphold the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion. Unless he responds soon to this latest episode of religious intolerance, however, he could follow in the footsteps of his predecessors in their failure to protect religious minorities, contradicting the country’s claim of taking pride in its diversity, including beliefs and faiths.
The challenge for any president is protecting the rights of religious minorities while appeasing Muslims, who make up around 88 percent of the 280 million population. The country has been long known for its brand of moderate Islam, but Indonesian Muslims are increasingly becoming more conservative and politically assertive, at times at the expense of tolerance toward other faiths.
The recent incident involves West Java’s Kuningan regency, which banned the local Ahmadiyyah movement from holding its annual meeting on Dec. 6-8, citing a potential for public unrest. The regency administration also asked the police to enforce the ban, and many Ahmadiyyah followers were turned away from Manislor village, where the meeting was to take place.
While banning Ahmadiyyah meetings has occurred in the past, the latest incident is the first since Prabowo took office. The President has not commented on the issue, while Religious Affairs Minister Nasruddin Umar has simply ducked journalists’ questions. This does not bode well in demonstrating the new administration’s commitment to respecting the right to religion.
Ahmadiyyah, which has its origins in Pakistan and India and counts some 600,000 followers in Indonesia, has often been the target of persecution and violence in recent years.
The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), a powerful umbrella organization that works closely with the government, has issued a fatwa (nonbinding edict) declaring Ahmadiyyah as a heresy.
