Medan, NU Online
Minister of Religious Affairs Suryadharma Ali called on leaders of the Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), to be the nation's guard against any threat posed by other parties willing to destroy the the nation's unity and Muslims, saying that NU should be on the frontline in leading and strengthening the Muslims' unity.
The minister said there had now been a number of small groups capable of 'speaking' loudly for being supported by an immense amount of funds so that they could easily influence the public opinion.<>
While at the same time, he added, such big organizations as NU had most of the time met difficulties as that done by the small groups. Because the big organizations were toothless, he said, it could be interpreted the organizations to have agreed with the minority.
While attending a meeting at the office of the Medan's NU Regional Board on Saturday, he called for the importance of having the courage and taking part in coloring the public opinion, saying that there had now been a group of NGOs filing a judicial review request at the Constitutional Court, asking the judges to review articles on the 1965 Blasphemy Law.
Whereas, he said, there had now been some six religions recognized by the state, namely Islam, Protestants, Catholic, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, adding that in the religious affairs ministry, the six had had their own director-general. They have even considered the judicial review request a discriminative act, he said.
If the judicial review request granted, the minister said, there would possibly be such sects as Esa Edan in Cirebon, West Java, in which its leader (imam) could purify women after having sex with him.
At this point, Suryadharma said that the government must protect the recognized religions but the government of the ministry of religious affairs had no right to have the religions because those having the right to embrace the religions are the adherents themselves.
That's why, those embracing the religions really dislike if their holy books are 'destroyed' by other parties, he said.
In the context of maintaining the religious harmony, the minister called for the importance of Muslim organizations including NU to be on the frontline in protecting their adherents.
As reported, a group of NGOs concerned with religious freedom and democracy has recently filed a judicial review request at the Constitutional Court, asking the judges to review articles of the 1965 Blasphemy Law, which they deemed to discriminate against certain religious groups.
The group, calling themselves the Advocacy Alliance for Freedom of Religion, comprises seven organizations; Imparsial, the Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam), the Indonesian Human Rights and Legal Aid Association (PBHI), the Institute for Studies on Human Rights and Democracy (Demos), the Setara Institute, the Desantara Foundation, and the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI).Also included in the group filing the lawsuit were several individuals, such as the late Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, Muslim activist M. Dawam Rahardjo and noted Islamic scholar Ahmad Syafii Maarif.
A lawyer for the group, Choirul Anam said that Law No.1/1965 on Prevention of Religious Abuse and Blasphemy had raised a public outcry and triggered sectarian conflicts as the law required people to accept only the five official religions - Islam, Catholic, Protestants, Buddhism and Hinduism. Confucianism was recognized later, thanks to Gus Dur.
"The law considers those with different faiths to be heretics. This is discriminatory and against the democratic spirit adopted by the country today, which should strongly protect the freedom of faith," Anam said.
"Our constitution guarantees religious freedom. All religious groups deserve equal treatment. Therefore, this law, which gives the government the power to intervene in religious matters, must be annulled."The law may have been relevant [when it was signed during the Sukarno era] but isnt anymore."The alliance asked the panel of judges at the court to review three out of five articles on the law.
"We consider the articles not to be in line with the amended 1945 Constitution, Articles 28 and 29, which guarantee the equality of all citizens, including those with faiths outside the six religions," Anam said. Article 1 on the law stipulates that no one is allowed to make interpretations deviating from the official religions teachings."This is not right. Interpretations of certain religions are peoples rights," Anam said.
"The government should guarantee such freedom. Instead, the government creates policies that have the potential to justify conflicts against certain religious groups." Anam said the government should accommodate any sects or faiths in the country, "instead of using its arms, like the MUI [Indonesian Ulema Council]", to prohibit such religious groups.The Constitutional Court may revoke the reviewed articles if the trials in the future prove them to be in conflict with the constitution.The first trial will be held Feb. 4, hearing opinions from representatives of the government and the House of Representatives.A sect that has frequently fallen victim to a number of horizontal conflicts is Ahmadiyah. Many mosques where Ahmadis pray have been burned down and followers in the West Javas Bogor, Sukabumi and Kuningan, and Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara, have been displaced.The MUI has claimed Ahmadiyah to be a religious sect whose teachings are heretical. (min)
Minister of Religious Affairs Suryadharma Ali called on leaders of the Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), to be the nation's guard against any threat posed by other parties willing to destroy the the nation's unity and Muslims, saying that NU should be on the frontline in leading and strengthening the Muslims' unity.
The minister said there had now been a number of small groups capable of 'speaking' loudly for being supported by an immense amount of funds so that they could easily influence the public opinion.<>
While at the same time, he added, such big organizations as NU had most of the time met difficulties as that done by the small groups. Because the big organizations were toothless, he said, it could be interpreted the organizations to have agreed with the minority.
While attending a meeting at the office of the Medan's NU Regional Board on Saturday, he called for the importance of having the courage and taking part in coloring the public opinion, saying that there had now been a group of NGOs filing a judicial review request at the Constitutional Court, asking the judges to review articles on the 1965 Blasphemy Law.
Whereas, he said, there had now been some six religions recognized by the state, namely Islam, Protestants, Catholic, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, adding that in the religious affairs ministry, the six had had their own director-general. They have even considered the judicial review request a discriminative act, he said.
If the judicial review request granted, the minister said, there would possibly be such sects as Esa Edan in Cirebon, West Java, in which its leader (imam) could purify women after having sex with him.
At this point, Suryadharma said that the government must protect the recognized religions but the government of the ministry of religious affairs had no right to have the religions because those having the right to embrace the religions are the adherents themselves.
That's why, those embracing the religions really dislike if their holy books are 'destroyed' by other parties, he said.
In the context of maintaining the religious harmony, the minister called for the importance of Muslim organizations including NU to be on the frontline in protecting their adherents.
As reported, a group of NGOs concerned with religious freedom and democracy has recently filed a judicial review request at the Constitutional Court, asking the judges to review articles of the 1965 Blasphemy Law, which they deemed to discriminate against certain religious groups.
The group, calling themselves the Advocacy Alliance for Freedom of Religion, comprises seven organizations; Imparsial, the Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam), the Indonesian Human Rights and Legal Aid Association (PBHI), the Institute for Studies on Human Rights and Democracy (Demos), the Setara Institute, the Desantara Foundation, and the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI).Also included in the group filing the lawsuit were several individuals, such as the late Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, Muslim activist M. Dawam Rahardjo and noted Islamic scholar Ahmad Syafii Maarif.
A lawyer for the group, Choirul Anam said that Law No.1/1965 on Prevention of Religious Abuse and Blasphemy had raised a public outcry and triggered sectarian conflicts as the law required people to accept only the five official religions - Islam, Catholic, Protestants, Buddhism and Hinduism. Confucianism was recognized later, thanks to Gus Dur.
"The law considers those with different faiths to be heretics. This is discriminatory and against the democratic spirit adopted by the country today, which should strongly protect the freedom of faith," Anam said.
"Our constitution guarantees religious freedom. All religious groups deserve equal treatment. Therefore, this law, which gives the government the power to intervene in religious matters, must be annulled."The law may have been relevant [when it was signed during the Sukarno era] but isnt anymore."The alliance asked the panel of judges at the court to review three out of five articles on the law.
"We consider the articles not to be in line with the amended 1945 Constitution, Articles 28 and 29, which guarantee the equality of all citizens, including those with faiths outside the six religions," Anam said. Article 1 on the law stipulates that no one is allowed to make interpretations deviating from the official religions teachings."This is not right. Interpretations of certain religions are peoples rights," Anam said.
"The government should guarantee such freedom. Instead, the government creates policies that have the potential to justify conflicts against certain religious groups." Anam said the government should accommodate any sects or faiths in the country, "instead of using its arms, like the MUI [Indonesian Ulema Council]", to prohibit such religious groups.The Constitutional Court may revoke the reviewed articles if the trials in the future prove them to be in conflict with the constitution.The first trial will be held Feb. 4, hearing opinions from representatives of the government and the House of Representatives.A sect that has frequently fallen victim to a number of horizontal conflicts is Ahmadiyah. Many mosques where Ahmadis pray have been burned down and followers in the West Javas Bogor, Sukabumi and Kuningan, and Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara, have been displaced.The MUI has claimed Ahmadiyah to be a religious sect whose teachings are heretical. (min)
