Freedom of Religion in Indonesia, Now!

Indonesia, under Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution, fully acknowledges the rights every human is entitled to and is responsible to its fulfilment. Are we progressing toward this ideal, or have we been ignoring the issue? In this post, I'll try to control my incessant nonsenses and take a look at some of the important human rights issues in the country. If you wish to see the full text of the Constitution of Indonesia click here for the original version (pdf) or here for the certified translation to English.

As you might have known it from my posts or from the news, freedom of religion in Indonesia is under attack by narrow-minded stone-age so-called "religious" groups and even worse, Indonesian Council of Ulama. While recent religious resurgence has brought positive changes, it has also brought religious arrogance in such intolerant groups.

The government, who should be the one to prevent these, is sadly joining the act, breaching the Constitution on which it stands. Article 28E clearly states that "each person is free to worship and to practice the religion of his choice..."; Article 28I provides that "the rights to ... adhere to a religion ... are fundamental human rights that shall not be curtailed under any circumstance". According to Article 29, "the state guarantees each and every citizen the freedom of religion and of worship in accordance with his religion and belief".

To start with, Indonesia's system to officially recognize only six religion is a source of problem by itself. How about people who adheres to Judaism, Baha'i, Sikhism, animism, or the people who chose not to believe in a religion at all? They are humans too, which means that they do have the right to believe or not to believe in anything. It is a form of discrimination against religious minorities which shall be stopped as soon as possible. Each and every citizen of Indonesia shall have the right to freely state anything as his/her belief because in the end, the government will have to treat everyone equally regardless of what he/she adheres to.

The case of Ahmadiyyah should be the last case of the kind. Any government that claims to embrace freedom of religion should not ban a religion in favor of another. Pressures from religious groups and fatwa from the Council are not the justifications to breach the Constitution. It is not anyone's business if Ahmadis believe that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is a prophet, if his books are holy books. It is not the government's business if MUI thinks that Ahmadiyyah is blasphemous. Instead, the government must ensure that the rights of Ahmadis to adhere to and to practice their religion are protected. The police force has to ensure the security of their lives and their properties.

In many areas, muslims are also being deprived of their freedom. Many regions have produced sharia-based laws that forces muslims to follow approved practices. The most striking example is the enactment of Sharia in Aceh, which is a traitorous act against the Constitution. Other areas followed suit under disguises such as "moral improvement". As an example, these traitors made it compulsory for muslim women to wear their headscarves or to somehow conform to ultraconservative "decency".

Indonesia is not based on any religion. It does recognize, respect, and support the development of religions, but it doesn't base its laws on any religious teaching. Muslim women are also citizens of Indonesia: the government must not produce any law that deprives any citizen of his/her religious freedoms. Whether they want to wear their veil or not is a strictly private matter; therefore, no one should force his/her practices to others.

As a guardian of the Constitution, the government must overrule every law that stands against the fulfillment of human rights as provided by the fundamental law of the state. This legal act will be the base of enforcing freedom of religion in the country. If SBY and JK as the current government seems reluctant to uphold its own Constitution, or maybe even breaches it, we must make sure that none of these guys are re-elected in 2009.