Southeast Asia (Page 21)

Pope Francis said,” The way we are called to follow is the way we are called to follow,” while on a visit to Jakarta’s Istiqlal Mosque, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, on September 5.

The papal visit to Indonesia, the second since 1989, was characterized by religious compassion as the cleitmus. For many in Indonesia, a nation usually embroiled in religious strife, the priest’s concept of compassion has been a pleasant one.

The leaders of Indonesia are at least figuratively committed to the idea, as seen in the tunnel that connects Istiqlal to the Catholic church same or in the pope’s speech praising” Unity in Diversity,” which he praised while meeting with President Joko Widodo.

But while there is much to admire in Indonesia’s linguistic embrace of compassion, critics say day to day experiences are less forgiving for religious minorities. Some also worry that politicians will continue to be divided.

In this 80 % Muslim country, the answer to the papal visit has been overwhelmingly positive. The pope had already cultivated kindness for the plight of Rohingyas and Palestinians thanks to his outcry.

His somewhat understated manner impressed a community that is accustomed to leaders surrounded by extravagant extravagance. Indonesians were appreciative of the priest’s choice to abandon a fancy car for a more practical purpose, opting instead for a simple Toyota Innova Zenix, where he was then sat in the front desk and waved to masses from a lightly rolled-down window.

Pope Francis ‘ decision to travel commercially rather than by personal jet, his cheap observe, and his boots have been thoroughly dissected by mainstream media and social media users.

Near GBK facility, where the bishop held a size, a handful of Muslims may be spotted accompanying Catholic buddies. A woman paired a robe with deely-boppers with messages of pleasant and the priest’s face.

Perhaps a government request that TV channels refrain from broadcasting the customary evening call to prayer and instead display a text message on the screen failed to stoke many unanimity.

The Prosperous Justice Party, Indonesia’s just Islamist group, grumbled. However, its leaders were careful not to condemn the bishop, suggesting it had been the government’s concept and framed their issues in terms of compassion.

” Truthfully, continuing as usual may show the beauty of compassion in this region”, said Jaizul Juwaini, the party’s political leader. There is no issue as long as the size is going on, and the call to prayer can still be broadcast.

In the meantime, representatives from various significant Muslim organizations made it clear that giving a Catholic a sign of courtesy was not an issue.

Indonesia has long been cultivated as a country that values modest Islam and intercultural tolerance. Over half of Indonesia’s population lives in Java, where Islam has a distinctive local twang when it sits behind and even if it is in sync with existing Hindu-Buddhist lifestyle and other localized beliefs.

Politics has even a part to play. The country may be largely Arab, but Indonesia’s leaders, much worried their inland nation could balkanize, are keenly aware that non-Muslims form majorities or big minorities in different areas.

To prevent issue, the constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Obviously, the law also says the position is based on “one great God” – a request to Islamist groups who wanted to establish an directly Muslim condition post-independence.

But for administrative purposes, the express recognizes six religions – recently given some standing to other beliefs – stretching one divine heaven to somehow include acknowledgement of not just Muslims, Protestants, and Catholics but likewise Hindus, Buddhists, Confucians and several nearby religious groups.

While there was a worrying rise in spiritual murder in the country in the first decade of the 20th century, effective counterterrorism efforts have managed to largely control this once-potential danger.

Hindu, Buddhist, and various religious communities are not subject to the persecution that has led to the migration of minority religious populations from large areas of the Middle East.

We need to look at how things are here, says Ihsan Ali-Fauzi, a leading advocate for the Freedom of Religion or Belief,” so we ca n’t just compare ourselves to the Middle East, but we ca n’t just compare ourselves to other foreign countries.”

The primary concern for him is a need for social harmony that, when needed, can override liberties. Indonesia’s model essentially relies on allowing formally recognized religions to live without allowing for intermingling or heterodoxy.

Relationships, for example, remain spiritual affairs in laws. Interfaith organisations are therefore prohibited by law, with a Supreme Court decision last month closing a legal gap by attempting to file marriages in court. The best course of action for couples is typically one group getting married abroad, often reverting, or getting married there.

A 2006 ministerial decree, which makes religious minority reliant on the majority’s consent for construction of new houses of worship, is another significant problem. The end result can be a powerful reject in some circumstances.

Just west of Jakarta, for example, the John the Baptist Catholic church has been waiting for like rights since 1993. Sometimes, passes that are granted may consider themselves subject to restrictions, such as avoiding them in areas where they are accessible to passersby.

Yet Muslims may consider themselves affected by these laws, mainly the Ahmadis, Bahais or perhaps Shia who are viewed as sinners by some Sunnis, who represent the majority of Indonesia’s Muslims.

However, in Jayapura in the Indonesian province of Papua, a major mosque was forced to close its tower in 2018 because it was taller than the spires of all the churches where local Christians, who made up the majority of the population, were gathered.

Interestingly, the Indonesian Ulema Council, an important Muslim system, truly argued Christian requirements should be respected provided that they were “appropriate”.

With political devolution post-democratization in 1998, dynamics are often hyper-local. Christin Rinawati, an Indonesian Catholic, described the stark difference between living in the province of Yogyakarta, in southcentral Java, and Bekasi, West Java, just a few hours away.

In the former, her Muslim neighbors are pleased to have a welcome Christmas visit. Some in the latter were receptive to this, and local Catholics were concerned about gathering for choir practice in private homes.

Even in Yogyakarta, dynamics can be starkly different because there is only one cemetery for both Christians and Muslims in some areas. Others segregate grave sites or even object to the arrival of Christian residents.

On a national level, some worry that Indonesia is slowly becoming less tolerant. ” Things may have been easier for religious minorities under Suharto’s dictatorship”, says Ihsan.

” This is n’t necessarily because mentalities have changed. However, because of that, we were governed with an iron fist. Ihsan says that democracies have given hardline groups the chance to spread their ideas and stoke up opposition. &nbsp,

Indonesia’s strict blasphemy laws, which ban insult to any religion, have become a rallying point for Islamic hardliners. A Muslim influencer who filmed himself trying to eat pork on social media and a bar that foolishly attracted attention by offering free drinks to anyone named Muhammad have fallen foul of these accusations.

More gravely, in 2017, Indonesia was rocked by accusations that the Chinese Christian governor of Jakarta, Basuki” Ahok” Purnama, then running for reelection, had committed blasphemy.

While some Muslim leaders expressed opposition to the demonstrations, other important leaders backed them, either out of genuine belief or fear of being outflanked in piety.

Purnama would ultimately lose the election and face blasphemy-related sentencing after serving two years in prison.

” These religious tensions are often caused by political factors”, argues Father Baskara, a senior Jesuit in Indonesia. ” We are ok as long as politicians do n’t use religious issues as their way of getting things,” he said.

The priest, in fact, believes that Indonesia’s tolerance is improving, claiming that things have. Even the resurgence of the Israel-Palestine conflict has n’t had repercussions for religious harmony in Indonesia in the same way it has in the past, he claims.

In North Sulawesi, there was a conflict between pro-Israeli evangelical Christians and Islamic organizations, but the government intervened quickly to stop the conflict.

Although the measures taken against them raised some difficult questions about religious freedom, the government’s crackdown on hardline Islamist groups may have also contributed to maintaining the order.

Others, however, take a gloomier view. ” You have to look at the number of discriminatory regulations”, says Andreas Harsono, a researcher with Human Rights Watch.

He contends that these are gradually expanding as laws restrict Ahmadis ‘ ability to practice freely or force Muslim girls to wear headscarves wherever they choose in school, despite regulations that affect not just houses of worship.

Communities can engage in numerous minor conflicts and suffer minor injustices, of which few actually make the news, within the bounds of these laws.

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