Religion Minister Reported to Police

May 24th, 2006, in News, by

The state Minister for Religion was reported to the police over his intolerant attitude to some religious minorities.

The “Tim Pembela Hukum Aliansi Kebangsaan untuk Kebebasan Beragama dan Berkeyakinan”, or Alliance for the Freedom of Religion and Faith, was reported to have been preparing a complaint to the police over Minister Maftuh Basyuni’s threats against the Ahmadiyah sect.

While the Jakarta Post reports that the complaint was delivered:

A non-governmental alliance protecting religious freedoms reported the Religious Affairs Minister to the National Police on Monday, accusing him of defaming the Ahmadiyah sect. Uli Parulian Sihombing, a lawyer acting for the Alliance for the Freedom of Religion and Faith, said the group had:

reported the minister (Maftuh Basyuni) for insulting and slandering the Ahmadiyah community.

Uli said Maftuh had violated at least four articles of the Criminal Code by repeatedly saying in the media that the Ahmadiyah sect was heretical and was misleading people.

Uli said the alliance believed the minister’s statements had helped lead to the persecution of Ahmadiyah followers in Segerongan village, West Lombok. About 120 followers were forced out of their compound there after local Muslims drove them out of the area.

We will also request police protection for the members of Ahmadiyah.

Uli said.

The alliance, established in July 2005, is made up of NGOs and individuals concerned with upholding the freedom of minority groups to worship.

We are very concerned about the fate of several religious groups (in the country) whose members have been marginalized and have been prosecuted as criminals for their faiths.

Uli said, referrring obliquely to the Lia Eden case among others.

Meanwhile the vice president of the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace (ICRP), J.N. Hariyanto, requested the police to be more active in protecting members of the Ahmadiyah groups from attacks.

We ask that the police stop attacks on the homes of Ahmadiyah people. Regional police have so far allowed these attacks to occur.
(Kami minta Polri hentikan aksi kekerasan sekelompok massa terhadap rumah-rumah warga Ahmadiyah. Polisi daerah selama ini membiarkan aksi tersebut.)

said Hariyanto, while accompanying the Alliance for the Freedom of Religion and Faith, at police headquarters in Jakarta.


5 Comments on “Religion Minister Reported to Police”

  1. Bas says:

    “Indonesia has already decideded to keep these two distinct entities apart.”.

    How? By creating the religion departemen, forcing people to choose a “legal” religion and writing their religion on ID cards?

    “I wonder why RI not fight to uphold this hard won democratic principle of tolerance?”

    Because they are intolerant by nature. With democracy they can show their real faces.

  2. Magy says:

    It is a tremendous danger in mixing the state and religion. Indonesia has already decideded to keep these two distinct entities apart.

    I wonder why RI not fight to uphold this hard won democratic principle of tolerance?

  3. Magy says:

    What is the reason for putting religion on an identity card? I was under the impression that the RI constitution did allow different faiths? But now I’m confused.

  4. badai ismatu says:

    That is the thing will happen when the state is interested in religious affairs. Although Indonesian constitution protects the rights of citizen on religious expression, there is alwas limitatation have been made. Only those 5 state recognized religion have certain privilages to operate but with also certain degrees of control from the government. I mean it.
    There is political context why in the ID, every citizen should mention their religious affiliation. It is because of the ‘fear’ of communist infiltration that in Indonesian context is always identical with atheism. Why so? Indonesian (I means here the New Order regime) was traumatized with communist coup in 1965. That why the regime issued this kind of regulation. And just to make you awake, in Indonesia, there are more than 108 regulations of religion and half of which are about the state prohibition on religion in terms of doctrine or affiliation. I am an Indonesian, but I dare to say that the government is too much doing those such things in the name of religious affairs. Enough is enough! The ministry is no longer needed and indeed we Indonesians who have brain never need it!

  5. lucia says:

    religion department should be disbanded, they’re the most useless bunch of civil servants right after the people’s rep assembly.

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