12 Comments on “Youth Political & Religious Affiliation”

1. Felis says:
   February 8th, 2006 at 8:52 pm

   This young lass lists her only affiliation as “Kill all the Jew”.

   Bloody incredible.
   And how many Jews do you think this sweet, pretty lass knows?

2. David says:
   February 9th, 2006 at 12:50 pm

   The Indonesian attitude to Jews, I can’t work it out. I don’t know if it’s coming from the mosques, religious schools, tabloid papers, or what, but it’s nasty. Having said that I can’t help but feel that it’s not quite real sometimes, kind of an ignorant reflex, I doubt that it goes too deep with many and may be an affliction of shallow people, of which there are many here like that young lassy above.

   The first time I noticed it was going past a US diplomatic mission once and there was group of Muslimahs all done out in their garb and they were holding signs in English about Jews, the most bloodthirsty stuff you’ve seen. Bizarre.

3. Fabian says:
   February 13th, 2006 at 8:38 pm

   Top research.

4. Artman says:
   July 27th, 2006 at 12:27 pm

   crazy Muslim, they are all become crazy… is it directed by Muhammad? or just a bunch of crazy Indonesians, I think Islam is not suitable for Indonesian… just back to the original… Hinduism better… and why alway Jew and American? why not other? wait… before was Chinese…

5. Kopral Geddoe says:
   January 14th, 2008 at 1:05 am

   The Jew thing, I don’t know… It’s indoctrination, no mistake, but about how did people get to take it seriously, beats me. If I were to blame something, I’d blame all these misinformation that scatters around the rightist mosques.

   But really, I seriously thing many of those antisemitic teens are but showing off. They don’t really mean it, I guess…

   But wait, wouldn’t it render the issue even more horrifying? They think racism is trendy!

6. KSJ says:
   February 8th, 2008 at 8:37 pm

   If only Indonesian muslims knew how Arab muslims treat Indonesians living and working in Arab muslim countries…. .

7. Omar says:
   October 28th, 2008 at 10:23 pm

   Unfortunately, as an Arab I can not but agree with KSJ, Arabs are corrupt and racist, religiosity is a front for many of them while they indulge in all aspects of lavish life, they only propagate a backward version of Islam to maintain a grip over the muslim world. Surely this is a generalization one has to make exceptions like Edward Said, who is an Arab Christian but the best to reflect on western prejudice and stigmas towards Muslims and Orientals.

8. Hanguk Museurrim says:
   October 31st, 2008 at 6:40 pm

   It’s not a surprise at all that many young Indonesian Muslims cited in this research have such a great animosity towards Jews considering the horrible things that the zionists have done to Palestinians for the past century or so. All they can see is that all Jews are gulity of this genocidal crime.

   Aside from that, let me remind you all that Islam never teaches its followers to hate people of other faiths for what they are.
   Prophet Muhammad set examples for Muslims to treat all mankind with honor and mercy. In a well-known tradition, it is narrated that the prophet used to feed a blind Jewish beggar without the beggar’s awareness of who had fed him everyday.
   Even more, when the prophet died he still owed some money to a Jew. He could have borrowed, or simply asked, from one of his wealthy companions if he so wished. But he wanted to send his followers a message of tolerance and mercy that it is all right to maintain a fair relationship with people of other faiths.

   Lastly, let me remind my Muslim brothers and sisters with the following quote from the Holy Quran:
   “… and never let hatred of anyone lead you into the sin of deviating from justice. Be just: this is closest to being God-conscious. And remain conscious of God: verily, God is aware of all that you do.” (5:8)

9. Sook says:
   February 22nd, 2009 at 6:40 am

   Indonesian Muslims can get out of “trendy” (to use a quote from above) anti-Semitism if globalization creeps in, provided it comes slowly and with respect for the prevailing cultures, and bolstered by the secular spirit. Muslim radicalism is unnatural for us anyway – the Arabs imported it. Hindu, Muslim, and Christian regions argued and fought, but not this way, and not with these polemics.

   I think this is because Indonesia’s a young country with a complicated past. What do Bataks in Sumatra, Javanese Muslims, and Papuans have in common? Almost nothing. Indonesian national identity and culture is younger than my grandparents, and people are still arguing about what it means to be “Indonesian,” even here in the United States Do you have to be pureblood Pribumi, ultraconservative, or Muslim? People who subscribe to that kind of interpretation are winning the argument right now, and they have since 1965.

   There’s been a historical lack of genuine secular opposition in a lot of countries in Southeast Asia and the Arab world. You either have repressive governments (Suharto, Arafat, the Saudi monarchy, Nasser) and the only way people can show opposition is in the churches, masjids, and religious charities (Hamas, Muslim Brothers, Talibs) That’s tragic, and secularists have lost ground over the last few decades while possible idea men and leaders have languished, like Pramoedya; or died, like Aidit. (Again, not to say that I agree with them – they just provided a different voice to the Indonesian conversation besides the army, the establishment, and Muslim parties)

   I have faith that Indonesia can turn a corner, with help from its people and the diaspora.

10. agak sotoy says:
    April 10th, 2009 at 9:27 am

    I have many friends who are KAMMI/PKS cadres, and they are mostly decent, well-meaning people. But I’ll have to agree that they are pretty misinformed, and their anti-Semitism is grotesque. It’s one thing to disagree with, or even protest against Israeli occupation of Palestine, but it’s another thing to believe that there is a Jewish cabal that controls the world and aims to enslave all Gentiles. ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion’ is quite a popular book in campuses, and is distributed and discussed freely (and yet, due to peer pressure and groupthink, no one dares to challenge the book).

    Furthermore, because most Indonesians never actually meet a Jew, they sort of caricaturize them by projecting all the vices and corruptions to them. They also tend to conflate Jews (a race) with Judaism (a religion) and Zionism (a political ideology). And since Indonesians are still by and large prone to racist stereotyping, they tend to make Jews into corrupt, cynical creatures (not quite Untermensch, but still…). There was even a public furore when a big pop star (Ahmad Dhani) was revealed to have some Jewish ancestry, with people going… “Oh, no wonder he’s so successful/arrogant/treats his wife badly, he’s a Jew…”

    So the problem is not just Islam, but mainly plain ignorance.

    Now, returning to the larger issue. Indonesian electorate, as it ages, will definitely shift to the Islamist side. By how much, we don’t know. Internet use have grown rapidly in the past 2-3 years, but there are still many areas where people are not online. PKS and its affiliates have definitely conquered the campuses and the middle classes in the big cities, but the battle is yet to be won in the other demographics (remember Indonesia is still 60% rural).

    PKS’ rise has been helped by the utter disarray of its two potential rivals, NU and Muhammadiyah. NU, in Gus Dur, has a ‘radical’ leader that publicly proclaims his support of secularism and -when he was president- tried to establish diplomatic contact with Israel. Needless to say, he’s very polarizing even within NU. Muhammadiyah is torn between its secularist and fundamentalist wings and just plain disappears from public consciousness. As a result, when a young Muslim student grow up, looking at the world seemingly at war with Islam, looking at the politicians’ corruption, and trying to establish a pious Muslim political identity, there’s only one credible choice: PKS.

    But the scarier part involves the fringe groups, two of them you have mentioned (FPI and Hizbut-Tahrir). Now PKS has a decidedly intellectual, technocratic, cautious outlook, possibly as a result of growing in campus environment. They readily discuss, and even compromise over Sharia-related legislations (such as the pornography laws) with other parties. One can hope that, should they govern the nation, they turned out to be like the AK Party of Turkey and upheld Indonesia’s (basically secular) constitution.

    But the FPI, MMI, Laskar Jihad, and don’t forget the underground-but-still-alive Negara Islam Indonesia (NII) will be a bigger threat, at least in the short-term. These groups support religious violence, and have larger mass appeal to poor, less-educated, or unemployed youths, of which our country has plenty. FPI has become a public nuisance with their vigilante attacks, and although its leader (Habib Rizieq) was brought to court several times, has never been punished sufficiently. What this shows to other people is that when you evoke the name of Allah, there is a ‘cloak of invincibility’ so that you can act with impunity. Today, even the Forum Betawi Rempug (FBR), basically a bunch of thugs and extortionists, have become very vocal about the closure of Ahmadiyah (a non-mainstream Islamic sect), as if trying to adopt the Islamic banner for itself. If our justice system do not deal with these bullies effectively, then our freedom and rule of law will be a sham, even when the constitution is never changed.

11. Stupid Bule says:
    May 29th, 2009 at 10:18 am

    This young lass lists her only affiliation as “Kill all the Jew”.

    Here’s a perfectly good reason why brothers and sisters shouldn’t get married…

12. Masmulyadi says:
    April 16th, 2010 at 11:29 am

    We’re sorry, clarification: Muhammadiyah not a political party. Muhammadiyah has nothing to do with the PAN (National Mandate Party). Thanks. Masmulyadi, activist of Muhammadiyah – Yogyakarta

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