Operasi Cipta Kondisi
Aug 24th, 2009, in News, by Patung
Monitoring Ramadan mosque sermons in the war on terrorism.
The National Police have announced their “Cipta Kondisi” operation for the month of Ramadan, whereby their officers will listen to sermons delivered in mosques to ensure that no radical or provocative things are said by clerics. Police have also invited ordinary citizens to pay attention to the content of sermons and report any problematic material.
The purpose of the effort, said Inspector General Nanan Soekarna, was to ensure Muslims could worship orderly and in peace, as well as to combat terrorism and law violating generally.
Anti
Most Muslim leaders have expressed their disapproval of the operation.
Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) leader Ma’ruf Amin said there was no need to monitor sermons, and doing so marked a return to the bad old days of the New Order under Suharto. Ma’ruf Amin said if police had suspicions regarding a particular cleric then that person should be observed, however no general surveillance of mosques was necessary. vivanews
A more fiery response was delivered by Islamic Defenders Front/Front Pembela Islam (FPI) leader, Habieb Rizieq Shihab, who said police were insulting Islam and dakwah:
It’s a form of terror and intimidation.
Pro or Neutral
A Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leader KH Masdar Farid Mas’udi however said police had good, strong reasons for the move and the context had to be understood, and that the police had a responsibility to protect society.
Sometimes sermons did contain messages of hate against other groups in society, he said, and the government had to deal with radicalism in religion. antara
Meanwhile the Rector of the Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah, Komarudin Hidayat, said he was happy with the policy, on the condition that policemen in mosques would behave respectfully and not wear their uniforms vivanews
Let the police listen to sermons, maybe they’ll improve their knowledge of Islam.
25 Comments on “Operasi Cipta Kondisi”
-
Ross says:
Of course the goats will object, and thus a good idea is proven better still. The NU guy was a lone voice of reason in the Muslim establsihment.
But according to the JP today the cops are giving up on the project.We have to be careful of course, as even the goats have the right to bleat that infidels are bad and bound for hell. It’s when they actually urge their little chaps to hasten my perhaps inevitable journey there that I say ‘not on.’
But I am moved to ask what will happen to any surveillance reports that might result.
If incitement to violence led to arrest and prosecution, great! But the old Ba’asyir Beast has openly urged assault on foreigners, and that creep Lubis of the FPI demanded ‘kill, kill, kill.,
Neither was rounded up by the police, never mind faced a court, unlike poor Mrs. Prita, who is still in deep trouble for publicising her dissatisfaction re hospital care.i -
Yes Ross, if it was their plan they’re backing off it now…one of those stories like the Bali pendet dance non-theft by Malaysia (it was Discovery Channel) that turned out to be practically nothing..glad I didn’t write a post about that. Another one, the plot to kill Obama by Noordin, non-existent…
-
Odinius says:
Ramadan, a month that is supposed to be associated with a peaceful demeanor, calm inward contemplation and asking forgiveness for one’s sins.
How this gets lost on the fundies is beyond me, but it wouldn’t be the only time they missed the essential point of something…
-
Abdul Khalid al Jumhuri says:
It is about time. Ramadhan is all about serenity and the blessings of Allah and not the spewing of hatred. The Saudi government did it in 2005/ 2006 to its 1,500 or so preachers and about half of it got fired. It finally sent a signal to them that there is a fine line between religious fervor and downright seditious speeches and spread of hatred.
-
The Saudi government did it in 2005/ 2006 to its 1,500 or so preachers and about half of it got fired. It finally sent a signal to them that there is a fine line between religious fervor and downright seditious speeches and spread of hatred.
That reminds me of this story, I think the argument against taking the Saudi approach there was that Indonesia is a democracy, Saudi isn’t. But of course democracies have to sometimes take measures to defend themselves, obviously against people who don’t want to play by the rules of the system, but the devil is in the details, when to ‘intervene and who exactly is regarded as a threat, and is it a real threat.
-
There are two standards democracies use. One is ‘conspiracy,’ which would be when someone is actually inciting people to commit specific crimes. That’s the standard that the US and (I think) Australia use. The other is ‘incitement,’ which can be for something that generally whips up the crowd into a violent ‘mentality.’ That’s the standard everyone else uses.
The problem with the former is that you get rabble rousers who are trying to start up sh*t cynically hiding behind free speech. The problem with the latter is that it’s the government who decided what constitutes ‘hate speech’ and it’s often not terribly consistent.
There are reasons for Indonesia to be wary of both…wary of the first because it needs to do something about the hate spewers, and wary of the second because you know that if the government bureaucrats decide who can say what, it’s not going to be Mas Islam Radikal who gets shut down first, but Bung Islam Liberal.
-
One is ‘conspiracy,’ which would be when someone is actually inciting people to commit specific crimes. That’s the standard that the US and (I think) Australia use. The other is ‘incitement,’ which can be for something that generally whips up the crowd into a violent ‘mentality.’ That’s the standard everyone else uses.
Thanks Odinius, I’d never seen it in those terms, I guess I was thinking in terms of what kind of threat is presented and whether it is tolerated, and if and when it stops being tolerated. And of a sort of Anglo-Saxon vs Continental dichotomy or strong long-standing democracy vs possibly weakish only recently established democracy. The dichotomy doesn’t always hold up, for example Switzerland but…
For example countries in Europe that have a recentish history of dictatorship or upheaval I think tend to be less tolerant of extreme type groups and views than the Anglo countries, traditionally anyway, hate speech laws in some parts of Australia and in the UK may have changed the scene somewhat.
Like Hizbut Tahrir is non-violent and its members don’t commit crimes in order to further their movement (unless you bring in the hate speech issue) but it’s obviously opposed to democracy. They are banned in some European countries, like Germany, but in Anglo countries they are free to campaign and organise, etc, although obviously they are going to be under surveillance. Is Hizbut Tahrir a real threat to the German government, any more than it’s a threat to the USA, etc?
In the Indonesia context NII might be a better example, since some of the people involved in the latest bombings were recruited by Noordin from NII ranks I think.
So I was thinking where to put Indonesia given that framework – it tolerates a lot of radical Islamism on the one hand, but does not tolerate radical leftism at all, and like you said
it’s not going to be Mas Islam Radikal who gets shut down first, but Bung Islam Liberal.
– obviously there are historical, cultural reasons for it…
-
The guy who runs arrahmah.com (Ar Rahmah Media), Mohammad Jibril alias Muhammad Ricky Ardhan, which is a pretty popular semi notorious jihadi website got arrested today, don’t what he’s charged with if anything yet.
http://www.arrahmah.com/index.php/news/read/5484/aparat-arogan-tangkap-paksa-m-jibriel
-
Interesting posts, Patung!
There are definitely several standards, but it’s not just Anglo-Saxon vs. Continent. The Anglo-Saxon countries are quite diverse on this front. The UK has quite strict ‘incitement’ laws compared with the US, though not as strict as in Germany. In the US, it’s only ‘conspiracy’ if a crime is actually being planned or has been committed. In the UK, it’s also unlawful to ‘assist’ a crime that you believe will be committed, even if it is never realized. Canada has more severe laws on this front that either: you can be jailed for speech that advocates hatred against any ‘group.’
Imagine a radical imam or christian survivalist preacher (the ideology behind timothy mcveigh, eric rudolph, etc.). He gives a sermon about Jews, and about how his followers should burn synagogues. In the US, he is only guilty if his followers start planning to do so; in the UK he can be arrested before they begin. In Canada, he doesn’t even have to mention burning synagogues.
As for HT, well…I tend to think the Anglo-Saxon view is better. There are other groups that are anti-democratic as well, and I tend to see that as their right, provided they don’t advocate violence. But correct me if I’m wrong…wasn’t the ban in Germany very specifically for some of its leaders distributing racist leaflets that directly violated Germany’s hate speech laws?
-
Germany actually banned several parties, from the Right and the Left, on the ground they were against the democratic order. Illogically, they ban the Swatika’s display but have not taken similar action against the Hammer and Sickle, which represents an ideology with many more victims to its (dis)credit.
Some newly-liberated countries have kicked up about this, notably the Baltic Republics, who have the most direct experience of marxism. -
Ban on swastika? Isn’t it a discrimination to the hindus? Were the hindus involved in the killing of the jews?
-
Germany actually banned several parties, from the Right and the Left, on the ground they were against the democratic order.
That’s what I had thought, although Odin suggests it was because of anti-semitism, HT is banned in France, Spain, Netherlands as well (I think) and it’s probably because of the anti-semitism thing, at least in France.
On the other thing – “Arrahmah.com Dalam Perbaikan” – the site is gone.
-
ET says:
diego
There’s a difference between the Hindu and the Nazi swastika. The Hindu swastika symbolizes harmony with the upper level, the lower level and the same levels. What the nazi swastika stands for I don’t know, but I guess it doesn’t have to do anything with interracial harmony.
-
Besides the one in the picture above the Hindus also know a left-hand swastika, more correctly called the sauvastika, which moves in a counterclockwise direction. This symbol stands for night, the terrifying goddess Kali, and magical practices.
Buddhists also use the swastika. In their tradition the swastika symbolizes the feet, or the footprints, of the Buddha. It is often placed at the beginning and end of inscriptions, and modern Tibetan Buddhists use it as a clothing decoration. With the spread of Buddhism, the swastika passed into the iconography of China and Japan, where it has been used to denote plurality, abundance, prosperity, and long life.
-
Swastika somehow reminds me of ninja’s star.
-
Patung said:
That’s what I had thought, although Odin suggests it was because of anti-semitism, HT is banned in France, Spain, Netherlands as well (I think) and it’s probably because of the anti-semitism thing, at least in France.
I don’t know for sure, but I thought that HT got in hot water after one of its local honchos was found distributing very plainly and overtly anti-semitic written materials (which are illegal in Germany, as are other racist written materials), and an HT meeting was attended by members of a banned but still clandestinely organized neo-nazi group. Obviously the Germans are really sensitive about this kind of thing.
But it may be that you are right. Germany also banned Scientology, after all.
-
enigmatic says:
A more fiery response was delivered by Islamic Defenders Front/Front Pembela Islam (FPI) leader, Habieb Rizieq Shihab, who said police were insulting Islam and dakwah:
It’s a form of terror and intimidation.
I find this quote deeply ironic. Of all people to speak of terror and intimidation…
-
Lairedion says:
The police should also monitor schools more tightly…
Ajarkan Panasnya Neraka, Guru Sulut Muridnya dengan Korek Api -
Oigal says:
So I was thinking where to put Indonesia given that framework – it tolerates a lot of radical Islamism on the one hand, but does not tolerate radical leftism at all, and like you said
Nice one and provides an interesting counter point…
Germany also banned Scientology, after all.
As well they should when people start assaulting innocent secular sofas on prime time American TV, the tolerance of cults has gone too far!
Did anyone else see the Tom Cruise Skit on Saturday Night Live…beautiful..
-
Yeah, class! The South Park sendup too.
-
Actually this Operasi Cipta Kondisi wasn’t such a bad idea but they never should have announced it publicly. By doing so they invited predictably outrageous reactions and sinked their own operation. The good thing however is that the signal is out and hopefully will make at least a few start to think before spewing their hatred.
-
Agree with ET about this. If Saudi Arabia, the house of Wahhabi-ism is actually taking punitive action against extremist mosques there’s no reason Indonesia can’t monitor what its ulamas preach. Especially given that Indonesia isn’t a Muslim state to begin with.
-
Wantiwanita says:
Same like watching trouble students in schools, Watch for trouble people in mosques. Good idea, so why give up on it.
-
indonesiabraveheart says:
A more fiery response was delivered by Islamic Defenders Front/Front Pembela Islam (FPI) leader, Habieb Rizieq Shihab, who said police were insulting Islam and dakwah:
It’s a form of terror and intimidation.
ha ha maling shouts maling …
where would he get his THR allowance if it’s not from preaching hatred in the mosque and blackmailing nightclubs
Comment on “Operasi Cipta Kondisi”.
Copyright Indonesia Matters 2006-2023
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact
Probably a good thing; not sure I would have announced it in advance though.
Anything that messes with the far too cozy relationship between the Po-Po and the FPI can only be good for Indonesia.