The Jakarta Post-Aug 9
Rights group Wahid Foundation has named Jakarta the most intolerant province in the country, as it has found that most violations related to religious freedom throughout 2017 occurred in the capital.
In its latest finding issued on Wednesday, the group revealed that out of 213 cases of religious intolerance occurring in 34 provinces surveyed last year, 50 cases were in Jakarta.
“It is the first time Jakarta has made the top of the list, which was previously topped by West Java,” said Alamsyah M. Dja’far, the research manager of the group.
West Java, the country’s most populous province, which had always topped the chart in previous years, stood in second place with 44 cases.
The group has compiled the report annually since 2008.
The divisive gubernatorial election last year played the largest part, the most frequent target being former governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian of Chinese-descent who was seeking reelection. Ahok was the subject of racial and religious rhetoric 10 times, the group recorded.
“Of the 50 cases, 24 are related to the practice of politicizing religion. Apart from Ahok, [Governor] Anies Baswedan was also a victim, as he was accused of being a follower of Shia,” Alamsyah said, referring to a minority group that is frequently discriminated against in Indonesia.
Unlike Jakarta, where political motives played a major role, the cases in other provinces were related to intimidation and discrimination against minority groups, such as being denied to build a house of worship, he added.
The group defines politicization of religions as any effort to exploit religions for political gains of a certain group that ends up creating negative sentiment toward other groups.
“The most common practice is hate speech, such as that of the FPI [Islam Defenders Front] against Ahok during the latter’s [blasphemy] trial on Jan. 31, 2017. The group also distributed a mini poster discouraging voters from supporting Ahok,” Alamsyah said, adding that another example was when hundreds of banners stating that voting for Ahok would mean being denied the last rites, were erected at certain mosques in Jakarta.
As the 2019 presidential and legislative elections draw near, the group urged the government to be more active in protecting minorities, who are often the most vulnerable groups, and asked members of the public in general to be more accepting of differences in religion and promote discussion when settling an issue.
In contrast, the survey also revealed that Jakarta topped the list on “good deeds”, or actions deemed to promote religious tolerance. There were 112 good deeds in Jakarta, a slight increase from 84 in 2016.
“The actions are mostly carried out by state actors in the central government, whose statements reflect on the need to encourage more religious tolerance. While the non-government actors include interreligious groups that intensify efforts to promote tolerance through dialogue and meetings,” Alamsyah said.
Separately, in North Jakarta, interfaith groups in the municipality organized a social activity aiming to improve religious harmony among its diverse residents. Religious leaders from the six acknowledged religions gathered to spread messages of peace and held a prayer together for the safety of people in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, which was recently ravaged by earthquakes.
Members of the event also collected donations for the victims affected by the quake.
During the event, the religious leaders pledged to protect religious freedom in the municipality. “It is just a baby step toward becoming a more religiously harmonious city. We want to show the public that we are united,” North Jakarta Interfaith Communication Forum (FKUB North Jakarta) head Abbi Ichwanuddin said.
Despite being acknowledged as the most tolerant municipality in the capital, Abbi said many things could still be done to improve, such as ensuring the religious freedom of followers of native faiths and minority group that wished to build houses of worship, including the followers of Yordan’s River congregation who faced hurdles in building their church for more than a decade.
