Bali group calling for guarantees of religious freedom

The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

An alliance of Bali's pro-democracy organizations and religious rights defenders came to the province's prosecutors office Tuesday to urge the agency to be consistent in implementing the 1945 Constitution, which guarantees religious freedom.

"We hope the attorneys will no longer prosecute or ban religious groups based on the edicts of a certain organization," the alliance's coordinator, Wayan Sayoga, said.

The rally was part of a nationwide movement that arose from the concern that intolerance was gaining momentum, and that the government supported the violence incited against certain groups considered "heretic" and the arrests and trials of their members.

Men and women carrying banners reading; "Stop Judging People's Beliefs", stormed the prosecutors office accompanied by a choir singing traditional songs about religious and cultural diversity in Indonesia.

"Diversity should unite, not split, us," a protester said.

Similar rallies took place in Jakarta on Monday, with activists calling for the Attorney's General Office (AGO) to not ban the Ahmadiyah group, a minority group of Muslims who believe Prophet Muhammad was not Islam's last prophet.

Since the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) declared the group had strayed from "true" Islam in 2005, Ahmadiyah followers have frequently become victims of persecution and violence.

The AGO is said to have been listing groups deemed "deviant" by Muslim clerics, who say the groups should be banned.

Although most faith-related incidents and cases brought to the court were still confined to the domain of Islam, the largest faith in the country, the partiality of the authorities and weak law enforcement indicate a problem with one faith could spell a problem for all faiths, Sayoga said.

"What happens in Jakarta and even Pakistan, or anywhere else, could affect the lives of people here in Bali.

"We are not condemning the growing intolerance within a certain religion. We are just saying if the government fails to ensure religious freedom, it would be like setting a time bomb," he said.

Almost ninety percent of Bali's population follow the Hindu faith and Bali is the only predominantly Hindu island in the predominantly Muslim archipelago.

As a resort island, Bali has attempted to maintain its uniqueness and authenticity as a Hindu island and adapt itself to the swelling number of Muslim migrants and Western expatriates.

"We will suffer the worse if the government fails to retain the value of diversity," he said.

Balinese intellectuals and artists were among those who in 2006 and 2007 strongly protest the deliberation of the sharia-inspired anti-pornography bill, which they said would undermine freedom of expression and cultural diversity.

The organizations participating in Tuesday's rally were, among others, the Indonesian Hindu Dharma Association, the Bali Legal Aid Institute, the Indonesian Catholic Students Association and the Indonesian Nationalist Students Association. The only Islamic organizations participating were the controversial Ahmadiyah group and the Indonesian Ahlul Bait Community.

The Ahlul Bait Community is an organization of Shia followers. Shia is second-largest Islamic denomination after Sunni, which is followed by most Indonesian Muslims.

Nadhlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, the country's two largest Islamic organizations that promote religious moderation in the social and political spheres, are not part of the national alliance.