More discussions needed for places of worship decree

Sunday, February 26, 2006
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

U2 frontman and Christian Bono once quipped that unlike millions of people out there, his least-favorite John Lennon's song was Imagine.

"At the root of it (the song) is some rigorous thinking about the way things could be, but people have stolen the idea and made it an anthem for wishful thinking. I'm against wishful thinking. I hate it," he told Time magazine when appointed as one of the publication's persons of the year 2005, along with Bill and Melinda Gates.

Amid the growing religious radicalism and conflict between religious groups in this country, his sentiment rings true. People in this multifaith society cannot just whisk away the problems between religious groups by singing "Imagine no religion."

And it remains to be seen whether the government's completion of the revised decree on places of worship will help things.

The joint ministerial decree, issued in 1969 by the home and religious affairs ministers, requires the consent of local administrations and residents to build houses of worship.

The revised version, already sent to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, maintains the basic requirement of the original decree, but defines specific prerequisites.

It requires the establishment of the Communication Forum for Religious Harmony, consisting of representatives of all religious faiths, to review requests for permits to build places of worship and then provide recommendations to the local administration.

The decree also mandates the minimum number of congregation members for a proposed church, temple or mosque at 100. Any plan to build a place of worship must also be approved by at least 70 local residents of other faiths.

Religious minorities claim requirements in the existing decree have been used against them by hard-line Muslim groups.

Data shows that the past year, 23 churches -- other sources put the number as high as 35 -- have been shut down in the West Java capital of Bandung and neighboring areas by these groups.

The churches did not have permits as required in the joint decree, but had obtained operational licenses from the West Java Religious Affairs Office.

Data released by the Indonesian Committee on Religion and Peace (ICRP) showed that more than 1,000 churches nationwide have been destroyed or vandalized because they failed to meet the requirements of the decree.

ICRP secretary-general Theophilus Bela urged the government to revoke the joint decree.
"It is against the state ideology Pancasila and the Constitution as well as human rights. The government should protect people's rights to believe in a religion and perform acts of religious worship. The decree has the potential to tear apart religious harmony (here) and stop people from worshiping," he said.

Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra, however, said without the decree there would be more disputes.

"Arrangements and regulations are necessary to maintain religious harmony. It's the social aspects that are being regulated, not the religious aspects," he said.

The decree was not about limiting people's right to worship but about keeping public order, he said.

"If in a neighborhood where the majority are Christians, suddenly this large mosque appears only for small number of people, I think the majority would be affected, if not angry. It works the other way as well."

Azyumardi said many countries imposed regulations on places of worship. Establishing them required the consent of municipalities and there were also zoning arrangements governing where religious facilities could be built.

However, despite the claims by Religious Affairs Minister M. Maftuh Basyuni, religious groups here say there has yet to be a across-the-board agreement on the revisions.

"We have yet to agree on the minimum requirements for congregation numbers and approvals. Details on legal protection, the composition of the religious forum and its responsibility, and other details have yet to be clearly specified," Indonesian Archbishops spokesman Benny Susetyo said.

The revision states that if the minimum congregation number is met and regional and government approval is obtained, then the government must provide facilities for congregations if locals in the area reject their plan to build places of worship.

"But this part of the bill is not well-known. And it's not in-sync with the other articles. Which articles will become policy has never been discussed," Benny said.

The most important thing for minority religions was legal certainty, he said.

"Everything has to be in line with the state ideology and Constitution. If local administrations refuse to give groups permits, then they have violated the Constitution."

Azyumardi urged the government to delay the implementation of the revision until it was acceptable to every party.

"While arrangements and regulations are needed, the detail of their content must be discussed thoroughly with representatives from all religious groups."

Labels: religion

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