Is Radicalism On The Rise In Indonesia's Public Schools?

A new survey conducted by the Ministry of Education and Culture found a

surprising number of students supported ISIS and the implementation of
nationwide Sharia Law.

By Arzia Tivany Wargadiredja

|
06 May 2017, 1:00pm

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Tolerance is losing ground in Indonesia's public schools. The Ministry of
Education and Culture surveyed students, teachers, and principals in four
schools, two public, two private, about their views on pluralism, diversity, and
religious tolerance. The results were surprising.

"The results showed that 8.5 percent agreed with the idea of changing
Indonesia into a Sharia country and 7.2 percent agreed with the ISIS
movement," Nur Berlian Venus Ali, a researcher at the
ministry, toldKompas.com.
Nur Berlian conducted the research at schools in Salatiga, Central Java, and
Singkawang, West Kalimantan between July and September of 2016. The
ministry conducts surveys on religious tolerance once a year to contrast views
between private and public, tax-payer-funded schools. Public schools are
supposed to uphold the principles of Indonesia—which constitutionally
protects pluralism and promotes diversity.

But time and time again, the nation's public schools fall short of these ideals.
The SETARA Institute, a Jakarta-based NGO that focuses on democracy and
religious intolerance issues, surveyed high school students in Jakarta and
Bandung, West Java. They found similar results. According to theSETARA
survey, 8.5 percent of the students who responded thought the nation should
scrap the Pancasila—which protects six religions—in favor of a constitution
based on religion. That's two surveys that found that one in twelve Indonesian
students preferred Sharia Law to the country's current system of government.

Wait, you say, this doesn't mean the students are learning these views at
school. The SETARA Institute looked into that and it turns out that, yeah, a lot
of them are picking up these views from their teachers and peers. More than
half, 57.6 percent, said they didn't attend any religious studies outside of
school. About the same, 48.1 percent, said they received all their religious
education from religion teachers in school—which hold class for about two
hours a week.

"Schools, normatively, are supposed to shape students' characters," Ismail

Hasani, the research director of the SETARA Institute told VICE Indonesia.
"But schools are not an empty public sphere. They are a public space contested
by ideological powers in the context of Indonesian politics."

In other words, schools don't operate in a vacuum. If religious conservatism is

rising in certain corners of the country, then it's going to rise in classrooms as
well. The SETARA Institute found that everything from the teachers to the text
books could indoctrinate students with intolerant views. A text book for
preschoolers found in use in Depok, West Java,taught children phrases like
"sa-hid di me-dan ji-had" ("die a jihadist") and words like "bom," ("bomb").

In Bandung, West Java, thousands of textbooks for high school students

included a chapter titled "Rise Up All Islamic Fighters" that detailed the beliefs
of the ultra-conservative Wahhabi strain of Islam popularized in Saudi Arabia.
One sentence in the chapter read: "Those who worship other than Allah are
infidels and must be killed." The same book was found in Jombang, East Java.
The Ministry of Education and Culture seized the books and removed them
from the curriculum.
But the central government doesn't have control over school's mentoring
sessions, after-school lessons on the Quran or religion taught by alumni. A lot
of these radical beliefs start in mentoring sessions as well. The Education
Minister, thinking the same thing, urged schools to monitor what's being
offered in after-school programs.

"I asked the heads of education boards to closely supervise the activities
offered by parties outside of school," Education and Culture Minister Muhadjir
Effendy told local media.

The education ministry needs to monitor what's being taught and promoted in
public schools, Ismail said. The SETARA Institute has conducted the same
survey time and time again, and it often finds similar results. But the ministry
is slow to respond, Ismail said.

"The Ministry of Education and Culture always says this issue is not within
their domain because of regional autonomy," he said. "Then the regional
government should also be held responsible for the distribution of intolerant
books.

"This is the challenge for our nation. We're pushing the government to have a
school program against viruses like intolerance. We also encourage families to
have a strategy against radicalism."