Harvard International Review

Blasphemous Pluralism: Examining Indonesia's Blasphemy Law

Author(s): IAN KUMEKAWA
Source: Harvard International Review, Vol. 32, No. 2 (Summer 2010), pp. 8-9
Published by: Harvard International Review
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/42763363
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 man the two nations put more effort in improving relations
the enmity betweenrights
from how
Colombian Chavez is accused of polariz- with Venezuela and Ecuador, as they
ing Colombian elections
the eight in favor of the can foster the growth of Colombian y
when
more pro-Chavez Green Party candi- the rebel groups in the countryside. Uribecr
a total date Mockus so that Santos, who stands largely
of ignored how regional politics20
combat alone. This statistic does not very close to Uribe in policy, does not may be making Colombia extremely
include civilian deaths, displacements, win. In an April presidential debate, vulnerable from the border sides in,
or other forms of violence stemming Santos reaffirmed his pro-US stance even as the rebel militants appear to
from the strife. Clearly, Colombia still by saying that he absolutely would not be less of a threat because they are now
has a long way to go to reach stability. renegotiate the agreement with the largely out of the cities.
Furthermore, the militant groups United States regarding the military It would be a big mistake to ne-
are regaining strength in the country- bases. Mockus, in contrast, hinted at a glect border relations as secondary in
side, perpetrating crimes as necessary more compromising approach toward importance to control drug trafficking
to smooth their drug deals. Even the Venezuela by saying that Colombia as well as crimes related to the civil war.
local farmers have become a part of the should not let a relationship with one The United States also must recognize
drug chain, as cultivating and supply- nation - despite the importance of the and appreciate Colombia's possible
ing coca to these groups has become a United States - affect a relationship diplomatic softening toward its neigh-
source of the farmers' livelihood. This with another nation. bors, as working with Venezuela and
is a huge security issue, especially con- Although its relationship with the Ecuador is one of the best ways to fight
sidering the weak police presence and United States, which supplies massive off the drug lords who increasingly
tolerance of criminal armies by public aid to fight off guerillas and paramili- ravage the rural areas and perpetuate
forces in rural areas. Moreover, an tias, is extremely vital to Colombian the anti-humanitarian civil conflict. IS
increasing number of militant groups security, the next president must also
is forming drug trafficking alliances
linked with private armies in rural ar-
eas. Colombia's government estimates
that there are about 4,000 members in

Blasphemous Plur^^m -
these criminal armies, but nongovern-
mental groups paint a more gruesome
picture of about 10,200 members.
What makes the growing influ- Examining Indonesia's Blasph^^^&v
ence of the terrorist groups in the rural
areas so alarming is that these areas web dejp^^feinaging editor
are very close to Colombia's borders,
and hence it is easier for the terrorist
groups to establish transnational drug 45-year-old law was in ké^ping with
routes. Some groups are believed to in 1998, Indonesia has generally Indonesia's national In its
have bases in neighboring countries Since witnessedwitnessed
in 1998, athegreatcountry'
improvement
s Indonesia a great democratization improvement has generally present form, the la^grarížsi the a
already. In fact, in March 2008, Co- in human rights conditions. There torney general's office the powef
lombian security forces raided a FARC exists a great diversity of religious punish heresy with jail terms of up
rebel base in Ecuador, killing some communities in the country and the five years and also the authority to
of the top commanders. At this time, vast majority of these groups operate religious groups that "misreprese
Colombia also publicly accused Ven- with scant legal restrictions. National state sanctioned faiths.
ezuelan leader Hugo Chavez of sup- political and religious leaders are The law usually applies to per
porting the leftist insurgent guerillas. comfortable having open dialogues ceived offenses against mainstre
This incident intensified Colombia's about the importance of religion in the Islam. Thus, it has a great deal to
already tense relations with its two political arena. Though the country with the preservation of the status q
Latin American neighbors. is approximately 87 percent Muslim, Indeed, Indonesia's concerned minist
Colombia's relations with Ven- five other religions are officially state- of religious affairs commented befo
ezuela and Ecuador have been rocky sanctioned. These are Protestantism, the ruling that if the law were to
at best, especially since Colombia Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, annulled, Islam and the Quran cou
became the number one ally of the and Confucianism. be interpreted at will and that indivi
United States in Latin America dur- Yet in April, the Indonesian Con- als would declare with impunity n
ing the Uribe years. Colombia is now stitutional Court upheld a controver- prophets and new religions. Over
supplying major air bases for the US sial law banning religious blasphemy past few years the law has been u
military, which spiked up the tension in the country. In an eight-to-one many times. Arrests have been m
with Venezuela. One can get a taste of decision, the court declared that the for offenses as varied as whistlin

ITI HARVARD INTERNATIONAL REVIEW • Summer 2010

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 during has rapidly declined in Indonesia since sect in 2005, attacks onpr the sect have
Muslims Bali's devastating 2005 bombings. Yet risen dramatically. t
Supreme since then, the country has seen the It is clear, then, that in addition to C
three dramatic growth and extended influ- year
posing problems for human rights and
be ence ofthe rei
political and religious groups democratic stability, the recent ruling
Muhamma operating under the aegis of Islamic paints a grim picture for the future of
actively orthodoxy. Additionally, the past few sectarian violence in Indonesia. How-di
lamic sect that held that Muhammad years have witnessed a significant ex- ever, some channels for amelioration
was not the last prophet. pansion of mob violence that targeted of the situation are still open. The
The decision is a major setback for members of unauthorized Islamic sects Indonesian government has put con-
the groups that petitioned the repeal as well as some Christian religious siderable effort into reducing sectarian
of the law - groups which included sites. tensions by investing funds in conflict
religious minorities, moderate and Extremist groups such as the Is- mediation programs and interfaith
secular Muslims, and advocates of de- lamic Defender Front, the Indonesian economic development. Local govern-
mocracy and human rights. Indonesia Council of Martyrs, and the Islamic ments themselves have initiated pro-
still makes extensive use of a council of Umat Forum continue to use violence. grams to rebuild churches, mosques,
Islamic advisors, the Indonesian Ulema Such groups have intimidated judges and other buildings destroyed in
Council (MUI). Founded during the and vandalized or destroyed religious violence and police have been actively
authoritarian Suharto regime in 1975, minorities' buildings such as Christian involved in arresting terror suspects.
the MUI continues to be funded and churches, Hindu temples, and Shi'a Still, the upholding of the blasphemy
overseen by the government, althoughmosques. Notably, such acts of violence law may be adding fuel to a fire that
it retains nominal independence. Thedid not occur in a vacuum; since the has already been demonstrated as hard
MUI exerts a great deal of influence;MUI issued a fatwa against the Ahmadi to put out. BO
the government often carries out its
fatwas (death sentences). The re-
cent ruling definitively affirmed the
power of the MUI, which, by some,
is considered a paramount threat to
the democratic stability of Indonesia.
Merkel in Trouble EUñ°PE
Certainly, the blasphemy law is a check
on the expanding pluralism of Indone-
Greek Debt, the EU, and Politics
sian society. By not extending the full
protection of the law to religious mi- print deputy managing editor
norities, it curtails freedom of speech ADITYA BALASU BRAMAN IAN
and bestows upon the government the
continued ability to define and dictate solve its own problems; somebody else
societal norms. apparent to the international had to help out.
But more immediately concerning From community apparentthatwhen
community Greeceto would
that the it first Greece international became would Since Greece's default threatened
to Indonesian pluralism is the renewed have trouble honoring its considerable to undermine the viability of the Euro-
attention to the law. Its recent affirma- national debt, after running a 13.6% pean Monetary Union, a consolidated
tion by the nation's highest court may budget deficit last year, talk emerged union of advanced European states
well embolden religious extremists of the plausibility of a bailout. Bond that share a common currency which
and foment sectarian strife. Even dur- yields had spiked, with the 30-day could devalue in the event of a Greek
ing the hearings of the Constitutional benchmark rate rising to a substantial default, the European Union was seen
Court, members of the militant Islamic 6.09 percent by February. Even the as the most likely candidate to help
Defenders Front attacked lawyers stop-gap measure of Greece issuing Greece deal with its woes. Many talked
seeking to repeal the blasphemy law. In more short term debt in order to satisfy of the International Monetary Fund's
the wake of the court's announcement, impending obligations and buying time rescuing Greece, but given that the
the American Commission on Interna- before fiscally restructuring seemed IMF generally dealt with nations as
tional Religious Freedom asserted that infeasible. In Greece, workers and a lender of last resort, this idea made
the ruling could give extremist groups labor unions balked at Prime Minister some uneasy. After all, Greece had a
ammunition and cover to enforce a vi- George Papandreou's drive to bring potential lender, the EU. What has
sion of religious conformity not shared the budget under control, protesting emerged is a hybrid EU-IMF package
by the majority of Indonesians. viciously his proposed measures to cut of about US$56 billion.
The ruling comes at a time of the deficit to the European Union's Estimates vary as to how much
generally increasing extremist activity. requirement of 3 percent of GDP. It that bailout would cost Germany, the
Public support for domestic terrorism became clear that Greece could not most well-off member of the EU and

Summer 2010 • HARVARD INTERNATIONAL REVIEW [T]

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