In recent news, a minority sect in
Indonesia known as Fajar Nusantara Movement, or Gafatar, had its village burnt
to the ground on suspicions it was connected to terrorism. Although this comes
just days after a terrorist attack in Jakarta, the incident must not be blown
out of proportion.
The attack on the village is certainly devastating
and a violation of rights, but the link to international terrorism is tenuous
if non-existent. The targeting of this minority group represents just one
incident in a long pattern of vigilante violence against minority religious
communities in Indonesia. Such violence has affected groups ranging from the
minority Shiite community to Ahmadiyah, a group that is said to believe in
another prophet after Muhammad.
Indonesia's concern should not primarily be whether
this minority group has links to international terrorism. It is domestic
radicalism – those who organised the attack on the village – that should be the
cause for concern. Local mobs cannot be allowed to take matters into their own
hands, orchestrating attacks and burning down villages of religious groups that
are so-called 'deviant'.
This problem can be traced to the introduction of
democracy in Indonesia since 1998 that displaced the former centre of power
– the authoritarian state. This has led to new contests for power and
authority including from religious groups. One such source of authority is the
informal power of Islamic leaders to issue a fatwa to declare the teachings of
a particular group as 'deviant' or outside of orthodox Islamic.
The news that the Indonesian Ulama
Council, Indonesia's peak Islamic body, may issue a fatwa against Gafatar and
deem it heretical needs to be considered in context. A fatwa, the opinion of an
Islamic religious scholar, is not law in Indonesia. Fatwa are not sanctioned by
the state.
The impact of a fatwa on the actions of Muslims may
vary, and may have no impact at all. For example, the Indonesian Ulama Council
has issued fatwa in the past against smoking and using Facebook. Clearly
most Indonesian Muslims have ignored such opinions.
A fatwa by the Indonesian Ulama Council does not
have the approval of the government. Although the council claims to represent
all Muslims in Indonesia, it is only a quasi-official body with connections to
the Ministry of Religion. It is not an official state institution as such. The
real problem is that despite the informal status of the council, fatwa
have been used in the past as evidence to convict a person in court for
blasphemy.
Some media reports suggest that the
Indonesian Attorney-General's Office is now preparing to bring Gafatar or its
leaders to court, potentially on charges of blaspheming Islam. This is possibly
why the Indonesian Ulama Council may issue a fatwa declaring the group
'deviant' from Islamic teachings.
There is a common connection between a fatwa and
criminal prosecutions in Indonesia. A minority religious group ruffles the
feathers of established Islamic religious authorities and their orthodox
teachings. A major Islamic organisation in the area issues a fatwa against a
group. The group or its leaders are reported to police. The public prosecutor
then pursues charges of blasphemy.
A fatwa is then used in court as evidence against
the group. The courts generally show an attitude of deference to religious
authorities, and the person is convicted. This has happened many times before.
My research has demonstrated that there have been over 50 court cases, or at
least 130 individuals convicted, under the Criminal Code between 1998 and 2012.
Many of these were convicted for blaspheming Islam.
The bigger issue in Indonesia is not whether groups
like Gafatar have links with international or local terrorist organisations. At
any rate there seems little evidence of this. Even if the group has links with
a former homegrown organisation al-Qiyadah al-Islamiyah, that group was never
convicted for terrorism but only for blaspheming Islam. The key issue is that
the Indonesian government must take a tough stance against domestic radicalism.
Instead of pursuing criminal charges of blasphemy
against the leaders and followers of Gafatar, who have been victims of
violence, serious action must also be taken against the mob that burnt down
their homes and drove them out of their village. Targeting domestic radicalism
would demonstrate that the Indonesian government is taking its constitutional
responsibility to protect religious freedom seriously.
Dr Melissa Crouch is Lecturer at the University of NSW.
She is the author of Law and Religion in Indonesia (2014).