INDONESIA - RICH HINDU PAST AND MODERATE MUSLIM FUTURE *** Jai Maharaj posts
and/or www.mantra.com/jai
By Nick Gier, Professor Emeritus, University of Idaho
"Nick Gier" <ng...@uidaho.edu>
New West
September 2, 2008
In 1991 I went on a two-week Smithsonian tour of Bali, the Indonesian
island most famous for its dances, craft arts, and Hindu festivals.
As I boarded a Garuda International flight in Los Angeles, I was
impressed that a nation that is 90 percent Muslim would name its
airline after a Hindu deity.
In every major building, we saw pictures of then President Suharto,
the army general who ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for 32 years.
This past month Suharto died after a prolonged illness.
Under the leadership of its first president Sukarno, Indonesia played
a major role in the Non-Aligned Movement. Although Sukarno claimed to
be neutral in the Cold War, the U.S. nevertheless was suspicious of
his friends in the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), which increased
its vote from 16.4 percent in the 1955 elections to 34 percent in
1957.
In the late 1950s, the U.S. had been secretly funding right-wing
elements in the Indonesian military, and on September 30, 1965, left-
wing officers, fearing that they would be purged, murdered six top
generals, all of them U.S. trained.
Major General Suharto stepped in, took control, and planned a
national-wide crack down on the PKI and the labor unions. Although
there was no evidence that the PKI had anything to do with the
military revolt, Suharto ordered his troops to track down leftists
wherever they could be found.
Lacking sufficient intelligence, the CIA provided Suharto with a very
long list of names, and, in addition, 50 million rupiah, arms, and
ammunition. The best estimate of the slaughter is 500,000 dead.
Another 300,000 civilians died in military action in East Timor and
other places where Indonesians dared to protest Suharto's rule.
When I asked our Balinese guide what he thought of Suharto, he
expressed utter disdain for him. Comprising only 1.6 percent of the
1965 population, 50,000 Balinese were sacrificed to Cold War
ideology. Some of those killed were members of our guide's family.
Starting in the 7th Century A.D., Hindus and Buddhists from India
established prosperous kingdoms in Indonesia, and the largest
Buddhist stupa in antiquity is found at Borobudur on the island of
Java.
Today Muslim shadow puppeteers entertain large audiences with night-
long performances of the Hindu epics -- the Mahabharat or the Ramayan
-- moving all the figures, reciting the verses, and playing a drum
all at the same time -- a single master artist working without a
break.
Contrary to widespread belief, Islam did not spread in Indonesia by
the sword. Primarily because of the effectiveness of peaceful Sufi
missionaries, most Indonesian kings embraced Islam voluntarily.
The Balinese, however, were not willing to convert. As Muslim armies
gathered on the western tip of Java, only several miles from Bali,
our guide told the story, most likely apocryphal, that spies spread
the rumor that Balinese troops had dipped their spear points in pig
fat.
For whatever reason, the invasion of Bali was called off, and today
three million Hindus preserve their rich culture on this beautiful
island.
From 2002 to 2005 there were three terrorist bombings, two on Bali,
specifically targeted at popular tourist locations. A total of 234
people were killed, but the perpetrators were arrested and they will
be executed in a few weeks.
In a 2006 poll only 10 percent of Indonesians supported the killing
of civilians for the reason of protecting Islam. Polling the citizens
of another moderate Muslim nation, University of Maryland researchers
found that 79 percent of Moroccans said that killing civilians was
never justified. What is interesting, and not a little shocking, is
that in the same poll only 46 percent of Americans said "never" to
the killing of civilians.
Since 1998, when Suharto was ousted in nation-wide protests,
Indonesians have had regular elections, and they even elected their
first female president in 2001. Significantly, she was Megawati
Sukarnoputri, Sukarno's daughter.
In the 2004 parliamentary elections, parties that identify themselves
as Islamist got 35 percent of the vote while the secular parties
received 47.6 percent, but in 200 regional elections since then not a
single Islamist candidate has won a seat.
The largest Muslim organization in Indonesia with a membership of 70
million has recently redefined an Islamic state as one that is "just
and prosperous," not one that follows Sharia law. They have also have
decided to support Sukarno's liberal policy of religious tolerance,
one that accepts the existence of all faiths.
In December, 1992, Hindu fundamentalists in India destroyed a mosque
that they claimed was built on the birthplace of the Hindu God Rama.
I would like to contrast that with my last night in Bali, when I
heard the chanting, 400 hundred voices strong, of Rama's monkey army
crossing a causeway to Shri Lanka to help recapture Sita, Rama's wife
who had been kidnapped by a demon.
The divine name Raam now divides Indian Hindus and Muslims, but for
centuries the stories of Raam have brought Indonesians together in
traditional theater and dance across this moderate Muslim nation of
235 million.
Nick Gier taught religion and philosophy at the University of Idaho
for 31 years. Read or hear his other columns at www.NickGier.com .
Read about the destruction of the mosque in India at
www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/ayodhya.htm
Comments
By Craig Moore, 2-09-08
-From the Quran:
Sura 8:12: "Remember thy Lord inspired the angels with the message:
'I am with you: give firmness to the Believers: I will instill terror
into the hearts of the Unbelievers: Smite ye above their necks and
smite all their fingertips off them"
The Wall Street Journal reporter, Daniel Piper, could attest to this
expression by the religion of peace if not but for his brutal murder
by its adherents.
Regarding the peaceful nature of Islam as practiced in conjunction
with Christianity in Indonesia there is this:
http://www.leaderu.com/common/indonesia.html
>>>>>>>
The growth of Christianity caused consternation among the Muslim
community of Indonesia, which claims 85% of the population. As a
result, Muslims adopted a systematic approach to stunt the growth of
Christianity.
"Oppression started out as mental or psychological pressure on the
Christian population and increased to formal strategies of opposing
Christianity's growth," Maryono explained. "Within the last five
years, the opposition and subsequent persecution has risen
dramatically."
According to Pocock, 350 churches were burned in Indonesia in just
the first five months of 1998. Maryono believes that number to be
conservative. According to the U.S. State Department's 1998 Report on
Human Rights, several instances of mob violence have occurred over
the last few years in Indonesia; they have included attacks on
churches, Christian schools, and other religious facilities.
LATEST ROUND OF RIOTS
The Chinese, who comprise approximately 3% of Indonesia's population
and are mainly Christians, bore the brunt of the latest round of
riots. Reports from various sources have likened the destruction of
Chinese communities to that of Berlin and Rotterdam after World War
II.
"The destruction of every shop, bank, restaurant, hotel, and place of
business is very complete," writes missionary Bill Hekman with the
Christian Leaders Association, "As the people loot and burn they
shout 'Allahuakbar!' (God is Great). This is a racial and religious
war of a one-sided attack by Moslems against Chinese who can do
nothing to defend themselves."
<<<<<<<<<<<<
Then there are storie like the 4 Christian girls beheaded and the
1000's of other deaths from Muslim violence against Christians. See:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/novemberweb-only/23.0.html
The point being is that the fabric of propaganda is not only woven
with carefully selected truths and half-truths but with the threads
of those truths conveniently left out. The story of how Islam came to
Indonesia palls into insignificance compared to how the "Sword" is
used today against 'non-believers.'
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By Nick Gier, 2-12-08
Dear Mr. Moore,
Yes, I neglected to include militant Muslim attacks on Christians in
Indonesian. To rectify that I've added the paragraph quoted below.
You may have noticed that I have included Hindu and Buddhist
fundamentalists attacks on Christians in India and Shri Lanka in
previous columns. You can check this out at
http://www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/darksouls.htm and /slrvcol.htm
When the governments of these nations start encouraging this
violence, then I will start worrying.
I've added the following paragraph to the on-line version of this
column on Indonesia.
"As they have in India, radical Muslims in Indonesia have also
attacked Christians. An especially gruesome attack occurred on the
island of Sulawesi, where three Christian girls were decapitated.
Again the police reacted quickly and jailed ten Muslims who were
responsible."
Meanwhile, we should watch our own home front. Just recently a mosque
was burned down in Columbia, TN, and remember that a Sikh cab driver
was pulled from his taxi and killed in California right after 9/11.
Generally, we should be very concerned about the 40 percent of
Americans who essentially say that it would be OK to kill civilizians
for national defense. Only 10 percent of Indonesians said that this
was permissible.
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By Craig Moore, 2-13-08
Let's stay on track with Indonesia. You claim that it has a moderate
Muslim future. I take great issue with your use of the word
'moderate.'
-From the US Department of State:
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90137.htm
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Abuses of Religious Freedom
During the reporting period there were reports of abuse of religious
freedom across the country.
During the reporting period, as in past periods, the Government
continued to explicitly and implicitly restrict the religious freedom
of groups associated with forms of Islam viewed as outside the
mainstream. Also during the reporting period, the Government arrested
and charged individuals with heresy, blasphemy, and insulting Islam.
In May 2007, the Lebak District, West Java, Department of Religion
reportedly encouraged the Muslim sect "Islam Sejati" to return to the
fold of orthodox Islam. A few days later, on May 15, 2007, the
Banten, West Java, chapter of the MUI issued a fatwa declaring the
group deviant because members only prayed three times a day and did
not face Mecca when they prayed.
During the reporting period, 187 members of the Ahmadiyya continued
to live at a refugee camp in Mataram, Lombok. They have been living
in the camp since attacks by local Muslims in February and March 2006
destroyed their homes and mosques. Representatives of Ahmadiyya in
Lombok raised security concerns on July 24, 2006, with
representatives of the Australian Consulate in Bali. They requested
asylum from persecution by local Muslims. In May 2007, the West Nusa
Tenggara Deputy Governor stated that the Ahmadiyya are permitted by
law to seek asylum in another country.
Violence and actions against the Ahmadiyya community increased after
the MUI issued a July 2005 fatwa that condemned the Ahmadiyya as a
heretical sect. In 2005 a number of policies, laws, and official
actions restricted the religious freedom of the Ahmadiyya community
in other areas. Despite a heavy police presence during two attacks on
an Ahmadiyya congregation in West Java in July 2005, police made no
arrests. A local ban was subsequently passed against the Ahmadiyya in
West Java, and they were prevented from using their religious
complex. As of the end of the reporting period, no action had been
taken against the perpetrators of the incidents. The Government
continued to tolerate discrimination and abuse toward the Ahmadiyya
by remaining silent on the 2005 MUI fatwa, the Ahmadiyya's legal
status, and local bans.
Dozens of people in Pasuruan, East Java, raided two houses belonging
to M. Thoyib and Rochamim on April 9, 2007, accusing them of
practicing animism. Both men had previously practiced Islam, but had
allegedly embraced animism and conducted animistic prayer ceremonies
at cemeteries. Neighbors denounced them as heretics. Local police
detained and questioned the two men about their religious activities.
They were not arrested or charged; however, the two chose to stay in
police custody for their own safety for two weeks before returning
home.
In April 2007, Malang police arrested eight persons accused of
disseminating a "prayer training" video produced by the College
Student Service Organization in Batu, East Java. The video allegedly
depicts 30 Christians being instructed by their leader to put Qur'ans
on the floor at a December 2006 gathering. Following the initial
arrests, an additional 33 persons were detained under blasphemy
charges in connection with the videos. Christian church leaders
denied allegations that Christians were involved in the production or
distribution of the videos. At the end of the reporting period, the
41 persons detained were still awaiting trial.
On June 28, 2006, the Polewali, South Sulawesi state court sentenced
Sumardi Tappaya, a Muslim high school religious teacher, to 6 months
in prison for heresy after a relative accused him of whistling during
prayers. The local MUI declared the whistling deviant. The teacher
served his sentence.
On June 29, 2006, the Central Jakarta District Court sentenced Lia
Eden, leader of the Jamaah Alamulla Group, to 2 years in prison for
denigrating a religion. The MUI issued an edict in 1997 declaring
Jamaah Alamulla deviant.
The press reported that in May 2006 the Banyuwangi, East Java
regional legislature voted to oust Banyuwangi's Regent, Ratna Ani
Lestari, from office. Those in favor of the ouster accused Ratna, a
Muslim by birth, of blaspheming Islam by practicing a different
religion from the one stated on her identity card. Ratna's supporters
stated that she was the target of a religiously motivated smear
campaign because of her marriage to a Hindu. Ratna remained in place
because the courts ruled there was no quorum present when the
legislature's vote was taken. The regional legislature appealed to
the Supreme Court, which had yet to rule as of the end of the
reporting period.
On April 12, 2006, police in Banyuwangi, East Java, arrested five
Falun Dafa activists, two of them foreigners, for distributing
circulars to local residents. Police later claimed they arrested the
five because the circulars contained information about the Chinese
Communist party and not because the activists were Falun Dafa
members; distribution of Communist literature remains illegal. The
five Falun Dafa activists were subsequently released and no charges
were filed.
During 2006 the Aceh government caned at least 25 persons for
consuming alcohol, 59 people for gambling, and 32 people for being
alone with persons of the opposite sex who were not blood relatives.
The Indonesian Christian Communication Forum claimed that eight
small, unlicensed churches in West Java were shut down during the
reporting period by Muslim extremist groups despite a 2 year grace
period contained in the revised regulation for houses of worship to
obtain permits per the new requirements. In 2006 militant groups
forcibly closed two churches without police intervention. Another 20
churches closed in 2006 under pressure from militant groups after the
promulgation of the revised decree remain closed, according to the
Forum. While often present, police rarely acted to prevent forced
church closings and sometimes assisted militant groups in the
closure. In early June 2006 the central Government announced its
intentions to crack down on vigilantism by militant religious groups
against places of worship as well as other targets. At the end of the
reporting period, there were no specific reports of action.
In November 2005 local police arrested a foreigner and a citizen who
were associated with a Christian working on a humanitarian dam
building project on the island of Madura. Police acted after local
religious leaders alleged that the two engaged in proselytizing. The
allegations appeared to be sparked by jealousy on the part of leaders
that their communities had not received similar projects. Prosecutors
charged the citizen, who continued to publicly profess a
nontraditional version of Islam, with denigrating a religion, and the
court sentenced him to 2 � in prison. The foreigner was convicted of
immigration violations, sentenced to 5 � months, and deported.
In October 2005 police in Central Sulawesi raided their neighborhood
Madi sect after locals from other villages complained that sect
followers were not fasting or performing ritual prayers during
Ramadan. Three policemen and two sect members died in the clash. Sect
members reportedly held two police officers hostage but later
released them. Five Madi members were tried by local courts for
causing the deaths of the police personnel; in January 2006 they were
convicted and sentenced to between 9 and 12 years in prison.
In September 2005 an East Java court sentenced each of six drug and
cancer treatment counselors at an East Java treatment center to 5
years in prison and an additional 3 years in prison for violating key
precepts of Islam by using paranormal healing methods. A local MUI
edict characterized their center's methods as heretical. Police
arrested the counselors while they tried to defend themselves from
hundreds of persons who raided the center's headquarters. The center
was shut down and the six counselors began serving their sentences
during the reporting period.
In August 2005, East Java's Malang District Court sentenced Muhammad
Yusman Roy to 2 years imprisonment for reciting Muslim prayers in
Indonesian, which MUI declared tarnished the purity of Arabic-based
Islam. Roy was released from prison on November 9, 2006, after
serving 18 months of his sentence.
In June 2005 police criminally charged a lecturer at the Muhammadiyah
University in Palu for heresy. They held him for 5 days before
placing him under house arrest after 2,000 persons protested against
his opinion article, entitled "Islam, A Failed Religion." The
article, among other things, highlighted the spread of corruption in
the country. The lecturer was released from house arrest and
subsequently fired by the University.
In September 2005 a court sentenced three women from the Christian
Church of Camp David to 3 years imprisonment under the Child
Protection Law for allegedly attempting to convert Muslim children to
Christianity. The women claimed that family members gave permission
for their children to attend Christian youth programs. The Supreme
Court rejected the women's appeal in 2006. They served two years of
their sentences and were released on parole on June 11, 2007.
Local Shari'a-influenced anti-prostitution ordinances exist
throughout the country. This included Tangerang, West Java, where the
city council passed a vaguely worded by-law on November 21, 2005,
prohibiting anyone suspected of being a prostitute, based on his or
her attitude or behavior, from being in public places. In 2006
Tangerang arrested and tried dozens of women as prostitutes,
including a pregnant mother of two who was accused of being a
prostitute because she purportedly had make-up in her purse. In April
2006 three of the women tried in Tangerang filed a request for
judicial review of the by-law with the Supreme Court, but the court
ruled on March 1, 2007 that the law was valid and not in conflict
with higher laws.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<
If moderation is measured only in the severity of punishment compared
to other Muslim countries, then I disagree with your claim.
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By Nick Gier, 2-16-08
Dear Mr. Moore:
Considering the fact that Indonesia is a very large country with 235
million people, this list of infractions is quite small.
I would rather go with the Freedom House report of 2007. This is an
organization that liberals have criticized, especially in the Cold
War years, for rating authoritarian dictatorships that the U.S.
supported more free than they should have been.
My contention of a moderate Indonesia is firmly supported by Freedom
House, which ranks Indonesia and Mali as the only free Muslim
countries in the world. I would disagree with them on at least two
countries: Morocco and Turkey. Considering the large number of Muslim
countries, this is quite an honor that Indonesia holds.
What is quite significant is that in the 200 regional elections held
since 2006, not a single militant Muslim candidate has won,
supporting the survey showing that only 10 percent of Indonesians
support militant activities.
Significantly, it was not free at all when we supported the Suharto
dictatorship.
-From Freedom House 2007 Report
Political Rights Score: 2
Civil Liberties Score: 3
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's reform campaign proceeded in
fits and starts, with a notable cabinet reshuffle in December 2005
and the passage of a number of reforms as well as the reversal of
some gains in the face of considerable public opposition. Despite the
appointment of a new, reformist military leader early in 2006,
military-business ties and an entrenched tradition of impunity
continued to inhibit much-needed military reform. Further progress
was made toward securing peace in the northwestern province of Aceh,
with the passage of an Aceh governance bill in July 2006 and the
successful completion of the province's first elections in December.
A former rebel leader was elected governor in the peaceful balloting.
Unrest in the eastern province of Papua persisted, however, and the
arrival of dozens of Papuan asylum seekers on Australian shores in
February complicated Indonesia's relations with that country. The
year also saw a worrisome rise in conservative Islamism, including a
spate of religious attacks and the passage of illegal Sharia (Islamic
law) ordinances in a number of districts. Democracy activists waged a
widespread and largely successful campaign to promote the country's
secular ideology of Pancasila in response. Staggered, direct
elections for regional leaders continued to be held across the
country over the year.
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By Ayya, 2-26-08
One would think that you are deluded or likely funded by the Oil Rich
Arabs to think Islam is a tolerant peaceful religion. In a typical
Hindu bashing style you mention that "the Hindu Fundametalists
destroyed ---" The so called Hindu fundamentalists is an Oxymoron. In
fact the Shia's and Sunnis, who number in millions, live more
peacefully in India compared to Pakistani and Iraqi sunnis and shias.
Just cross over to Malaysia and see the peaceful muslims destroying
temples.
Remember the Bamian Buddha in Afghanistan? And another Buddha in
Pakistan in 2007. Any idea how many temples were destroyed by the
peaceful religion? In Kashi (Benares) you can see the Mosque built on
the destroyed temple walls. Throughout India there are Mosques built
on destroyed temples. And the catholics under the Portugese rule were
not a peaceful lot either. They have their share of Churches built on
temples. The Hindus killed by the Muslims during their conquest and
rule is as bad as the Holocaust in number of people killed.
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More at:
http://www.newwest.net/citjo/article/indonesia_rich_hindu_past_and_moderate_muslim_future/C33/L33/
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
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