H U M A N IN RELIGION’S NAME R I G H T S Abuses against Religious Minorities in Indonesia W A T C H In Religion’s Name Abuses against Religious Minorities in Indonesia Copyright © 2013 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-56432-992-5 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. We stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice. We investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable. We challenge governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law. We enlist the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all. 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For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org FEBRUARY 2013 1-56432-992-5 In Religion’s Name Abuses against Religious Minorities in Indonesia Map .................................................................................................................................... i Glossary ............................................................................................................................. ii Summary ........................................................................................................................... 1 Key Recommendations ....................................................................................................... 6 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 8 I. Religion and the State since Independence ...................................................................... 9 Post-Independence Debates .................................................................................................... 9 Religion under Suharto ........................................................................................................... 12 Post-Suharto Developments ................................................................................................... 14 Religious Diversity in Indonesia .............................................................................................. 16 Sunni Muslims and Sunni Groups ........................................................................................... 17 Shia Muslims ........................................................................................................................ 20 Christians ............................................................................................................................... 21 Hindus ................................................................................................................................... 23 Buddhists............................................................................................................................... 23 Ahmadiyah ............................................................................................................................. 24 II. Laws and Institutions that Facilitate Discrimination and Abuse .................................... 26 The 2000 Constitutional Amendment ...................................................................................... 27 The 1965 Blasphemy Law ....................................................................................................... 28 Decrees on Houses of Worship ................................................................................................ 32 1969 Decree on Houses of Worship .................................................................................. 33 2006 Decree on Houses of Worship .................................................................................. 34 2008 Anti-Ahmadiyah Decree ........................................................................................... 36 Religious Harmony Bill ............................................................................................................ 39 Religious Institutions in Indonesia .......................................................................................... 39 Ministry of Religious Affairs .............................................................................................. 39 Bakor Pakem .................................................................................................................... 42 Indonesian Ulama Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia, MUI) ............................................... 43 Religious Harmony Forum ................................................................................................. 47 III. House of Worship Difficulties, Discrimination, and Violence ........................................ 50 Attacks on Houses of Worship ................................................................................................ 50 GKI Yasmin, Bogor .................................................................................................................. 51 HKBP Filadelfia, Bekasi ........................................................................................................... 53 From Java to Timor, Closures of Houses of Worship .................................................................. 54 Attack on Shia Boarding School .............................................................................................. 58 Prosecutions under Blasphemy and Conversion Laws ............................................................ 60 Prosecutions under the 2008 Anti-Ahmadiyah Decree ............................................................ 62 Harassment of Ahmadiyah School Children ............................................................................. 65 Discriminatory Administrative Policies ................................................................................... 66 IV. State Failure to Protect Religious Minorities from Violence ........................................... 71 Police Siding with Islamist Militants ........................................................................................ 73 Police Failure to Prevent Violence Despite Warning Signs ........................................................ 75 Blaming Religious Minorities .................................................................................................. 81 Failure to Investigate Violence ............................................................................................... 84 Arson Attacks in Sumatra ....................................................................................................... 86 Judicial System Failures ......................................................................................................... 88 Recent Attacks on Freedom of Expression .............................................................................. 90 V. Role of the International Community ............................................................................. 93 The United States, European Union, Australia, and Other Trade Partners and Donors .............. 94 VI. Recommendations ....................................................................................................... 98 To the Government of Indonesia ............................................................................................ 98 To the President .............................................................................................................. 98 To the House of Representatives..................................................................................... 100 To the National Police .................................................................................................... 100 To the Ministry of Religious Affairs .................................................................................. 101 To the Ministry of Home Affairs ....................................................................................... 102 To the United States, European Union Member States, Australia, Japan, and other Concerned Governments ....................................................................................................... 102 Appendix I: Population in Indonesia by Religion 2010 ..................................................... 103 Appendix II: Number of Houses of Worship in Indonesia 2010 .......................................... 105 Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................... 107 © Human Rights Watch I Glossary Ahmadiyah An Islamic religious revivalist movement, founded in Qadian, Punjab, originating with the teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908). In Arabic, Ahmadiyah means “followers of Ahmad” and adherents are sometimes called “Ahmadis.” It began its presence in the Indonesian Sumatra Island in 1925. It was legally registered in Jakarta in 1953. Baha’i The Baha’i religion was established by Bahaullah (1817-1892) in Baghdad in 1863. President Sukarno banned Baha’ism in 1962. President Abdurrahman Wahid revoked the ban in 2001. Bakor Pakem Coordinating Board for Monitoring Mystical Beliefs in Society (Badan Koordinasi Pengawas Aliran Kepercayaan Masyarakat) under the Attorney General’s Office with branches in every province and regency under public prosecutors’ offices. Darul Islam Armed movement established in Garut, West Java, in 1949 to set up an Islamic state in Indonesia. In Arabic, Dar al-Islam means house or abode of Islam and is commonly used to refer to an Islamic state. In Indonesian, it is usually spelled “Darul Islam.” Dewan Dakwah Indonesian Council of Islamic Propagation (Dewan Dakwah Islamiyah Indonesia, DDII), an Islamist organization dedicated to dakwah (an Arabic- derived term referring to efforts to propagate the Islamic faith) and to face “challenges” posed by other religions including Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and spiritual movements. It was established in 1967 in Jakarta. FKUB Religious Harmony Forum (Forum Kerukunan Umat Beragama) Forkami Indonesian Muslim Communication Forum (Forum Komunikasi Muslim Indonesia) FPI Islamic Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam) Garis Islamic Reform Movement (Gerakan Reformis Islam) based in West Java. II GKI Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church in the Jasmine Garden housing complex (Gereja Kristen Indonesia Taman Yasmin) in Bogor, a town just south of Jakarta. Golkar Golongan Karya (Functional Group), a political party founded in 1964 with the backing of senior army officers. It was the ruling party during President Suharto’s 33-year rule (1965-1998). HKBP Batak Protestant Christian Church (Huria Kristen Batak Protestan) KPK Corruption Eradication Commission (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi) KWI Bishops’ Conference of Indonesia (Konferensi Waligereja Indonesia) Masyumi Consultative Council of Indonesian Muslims (Majelis Syuro Muslim in Indonesia), a coalition of Muslim groups set up during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia during World War II. It was banned by Sukarno in August 1960. MPR People’s Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat, MPR) Muhammadiyah A Sunni Muslim reformist organization established in 1912 in Yogyakarta, Central Java. One of the largest mass organizations in Indonesia. It has hundreds of hospitals and schools (pesantren) throughout Indonesia. In Arabic, Muhammadiyah means “followers of Muhammad.” MUI Indonesian Ulama Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia) Nahdlatul Ulama A traditionalist Sunni Islam organization, established in 1926 in Jombang, East Java. It claims to have 45-50 million members, making it the largest Muslim social organization in the world. It has hundreds of Islamic boarding schools mostly in Java but also on other islands. Pancasila An Indonesian statement of political principle or philosophy (literally, “five principles”), articulated at independence in 1945, consisting of five “inseparable” principles: belief in the One and Only God (thereby legitimizing several world religions and not just Islam), a just and civilized humanity, the unity of Indonesia, democracy, and social justice. It became the state III ideology under President Suharto and promotion of alternative ideologies was considered subversion. While now more rarely invoked by officials in such a blatantly ideological fashion, it continues to be a key reference point in discussions of religions and religious pluralism in Indonesia today. PDIP Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan) PGI Communion of Churches in Indonesia (Persekutuan Gereja-gereja di Indonesia) PHDI Indonesian Hindu Dharma Community (Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia) PK, later PKS Justice Party (Partai Keadilan), a political party in Indonesia modeled on the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. The party name later was changed to Prosperous Justice Party (Partai Keadilan Sejahtera). PPP United Development Party (Partai Pembangunan Indonesia) Sekarmadji Founder of Darul Islam (1905-1962) Maridjan Kartosoewirjo Shia Islam The second largest denomination of Islam. In Arabic, Shia is the short form of the phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī, meaning “followers of Ali”−a reference to Ali ibn AbiTalib (656–661), the son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammad. Shia members believe that Ali was the most legitimate successor to Mohammad. Sunni Islam The largest branch of Islam. In Arabic it is known as Ahl ūs-Sunnah wa āl- Jamāʿah or “people of the tradition of Mohammad and the consensus of the Ummah.” Sunni members believe that Mohammad’s successors were successively four caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, and Ali ibn AbiTalib. Most of Indonesian Muslims are Sunni followers. YAPI Islamic Pesantren Foundation (Yayasan Pesantren Islam), a Shia school in Bangil, East Java. IV Summary We get nervous every time we go to the mosque, especially those with children. We’re afraid to bring them. We also have Sunday school which now is done [in private homes]. We are very afraid. The women often don’t come to pray if we see people in white robes [worn by several militant Islamist groups in West Java]. −Titik Sartika, the head of an Ahmadiyah women’s group in Bekasi, West Java, on intimidation that her community faces from Islamist militants, November 2011. On February 6, 2011, in Cikeusik, a village in western Java, around 1,500 Islamist militants attacked two dozen members of the Ahmadiyah religious community with stones, sticks, and machetes. The mob shouted, “You are infidels! You are heretics!” As captured on video, local police were present at the scene but many left when the crowd began descending on the Ahmadiyah house. By the time the attack was over, three Ahmadiyah men had been bludgeoned to death. Ahmad Masihuddin, a 25-year-old Ahmadiyah student, recalled, “They held my hands and cut my belt with a machete. They cut my shirt, pants, and undershirt. I was only in my underwear. They took 2.5 million rupiah (US$270) and my Blackberry [cell phone]. They tried to take off my underwear and cut my penis. I was laying in the fetal position. I tried to protect my face, but my left eye was stabbed. Then I heard them say, ‘He is dead, he is dead.’” While the Cikeusik attack was particularly gruesome, it is part of a growing trend of religious intolerance and violence in Indonesia. Targets have included Ahmadis (the Ahmadiyah), Baha’is, Christians, and Shias, among others. There have also been cases of Christians in Christian-majority areas preventing Sunni Muslim mosques from being built. Affected individuals have ranged from people with permits to build houses of worship to those seeking to have their actual religion listed on their ID cards, to children bullied by teachers and other pupils at school. IN RELIGION’S NAME 1