TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Province of West Java has taken the top spot once more when it comes to incidents relating to religious intolerance, according to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) at the 2016 Religious Freedom Conference.
"Out of the 87 reports that were filed to Komnas HAM, 20 reports originated from West Java," said Komnas HAM's Commissioner for Religious Tolerance, Imdadun Rahmat, Tuesday, February 23, 2016.
West Java has repeatedly topped the list for religious intolerance since 2011 - which peaked in 2013 when non-governmental organisation, Setara Institute, reported a record high of 80 incidents relating to the violation of the basic human right to associate with a faith of their choosing.
According to Imdadun, the most stark example of the violation is the forced closure of the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) Yasmin in Bogor - and to date, the case has yet to be resolved. Further examples are the banning and/or closure of religious activities in seven churches across Bandung in June 2015.
Furthermore, continued the Commissioner, the treatment of Ahmadis in West Java is also considered as the most intolerant - as it ranges from practicing and proselytising, and as far as the ban on Ahmadis to congregate in one location. These bans and restrictions continue to be observed to this date, despite the fact that the joint-consensus letter issued by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Attorney General's Office (AGO), and the Ministry of Internal Affairs issued in 2008 only stated a ban on the proselytising of Ahmadiyah beliefs.
According to Imdadun, West Java frequently tops the list of intolerance because the provincial administration has failed to come up with an effective formula to resolve religious conflicts. "As a result, small disagreements become protracted, and grows into a larger, more complex conflicts," he said.
The Director of The Wahid Institute, Yenny Wahid, concurs with Imdadun. Wahid said that her organisation receives at least 46 reports of religious intolerance in West Java - higher than any other provinces. That said, Wahid said that the proliferation of intolerance is caused by the growth of intolerance - stemming from the lack of awareness about the importance of interfaith harmony and religious freedom.
"Intolerant groups often use religious issues for their own political gain - using jargons relating to heresy and the closure of 'illegal' houses of worship to gain traction to achieve their means," finished Wahid.
ISTMAN MP
