BNPT Head: We Have to Respect Truth in Other Religions

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) head police Commissioner-General Boy Rafli Amar believed that fanaticism in religion means one must respect other religions. He emphasized that no one must be forced to embrace the truth in other faiths.

"The most important thing is that we still have to respect the truth in other religions. If we force [people to embrace] our truth while other religions promote other teachings, this surely has the potential to cause intolerance," said Boy when met at Bung Karno University, Tuesday, May 24, 2022.

According to him, fanaticism could be seen in a positive way by religious adherents in carrying out the commands they are taught so long that the teachings believed by other religions are not blamed. “They have their own fanaticism, if it is opposed, it will spark intolerance; clashes may occur,” Boy underlined.

Issues related to local preacher Abdul Somad or known as UAS should be used as a self-reflection. Boy refused to comment on whether Somad's teachings could lead to radicalism as questioned by the Singapore government.

As widely reported, Singapore denied entry of Somad last week due to the latter’s extremist and segregationist teachings which are unacceptable in the multi-racial and multi-religious society of Singapore.

However, Boy did not mention that Somad is an extremist figure. "We certainly see it as a material for evaluation and reflection," he added.

Boy further reminded that radicalism must be watched out for because it is not in line with the life of the nation and state. Therefore, BNPT continued to monitor and collect information related to the alleged existence of radicalism in the archipelago.

FAIZ ZAKI

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