Tolerance in Indonesia Degrades after November 4 Rally: Infid
31 January 2017 23:42 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Bengkulu - Ispahani, a researcher with the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (Infid), said that the religious tolerance in Indonesia has been declining after the November 4 Rally.
"An action launched by a certain group was countered by other groups and so on. This is dangerous for Indonesia's diversity context," Ispahani said in Bengkulu on Tuesday, January 31, 2017.
According to Ispahani, the conclusion was drawn from research conducted in six major cities across Indonesia, namely Pontianak, Makassar, Surabaya, Surakarta, Bandung, and Yogyakarta in October 2016 involving 1,200 respondents.
The aim of the research was to figure out perceptions and attitudes of young generations towards radicalization and extremism.
"In the research, the tolerance index before November 2016 was still good. However, after November 2011 and the November 4 Rally, the religious tolerance level has degraded," Ispahani added.
Ispahani revealed that the condition had been detected by Infid earlier. In general, the Infid research concludes that religious values have made young generation to put religion as a part of their personal identity.
Therefore, Ispahani added, religious values for young generation are related to how the religion is embraced by the followers.
"Young generation's attitudes toward events related to differences in beliefs showed that young generations are vulnerable to intolerance. Parents play the key role in the religious internalization," Ispahani said.
PHESI ESTER JULIKAWATI