Modern Day Witch Hunt
Apr 21st, 2008, in Opinion, by Guest WriterRogue Wan sees sinister forces behind the anti-Jamaah Ahmadiyah witch hunt.
Defend Jamaah Ahmadiyah! Stop the Witchhunt!
The Indonesian government’s proposed decree to ban Jamaah Ahmadiyah as a “heretical sect” must be met by vigorous protests. The right of all Indonesian citizens to practice their religious beliefs as enshrined in the constitution must be defended. Immediate measures must be taken to halt the climate of fear and hostility that is being whipped up by religious fundamentalists toward the members of Ahmadiyah. Stop the persecution of Jamaah Ahmadiyah members! Defend Ahmadiyah against attacks and reprisals!
What makes both mainstream and fundamentalist religious leaders in Indonesia so scared of Ahmadiyah? Are not the beliefs of millions of Indonesian citizens or the central tenets of the Islamic faith strong enough to withstand the beliefs, ideas and practices of a few thousand Jamaah Ahmadiyah members? The issue is essentially not about the religious beliefs and practices of Ahmadiyah. This is a smoke and mirror argument to hide another agenda. It is about how, what and who will control the minds, bodies and actions of Indonesia’s millions of increasingly angry and discontented poor. Ada udang di balik batu, there is a hidden agenda.
The vast majority of Indonesian citizens living in abject poverty facing daily uncertainty in finding work, food, education, decent health care and a future for their children. There is a very palpable anger against the misery and degradation of their lives that is caused by the ineptitude and corruption of the small layer of rich. In turn, the elite have a real fear that they are sitting on top of a social volcano that could explode anytime. Hence, it is no coincidence that the government, religious organisations and individuals consciously and cynically seek to co-opt the basic religious beliefs of Indonesian citizens and the resurgence of Islam in public life for the simple reason that Islam, like all religions, is an excellent instrument to control and coerce the population.
Besides wealth, corruption and connections, pandering to the basic Islamic, social and cultural beliefs of the population, is now, in Indonesia the simplest and most opportunistic method to gain political advantage. Over the last few years we have witnessed a never ending parade of politicians, who are inevitably always male, jostle to outdo each other in a struggle to posture themselves as “more” Islamic than the other candidate and who all have plans to halt the so-called decay in society’s morals through upholding the “word of god” and applying Sharia law.
Once in power all they can do is introduce ill-conceived, anti-women Sharia inspired by-laws as some kind of magical “silver bullet” panacea to cure all problems! As can be easily predicted, women suffer at the hands of religious dogma and everything else, the poverty, lack of decent education, health care, services, roads etc remains pretty much the same.
The consequences and results of this are serious and disturbing for all citizens, but especially for women and minorities. Many of these by-laws have an unhealthy obsession with sex, morals and supposed ‘deviancy’; and almost all are attacks on the basic rights of all women.
It can also be comic and daft like the Batu local government in East Java issuing an informal ruling requiring women who work in massage parlors to use a kind of chastity padlock on their clothing whilst performing their work! Besides pandering to the hoary myth of the women as temptress, the people who thought up this regulation obviously did not think too much about the immense variety of sexual contact that is possible between humans and how a padlock won’t really stop humans seeking “forbidden fruit”. Does the ruling extend to male masseuses as well? Is the next step to force women to gag their mouths as well?
Thus the attacks on Ahmadiyah must be seen as part of a campaign of social and religious reaction aimed at regimenting and intimidating the entire Indonesian population.
NU Chairman Hasyim Muzadi is quoted in the Jakarta Post, 18 April as saying
In Islam, Ahmadiyah is deviant. It is the government’s domain to outlaw it or not for stability reasons.
So exactly what is Ahmadiyah guilty of deviating from? Or is it just a case of holding nonconformist beliefs that are contrary to the self-styled orthodoxy of the parasitic caste of Ulema (Islamic priests) who have a vested interest in maintaining their “brand” of Islam, and ensuring that the money and influence that they derive from this position continues to flow. The so-called guardians of Islamic orthodoxy seem to forget the adage that the heresy of one age becomes the orthodoxy of the next age. Today in Indonesia faith and religion are business and business is booming and that means their “brand” of Islam must be protected against potential business competitors.
In Indonesian society as a whole, what once were considered to be harmless, kooky or fundamentalist fringe beliefs are now becoming increasingly mainstream. On the surface it seems that the Indonesian central government and the state apparatus at all levels of government are more and more being influenced by; and subverted from within and without by conservative religious leaders and an increasingly vocal political Islam. In the case of Ahmadiyah and other banned religious organisations the Indonesian government is definitely taken a clear role in determining what you can and cannot believe, and thus become an energetic enforcer of Islamic religious orthodoxy. But who does this serve? Are Indonesians ready to accept this type of governmental religious indoctrination? Are Muslims themselves willing to let the government and a small number of conservative religious leaders tell them what they should believe and how to practice their faith?
Humans created god as an image of ourselves in our heads and then we subjugated ourselves and bowed down to worship our own image. Should people choose to worship god via religions that profess different beliefs and practices, then the state has no place in deciding whether the beliefs and practices of its citizens are true, or deviant or not. Religion ought to be a private matter in relation to the state and people should be free to practice their religion without state persecution and religious bigotry. The aim of instilling a religious “orthodoxy” is fundamentally to control and coerce the population and instill fear and obedience to authority.
All religion at its core has a duality; it is both an instrument of oppression and a comfort for the oppressed. As Karl Marx once wrote,
Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.
Historically, the religiosity of black people in America was a solace from racial oppression and a promise of deliverance. For the millions of poor in Indonesia religion performs the same role, giving people hope amidst grinding poverty and lack of opportunity. As a narcotic it can soothe or block out the pain of the world but can it solve real world material problems or fix an economic or social crisis of the magnitude that Indonesia has suffered since the fall of Suharto? If anything it distracts, confuses and hinders people from finding real solution to the problems of poverty and hunger because one of religions major roles in society is to instill respect for authority and act as a conservatising force. Together with the family, it serves to instil a morality that forbids anything that deviates from an “imagined” ideal “” everything from your political beliefs, to who you can have sex with, to what you can eat.
To be sure, the Indonesian elite will continue to be trained at private universities that are beyond the reach of the poor and have good prospects for their personal future. But what about the future of for Indonesia? The anti-women obscurantist fundamentalist religious dogma pushed by elements of the ruling class will actually retard the overall development of Indonesian society. The only people who will benefit from more religion will be the parasitic Ulema caste and capitalists. For the poor, the women, the gays and the ethnic and religious minorities it will mean more rules, more social control, more persecution and continued impoverishment and majority Muslim masses will be kept quiet and docile waiting for a place in an imagined heaven in the skies.
Can religion solve the most pressing problems of hunger, poverty, lack of decent housing, education, medical and social services? Can religious orthodoxy supply an ideology that could seemingly harmonize conflicting class interests while keeping Indonesian society ordered? Will the grand plans of Sharia inspired law and Caliphates truly bring a just and prosperous society? These are the real questions to ask those people who sell the product of religion as the road to the future. Today, however, the material reality of poverty however perpetuates uncertainty, fear, and competition for scarce resources and ethnic/religious conflicts. The blame for this state of affairs is placed on the religious and ethnic minorities and other vulnerable groups such as gays and lesbians. Ahmadiyah is a current victim of this type of intolerance and persecution. The right of all Indonesian citizens to live life in peace and to practice their religious beliefs as enshrined in the constitution must be defended and that is why it is imperative to protest the proposing banning of Ahmadiyah.
It is a case of an injury to one is an injury to all. Remember the words of Pastor Martin Niemöller:
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn’t a Jew.When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
Stop the persecution of Jamaah Ahmadiyah members! Defend Ahmadiyah!
48 Comments on “Modern Day Witch Hunt”
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dewaratugedeanom says:
Janma
Dewa, I am afraid that the hindu’s in india are quite violent…
timdog
dewa – I am not talking about some “historic war” with atrocities committed by both sides; I am talking about the current situation in modern India where it is often not a nice place to be a Muslim or a Christian…
…or even a Buddhist or a fellow Hindu. But both of you are right. Same thing happens in Sri Lanka between Tamil Tigers and regulars. Depressing.
Hindu philosophy blames this on the fact that we are living in the Kali Yuga, after Kali, the name of the goddess of death. Encyclopaedia Britannica tells us that a yuga in Hindu cosmology is an age of mankind. Developed from Puranic myths each yuga is progressively shorter than the preceding one, corresponding to a decline in the moral and physical state of humanity. Four such yugas (called Krta, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali after throws of an Indian game of dice) make up the mahayuga (“great yuga”), and 2,000 mahayugas make up the basic cosmic cycle, the kalpa (eon). The first yuga (Krta) was an age of perfection, lasting 1,728,000 years. The fourth and most degenerate yuga (Kali) began in 3102 BC and will last 432,000years. At the close of the Kali yuga, the world will be destroyed, to be re-created after a period of quiescence as the cycle resumes again. In Hindu astronomy, a yuga is also a unit of time consisting of five solar years.
However, I still have serious reservations about these so-called reconversions, given the fact that Hinduism doesn’t consider itself as a religion an sich, but rather as a composite of diverse doctrines, cults, and ways of life. You can be a Catholic and yet practise Hinduism. You can be a Jew and yet practise Hinduism. You can even be a Muslim and yet practise Hinduism. You cannot really convert to Hinduism in the strict sense of the word. There are innumerable instances of people living in India, who profess different religions and yet follow Hindu Dharma. Several followers of great Indian sages asked their gurus about conversion. The single and unique answer they all received was – remain with the religion you belong to and follow your religion honestly. For example, a Catholic was asked to remain a catholic and follow Jesus Christ’s teachings sincerely. Hinduism asks each one of us to search for the Divine within us. It asks us to do this in whatever way suits us. The essence is to capture the Truth within each one of us. We are all potentially divine, and each one of us has the capacity to realize this divinity within us.
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Purba Negoro says:
Nonsense.
Ahmadiyah is an alien Sect.
It is a Pakistani SECT.It is not consistent with Panca Sila- it is not an offically recognized religion by virtue of our 1945 Constiution.
The criminal, civil and constitutional law is very straightforward. If you do not like our laws- kindly leave instead of seeking to bend them to your deviances.
All Ahmadiyah are traitors to Nusantara and Islam.
Destroy Ahmadiyah in the name of Indonesia.
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Janma says:
Actually burning, and destroying are against the law too PN…. how you gonna get around that since the law means so much to you? Maybe if it doesn’t suit you, you should move to the middle east where you can stone or rape and pillage to your hearts content, and the law will uphold you.
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Janma – If a policeman was to say he is going to destroy a racketeering ring- is it taken in the literal sense?
No.
What has the Middle East got to do with upholding well documented Criminal, Civic and Constitutional law?
You should be proud Indonesia is taking such actions against these dangerous sects and acting to protect the SECULARISM of Indonesia.
Religious freedom is not a Constitutional Right in Indonesia. This is very clear.
If you don’t like this- leave. Exit Door is wide open. -
Tony says:
As a student of Indonesian Law (from the professional sense)–religious freedom is not part of the Indonesian Constitution–if a sect is inciting violence or has the potential to do so then yes, by all means get rid of them.
The reason being is because, while Black Americans used religion as a solace towards oppression–religion did not use them to attain great wealth for yet, another oppressor. They did not become pawns in a violent revolution that left them with a new set of masters. Today, in the USA, blacks are still discriminated against–no doubt. However, they still have a chance for a better life than if they lived in Sierra Leone or the Congo.
If this sect is not banned, the poor of Indonesia will be used as pawns in a bullsh*t Jihad and when all is said an done–they will be at the bottom, again, and this time they will be enslaved–so what will they have gained??
Anytime, anyone, uses religion to fight corruption/injustice–you can bet your ass that the true losers will be the poor–case closed.
It is time for Indonesia to rise up and be the nation it is capable of being!
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Purba Negoro says:
Bravo Tony. Superb argument.
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I have no problem if Indonesia wants to ban the sect…. if it’s the law then no problem, but the law should be excercised with the same enthusiasm when the mainstream use violence against others, even a sect.
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Muchamad Minako-sukamito says:
Murphy wrote:
The problem of calling them Muslims is not simple to explain. But it’s probably parallel with the problem of calling somebody a Christian if he believes that The Christ, The Messiah mentioned in the Bible is not the one born in Bethlehem 2 millenia ago, but somebody else who was born in Pakistan one thousand years later.
I am afraid you are also a victim of the propaganda that Ahmadiyyas do not beleive Muhammad as Prophet. The issue is delibrately created by a bunch of Ulemas, most probably imported from Paksitan. Using of Prophet Muhammad’s name as a licence to kill, burn, mutilate, destroy has been the best tool for those Ulemas. Ahmadiyyas are around for 100 years now! what made Ulema to push for the ban now? Yes I agree their are hidden agendas.
We, Ahmadiyyas do beleive Prophet Muhammad just like anyother muslim, the most exalted and leader of all the Prophets. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is nothing but Muhammad’s servant foretold by Muhammad himself. All sects of Muslims do beleive in coming of a Prophet after Muhammad in form of Jesus son of Marry and Imam Mahdi. Will all be banned?
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Tony…
I would hope that Indonesia attains all that it can be! I am not hoping for failure but I am also not advocating that the house cleaning that some are keen to see happen be one that is bloody. This is in spite of the idea that the tree of democracy must sometime be fertilized with both the blood of tyrants and patriots alike.
My question has always been is the banning of religious orders (even where we label them sects) the way to go? In between tearing me a new orifice or two, PN vehemently disagrees with much (perhaps all) of what I believe in. This is democracy in action and the exercise of his right to disagree.
I am not sure what Constitution you are reading but most legal scholars would tend to suggest that there is a guarantee of freedom of religious practice. The law though gets somewhat confusing as to what this can mean in terms of other legislation which limits your choice to one of five or six. As has been pointed out previously the Resident Identification Cards (KTP) require an “approved” religion to be listed which is indicative of there not being an absolute freedom to practice whatever religion you choose.
Ahmadiyya would presumably be being banned to ensure that there is no ongoing breach of the criminal code as it regulates blasphemy and presumably acitivities that incite violence and otherwise disturb law and order (peace and security)…
I, personally, do not think Ahmadiyya should be banned. However, I am also of the opinion that if the law permits such an action to occur then so be it! It is then up to those of us who do not agree with the law to lobby for its amendment. It is then at this point the academic debate starts in earnest (by the way PN academic debate is not about whether my knickers are running up some cleft that I have or whether I am some limp-wristed left leaning onanist or whatever other choice labels you throw at me)…
But open, frank, and trasparent debate is always fun!
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timdog says:
Dewa:
Hinduism doesn’t consider itself as a religion an sich, but rather as a composite of diverse doctrines, cults, and ways of life
You are right of course (this is partly why I find it impossible not to be gently mocking of over-earnest Westerners who go to India with a backpack full of preconceptions and insist on “converting” to “Hinduism” – but that’s another story…)
The problem is not people like you. The the disturbingly fascistic RSS, the VHP, and the thoroughly obnoxious Shiv Sena certainly regard Hinduism as a religion in the conventional fashion; and they certainly regard India’s non-Hindus (including Buddhists and Sikhs – though Christians and Muslims receive more ire as followers of “foreign” religions) as traitors who ought to return to their true identity – or leave…
The “reconversions” are well documented.
All religions are pereverted and misrepresented by their most aggressively ardant followers… -
All sects of Muslims do beleive in coming of a Prophet after Muhammad in form of Jesus son of Marry and Imam Mahdi.
errr…… didn’t Jesus come before Muhammad?
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Janma,
Yes, Jesus did come 600 Years before Muhammad. What generally muslims beleive is that Prophet MUhammad have foretold a second coming of Jesus after him in latter days. Ahmadi Muslims interpret this prophecy as ‘a person having jesus like attributes’ will appear.
I mean common sense:)
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blong says:
How About America, Inggris with infation in Iraq ? Are legal or murderer ? Please be objective
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bbl says:
if you see all these argument, you can summarize that it touch someone’s sensitive spot. A country based on Unity in Diversity, should embrace all. However, if one sect/religion has its crossing with other religion, which may infact disrupt their peace, the one sect/religion should understand its position, by either changing name or use other wordings. A religion will flourish in its way itself. However, VIOLENCE is the key issue. The Hunt is the issue. It is against the way of our country. These are two different subject. One is about misconduct of religion (as one put it that way), the other is the Violence act of killing in public. I believe the issue should be separated, as you know it is two differenct act, eventhough it is driven by one. Let say there is an accident, a bus accidently crashed a drunked motorcycle. The driver of the bus was killed by anger mob. Who to blame? the reckless drunked motorcycle driver, or a religious haji who happen to be a bus driver on his daily job? As indonesian, i am proud that minority is being watched and nurtured, if wrongfully conduct, must follow proper regulation at Indonesia (which is under process i believe, not an easy one, but a process – i dont judge wrong or right, it is their freedom to do so), however, i am ashamed that my friend would easily took lifes in PUBLIC and in MASS because of differences in religion view. Do you want your children to see you kill people in public?? You can yell Wrestling channel in TV is violence, but killing people in public is not?? Identify your self Indonesian!
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which may infact disrupt their peace, the one sect/religion should understand its position, by either changing name or use other wordings.
Excuse me??? Disrupt their peace? The poor sensitive, insecure little things, so they reacted by gathering in group of 1000 to attack 20 people and beat three to death. Yes, God must have been so proud of his brave little warriors.
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dewa – I am not talking about some “historic war” with atrocities committed by both sides; I am talking about the current situation in modern India where it is often not a nice place to be a Muslim or a Christian…
The link you provide is not history; it is partisan propoganda, and any “facts” it contains are thus devalued. Bad history is very easy to spot, and that is bad history. And in any case, as I said, I am not talking about “historic” rights and wrongs; I am talking about the current position of minorities in Hindu-dominated India.
Here is a depressing report from Human Rights Watch:
http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/indiachr/christians8-01.htm#TopOfPage
It deals with, amongst many other unpleasant things, the reconversions. As we are very fond of shrieking about the plight of Christians in Indonesia I thought this report might be of interest…
The “Hindu golden age” as proclaimed by the Hindu Chauvinists is not taken seriously by historians, and the attempts to claim the whole of Asia as a former “Hindu cradle” are palpably, provably wrong… There is quite simply no evdidence for a great pan-Asian Hindu realm (though my favourite Hindu-chauvinist claim is that the kaaba in Mecca is actually a shivalingam!). Hindu Chauvinists claim Iran, Afghanistan and Tibet as former Hindu realms… Pre-Islam Iran was Zoroastrian, not Hindu; pre-Buddhism the people of Tibet followed a non-Hindu religion called Bon (a few Bon people remain). In Afghanistan, in the HINDUKUSH no less, the people followed their own, local religion. They were termed the Kalash, and remained in the area now known as Nuristan until the turn of the 20th century when they were forcibly converted by the then ruler of Afghanistan Abdur Rahman. However, a few thousand Kalash people remain in three remote valleys in Chitral on the Pakistani side of the border – I’ve been there several times; I can assure you that they are not Hindu (though there are some Zoroastrian elements to their faith).