Tangerang, City of Shame!
Aug 17th, 2009, in Opinion, by Ross
Ross finds shameful bigotry in the fair city of Tangerang.
Tangerang in Banten already has an unpleasant reputation among those who dislike religious bigotry, but a report in the Jakarta Post did little to exculpate the citizens of that city.
The latest scene of nastiness is an obscure area called Pisangan Jaya, where a small group of Christians are being tormented by unidentified “Muslim groups”. The Baptists are a long way from their nearest formal GBJK church building in Cengkareng (and even if they weren’t, so what) – accordingly they meet for prayers in a residential area and each Sunday this occurs, a gang of loud-mouthed Muslims gathers close by, to shout abuse.
As the prayer-group leader, Bedali Hulu, says,
How can we pray properly if there are a bunch of people screaming threatening words outside…?
How indeed?
The JP notes that while actual residents by the site are more rattled by the protests than the prayers, Islamist intimidation has reaped its harvest of fear, an example being neighbour Mr.Asun, who says
‘They come every Sunday brandishing sticks…if a brawl broke out, who’ll take responsibility…we agree the church should move because we don’t want any violence.’
Nor, surely, do the Baptists, and it is clearly the Muslim trouble-makers who are at fault, so why don’t the police disperse them and arrest those brandishing offensive weapons?
Maybe some policemen share the nauseating irresponsibility of the jobsworth village head, a Mr Sa’adudin.
“It was the local residents who told us they didn’t want any Christian activities in the area…”
He then trotted out the bureaucratic thing about residential use, but we notice that this is simply an add-on, his initial comment indicating that –
- A – there are a lot of obnoxious ignorant bigots among his Muslim neighbours, and
- B – his sense of civic duty is so miserably low that he won’t stand up to the vermin who bring lawlessness into his patch.
I believe that another Christian denomination in Tangerang came under threat some years back, and Gus Dur went out courageously to speak up for them. He’s not my idol, but he has a long record of knowledgeable Muslim leadership, yet he was shouted down by the mediaeval cretins at Sang Timur, who were enjoying terrorising Catholic schoolchildren so much that no mere presidential figure was going to stop their foul fun.
When will this government crack down on the vile fanatic element in society?
69 Comments on “Tangerang, City of Shame!”
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Odinius says:
Brother Mouzone said:
Sure – and there is probably a religious motivation in many of those cases. There should be no difference in the permitting process for any place of worship; regardless of denomination.
However, I happen to think that Indonesia is actually pretty good about this kind of thing. There are a darn sight more churches in Jakarta than there are mosques or temples in London… And the chances of the UK or US making Hindu or Muslim holy days into national holidays? LOL.
I ain’t saying Indonesia’s perfect, but it’s far from a hotbed of intolerance and hatred.
I don’t think it is either. Most Indonesians I know are remarkably tolerant and even relativistic. But then again, it’s quite a different story when you leave the major cities. Hell, even when you leave the major parts of the major cities. Places like Tangerang and Bogor have sizable christian minorities, but local activists are preventing their free expression of religion. I’ve seen the same thing happen to Muslims elsewhere in the nusantara.
As for the US example, the law is quite clear. A church or mosque has to be built on land zoned for it, but no board can in any way, shape or form prevent land that is zoned for such use from being used by whomever purchases it (provided they are recognized as a not-for-profit). While in practice local communities do sometimes make it difficult for non-Christians to get that zoning permission, there’s also a law on the books called the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, which protects the right of religious assembly from exactly this kind of unfair and discriminatory zoning and permit activity.
Synopsis:
In passing this law, Congress found that the right to assemble for worship is at the very core of the free exercise of religion. Religious assemblies cannot function without a physical space adequate to their needs and consistent with their theological requirements. The right to build, buy, or rent such a space is an indispensable adjunct of the core First Amendment right to assemble for religious purposes. Religious assemblies, especially, new, small, or unfamiliar ones, may be illegally discriminated against on the face of zoning codes and also in the highly individualized and discretionary processes of land use regulation. Zoning codes and landmarking laws may illegally exclude religious assemblies in places where they permit theaters, meeting halls, and other places where large groups of people assemble for secular purposes. Or the zoning codes or landmarking laws may permit religious assemblies only with individualized permission from the zoning board or landmarking commission, and zoning boards or landmarking commission may use that authority in illegally discriminatory ways.
To address these concerns, RLUIPA prohibits zoning and landmarking laws that substantially burden the religious exercise of churches or other religious assemblies or institutions absent the least restrictive means of furthering a compelling governmental interest. This prohibition applies in any situation where: (i) the state or local government entity imposing the substantial burden receives federal funding; (ii) the substantial burden affects, or removal of the substantial burden would affect, interstate commerce; or (iii) the substantial burden arises from the state or local government’s formal or informal procedures for making individualized assessments of a property’s uses.
In addition, RLUIPA prohibits zoning and landmarking laws that: (1) treat churches or other religious assemblies or institutions on less than equal terms with nonreligious institutions; (2) discriminate against any assemblies or institutions on the basis of religion or religious denomination; (3) totally exclude religious assemblies from a jurisdiction; or (4) unreasonably limit religious assemblies, institutions, or structures within a jurisdiction.
The whole law is here:
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/housing/housing_rluipa2.php
Indonesia has no such law.
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If only we all can be like the japanese…. (things will be waaaay better: tech, art, finance, politeness, humanity, etc….).
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Conformist whalers with a dysfunctional political system who only gave up their militaristic imperialism (which they generally refuse to criticize) because they had two nukes dropped on them?
Kidding of course…do like the Japanese in general. But basically everyone sucks, when you get down to it. Laws and legal protections are, at the end of the day, methods of containing the suckage…
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Oigal says:
If only we all can be like the japanese…. (things will be waaaay better: tech, art, finance, politeness, humanity, etc….).
Unrepentant about Death camps, forced marches, forced labour, sex slaves, whale killers, racist, ocean plunderers.
Might be fun but perhaps hard to sleep at night at times.
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do like the Japanese in general.
Ok I apologise
Like Ody, I also like the Japanese in general..preferably stuffed and mounted on a teak base.
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You’ll have a lot fewer of them to mount in future – Japan’s population to fall 30% by 2055, study finds
Japan’s population is expected to fall to less than 90 million by 2055, compared with today’s roughly 127.8 million, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said Wednesday.
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Japan’s population to fall 30% by 2055, study finds
Well the girls are cute and in the interest of letting bygones be bygones, I would be willing to help..
Or as my ol man said when the yanks dropped by Hiroshima…”That’ll F….. em”
On serious note…they will really need to rethink their attitude to migrant workers then..
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Ross says:
Oigal is right on this topic. The rise of islamist triumphalism is clear and needs opposed.
But as to the stories, I agree with Timdog’s thinking – side by side – but am content of course to leave it to Patung.
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The rise of islamist triumphalism is clear and needs opposed
Eeer I dunno that I said that???..although if you wish you can remove Islamist and insert religious and I would probably sign up.
I have also had the opportunity (?? need a better word but no H.Lawson) to watch as the the Christian Majority burnt out a small community of Muslims a few years back, on the pretext the muslims had burnt done their church.
Later that day, I noticed the church at the other end of town was still standing..upon mention this, the reply from the landlord of the homestay…shug of shoulders…”someone said they did”
Best bit…two weeks later the locals complaining about the price of fish (Muslims were the fishermen)
Which just goes to prove you don’t have to be smart to claim to be acting for GOD.
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Anyone know why Japanese, despite being quite hygienic and healthy folks, have such terrible teeth? The British usually get slapped with the horrors of dentistry thing but I reckon the Japanese are giving them a run for their money…
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Its the clenching your teeth to make your eyes squint like that…
Ah the big book of british smiles…A SIMPSONS CLASSIC
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Fair enough, Oigal, the Christians can be o.t.t also, but since we were talking of Islamist abuses, I made my comment specific to them.
Now I must draw up the bones of a short story. Seeya soon! -
Bas says:
Culture and religious facts have been debated hundred times. Everything has already been said.
Now the real problem is to implement the LAW.
And the key is the lazy POLICE that care much about money than law. Clean up that mafia and many of the problems of this country will vanish. -
dragonwall says:
If there isn’t a proper legal system, how does one implement the LAW?
When it is the LAW then there isn’t much to implement at all.
This will all come back to square one like TEACHING THE YOUNGER THUGS TO BE BIGGER THUGS BY THE OLDR THUGS.
Unless someone who is capable to going through all the statutes and have them revised for proper implementation, there is not going to be much progress in the LAW.
Culture if to favor and religions is to influence. They seemed to get tighter each day. INSEPARABLE.
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But as to the stories, I agree with Timdog’s thinking – side by side – but am content of course to leave it to Patung.
Probably best that way, but I will also publish them separately under your own names, backdate them so they don’t go on the front page, close the comments, put a link to the combined ‘competition’ post.
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Ross, Timdog,
Just make sure one of the character speaks like “IM random illiterate islamist illiterate troll.”
ya its a top you know. that was a big please for amerika so the quran say to the jews not a bag for them. i am thinkinng of you noordin!
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I shall use the story option to introduce a new hero, who figures in my long-awaited next novel. “A Very Mad Jaksa Man.” Each of you can vie with the rest to claim the real-life identity of the hero(?)
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timdog says:
Oooo! These are going to be radically different stories! I’m looking forward to it…
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Patung said:
I liked this one too
I had good source material to work from. Love those occasional and random semiliterate trollish ramblings… 🙂
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Lairedion says:
No matter what, you have my vote, timdog… 😉
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Well, there’s a surprise.
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Brother Mouzone says:
Just heard that two of the terrorists suspected of involvement in the recent attacks are the brothers of a PKS politician; Drs Anugerah; a member of the DPRD for…. wait for it… Tangerang!
Hope this helps bury their chances of election success even further…
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Love those occasional and random semiliterate trollish ramblings…
I take my hat off to this one just now
1 side We re agree..moslem don’t celebrate the xmas,… for miss indo07..f*cking ur lol,..i’m not supportet ABB,..but you’re can’t talks like satan…he talks right,..but you’re very bad chicken christian
should do a compilation post of them one day.
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About the member of PKS (an islamist political party, digusting) that is linked to the terrorists:
http://erabaru.net/nasional/50-jakarta/4095-keluarga-teroris-minta-maaf
It’s becoming more and more obvious now: PKS is a terrorist party. Hmm… that sounds weird. An image of goaties gangbanging women / pretty boys dressed in burkha came to mind. Ok, rephrase: PKS is a terrorists political party.
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should do a compilation post of them one day
Please do
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Patung,
What’s amazing is that–no matter how incomprehensible I tried to make my joke versions–the real deal is just that much more baffling! What the *$(# is a “chicken christian?!”
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Ross,
Well, there’s a surprise.
Gotcha… 🙂
Comment on “Tangerang, City of Shame!”.
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Fair enough…bugger hate it when facts destroy a good rant but…I ain’t seen too many out in back blocks..plenty of the pointy things tho
Again, the Indonesia I live in is just not like that.
Again fair enough.. although to be consistent, I would suggest you are leaning the other way a bit too far as well…its long long way from honky dory.
Dou… Quite right although you may get some debate about how much javanese culture has changed over the past few years..I should be clear that its not just any particular religion, I have seen excesses from some of the others as well..seems tolerance in general is in growing short supply.
Having said that I personally suspect their is often a “political” driver behind a number of the anti religion troubles here.