2 - NU and Muhammadiyah: Majority Views on Religious Minorities in Indonesia

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Indonesia today can aptly be described as bipolar. It is the rising star of the international finance and business communities in Asia, with growth and other macroeconomic indicators attracting ever-increasing investment and attendant international clout. On the other hand, twin dark clouds of corruption and the tenuous status of religious minorities hang over the bright horizon in ominous contrast. In this chapter, we look at the factors underlying the increasing precariousness of religious minorities in Indonesia, we make a case for why the stance of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah matter, and we examine both official and non-official positions of the two mass-based organizations on both Islamic and non-Islamic minorities in Indonesia. We conclude that Indonesian society is becoming increasingly polarized, and that as such, NU and Muhammadiyah's mission of occupying a “middle path” is increasingly important. The two organizations navigate the terrain of the “middle path” differently due to their contrasting structure and internal culture; however, they are both important players in the ongoing discourse on religious freedom in Indonesia.

There is no question that the problem of its treatment of religious minorities is threatening Indonesia's status as the “golden-haired boy” of democratic reform which is often touted by international observers and ministry of Foreign Affairs officials alike.1 Recent violent attacks against Shi'a minorities in East Java, Hindu minorities in Sumatra, the forced closure of churches in Bekasi and Bogor, and the brutal murders of three Ahmadis in Cikeusik, West Java, have called into question whether the Indonesian state has the ability to provide the most basic level of security to its citizens, much less fulfil rights to freedom of worship accorded by the 1945 Constitution. Although Islam is the religion of the vast majority of Indonesia's citizens (88 per cent), there are significant Protestant (6 per cent), Catholic (3 per cent), and Hindu (3 per cent) minorities, in addition to followers of Buddhism, Confucianism, and other beliefs.2 In Indonesia's recent history, mainstream Muslim leaders have been amongst the advocates for religious minority rights in Indonesia; however, a combination of lack of state ability or will to protect these rights, and increasing society-level intolerance has resulted in their erosion in recent years.