AAL Insight: Politics and Religion in Indonesia

Feb 10, 2018

Written By Jack J Collins, Editor of AllAboutLaw.co.uk

Indonesia might seem like a world away from the UK, but it’s an exceptionally important state for the wellbeing world politics. Recent revelations have seen a Christian governor in a Muslim state, jailed for blasphemy, igniting the debate over whether a democracy can work if it is governed by religious principles. Jack J Collins weighed it up.

Indonesia is a crucial cornerstone if the world is to move forward from the web of terror that currently engulfs much of it. Not only is Indonesia a recent democracy, but it’s also the third largest democratic state on Earth.

That’s important for showing that even countries who have traditionally worked on a different system can make important changes, but far more crucial given the current state of world affairs is that Indonesia’s highest religious makeup, with over 87% of the population following Islam.

Indonesia is often used these days, therefore, as living proof that the edicts of Islam are completely and utterly compatible with a democratic state, as long as it is managed properly; and the Indonesian desire for moderation and tolerance are seen as cornerstones of this alliance between religious and political freedoms.

That’s not to say that there haven't been issues – Indonesia’s past is etched with the blood of inter-ethnic struggles. During the reign of the autocratic ‘New Order’ movement, a purge against the largely secular Communist Party was carried out, followed by the government claiming that everyone must ‘choose a religion’. Half a million people were murdered.

As such, recent cases in Indonesia have brought to light a disturbing new trend in the region – that hardline, ultra-Conservative Muslims can interfere with politics by whipping up a mob into a frenzy and targeting something that someone has said, bending it out of shape and claiming anti-Islamist sentiment.

The case in question is that of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama – who is commonly known as Ahok. Ahok is a Christian governor in a majority Muslim state, but up to this point, he’s been doing pretty well. In fact, that’s doing him a disservice – Ahok’s approval ratings were higher than 70% before this issue exploded, and not because he’s quiet and lets people do what they like – Ahok is a famously outspoken, brash individual, who isn’t afraid of a lively debate. Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that before this all kicked off, people liked him.

That changed when Ahok cited a verse from the Qu’ran, claiming that Islamist supremacists would use the verse to say that a non-Muslim could not rule over a Muslim. Ahok disagreed, pointing out that the verse didn’t say that at all, and it was being used to negative effect. Hardline Islamists disagreed, and an edited version of Ahok’s speech went viral, causing mass outrage against the governor.

He lost the election to a Muslim rival, Anies Baswedan, who will take over in January. Whilst the election was a divisive and explosive one, which is a negative sign, the real issue is the interference of major public groups peddling something that didn’t actually happen – the footage that caused the major outrage was edited to make it look like a direct attack on Islam.

It didn’t end there, however. The groups who Ahok had offended claimed that he had committed blasphemy, which is a criminal offence in Indonesia, and made continuous calls for the governor to be tried in a court of law. Eventually, the legal system bowed to public pressure, and Ahok was brought before the law on charges of insulting Islam.

The judge agreed with the protestors. Ahok was “found to have legitimately and convincingly conducted a criminal act of blasphemy, and because of that we have imposed two years of imprisonment”, the head judge, Dwiarso Budi Santiarto, told the court.

“As part of a religious society, the defendant should be careful to not use words with negative connotations regarding the symbols of religions, including the religion of the defendant himself.”

A second judge, Abdul Rosyad, said reasons for the stiff sentence included that “the defendant did not feel guilt, the defendant’s act has caused anxiety and hurt Muslims”.

In a bizarre twist to proceedings, the prosecutors had actually withdrawn the charge for blasphemy before the court case began and asked for Ahok to be given a two-year suspended sentence, on a lesser charge. The judge, however, deemed the offence to be worthy of direct imprisonment.

Ahok will appeal, but appeals in blasphemy cases are famously unsuccessful, and there aren’t many that hold out much hope for such an appeal to work this time round, especially in what has become such a high-profile case.

The now-jailed governor was a close ally of the President, Jokowi, who was conspicuously absent throughout the whole process, as populism grows ever stronger. In the same way, Baswedan, Ahok’s opponent, who was believed to be a very moderate character in the election campaign, decided to join the protests and be seen alongside its leaders as he courted the popular vote.

It remains to be seen what will happen next to both Ahok and Indonesia – but if mob justice from hardline Islamist groups can take down one of the President’s closest allies with little to no opposition from within the Government, then surely democracy cannot hold its grip on the country. The next period in Indonesian politics will be a defining one, and those who truly value freedom must stand up to be counted.

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