by Bramantyo Prijosusilo

With the image of Islam being a bearded bomber who seeks to destroy the USA while he is not indulging in the honor killings of the wayward female members of his family, it is widely believed that Islam does not respect basic human rights. Islamophobes like the Dutchman Geert Wilders scan through the Qur’an and find verses that order the killing of apostates and infidels and the covering up of women to support their views. However a closer examination of the Qur’an and also a wider perspective of Islamic traditions would reveal that although some patriarchal and tribal expressions of Islam disregard human rights this situation is by no means the rule. For many Indonesian Muslims who have for generations experienced the fact that some members of their families might choose other religions, the notion that Islam should be expressed through the curtailing women’s rights and executing apostates is absolutely horrifying.

The valiant Cut Nya’ Dien of the Aceh wars at the end of the 19^th century is a famous national heroine and leader of men who was inspired by Islam. The formidable Eni Rukmini Sekarningrat, is a devout Muslim lady who was a frontline fighter in the independence wars against the Dutch in the late 1940s. Currently she is the Grand Mistress of the Panglipur pencak silat martial arts school, with students all over the world. At her 94 years of age she can still throw a young male fighter down with ease. Millions of other Muslim women in Indonesia are the main economic pillars of their families who have the final say in family decisions. These Muslim women are in no way anomalies, nor do they find inspiration from obscure sections of Islamic traditions, for they can look directly to the first mother of Muslims, who was the Prophet Muhammad’s Boss and later beloved wife and confidant, Khadijah.

The tradition of tolerance and gender equality in Indonesian Islam has in the recent years been systematically eroded by puritan and trans-national, well funded, propaganda. However, Islamism is not the only reason why we are seeing a rise in bigotry. Sudden and drastic changes in the economic rhythm of villages, caused by the introduction of genetically modified seeds and agricultural chemicals in fertilizers and pesticides, did not only created widespread unemployment in villages but also killed off many communal ceremonies related to the cycles of life, which traditionally were the vehicles of communal wisdom. More >

by Bramantyo Prijosusilo

Ever since our founding fathers decided to drop the “seven words” from the Jakarta Charter, there have been Islamist groups who have been struggling to get them back into the Constitution. These “seven words” were originally part of the Pancasila State philosophy, namely the first point; “Belief in One God”. The seven words that were dropped translate as … “and Muslims are obliged to implement Sharia.”  The reason for dropping these words in 1945 was to accommodate the feelings of the non-Muslim people of Eastern Indonesia.  After the “Reformasi” in 1998, Islamist groups tried to but could not gain enough support in Parliament to bring back the “seven words” in to the Constitution.  Amongst Islamic circles there were also discussions and debates on what really constitutes as Sharia. The problem with the State implementing Sharia is that there are as many interpretations of Sharia as there are interpretations of Islam.

After the “Reformasi” numerous Islamist groups that hitherto had been underground surfaced and began to openly, and eventually successfully, challenge the law that stipulated that every political party and mass-organization had to acknowledge the State philosophy, Pancasila, as their basic philosophy.  The most vicious attack on the Pancasila philosophy was probably the attacks carried out by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) on the peaceful, pro-pluralism demonstration on the birthday of Pancasila last year. Although many people were seriously injured, the perpetrators of the attacks were given lenient sentences by judges, and had ministers and celebrities visiting them in their jail cells, where television crews followed them as if they were pop-stars.  Although the political efforts to have Sharia enshrined as the law of the land have subsided, the dream to make Indonesia a Sharia state has not been, and probably will never be, vanquished. More >