Debnath Guharoy, Jakarta – The army is in the barracks. The press is free. The constitution is alive. But from the way many elected leaders continue to behave, voter may well think politicians were put in office by divine intervention.

The mayor of Bekasi, eager to follow in the footsteps of the mayor of Tangerang, has now declared that he too would like to introduce sharia law. If the mayors believe they are acting in the name of the people who put them in power and enforcing the will of the electorate, then they are both wrong.

True to form, the politicians are again displaying the arrogance of ill-informed bullies who are eager to force their individual whims on a growing majority who reject narrow religious rules.

If both mayors believe they are acting in the name of the voting public, enacting into law what they believe has a groundswell of popular support, they would do well to look at the facts. Not anywhere else, just in their cities, where ignorance is bliss.

That both cities are integral parts of the Republic of Indonesia warrants mention, lest basic truths are forgotten. Indonesia, rather than with Indonesians, is a good place to begin looking for the truth.

In the last 12 months alone, there has been a palpable hardening in the attitude of Indonesians against sharia law. From April 2009 to March 2010, the number of people who said "Islamic sharia law should be introduced in my area" declined from 43 to 36 percent of the population. That's one in three people, not what an elected mayor could call a majority.

Expressions of support for sharia law have even less support. A year ago, 38 percent of the population believed "thieves should have their hands cut off". By March of 2010, that number had slipped to 32.

"Those committing adultery should be whipped to death in public" also lost steam, with an almost identical decline during the same period.

Communications and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring would do well to take note, not just members of religious political parties such as the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), of which he is a former leader.

Always a delicate subject, sharia law is increasingly being rejected, not embraced, by growing numbers of Muslims around the country. Even people unfamiliar with Islam know that sharia is a way of life for all believers, not a set of laws.

When asked the question, most Muslims would understandably have difficulty separating sharia from Islam. Rejecting the imposition of sharia law in that sense is an act of courage, a choice made consciously. In much the same way, a practicing Christian might be troubled if asked whether the Virgin Mary was indeed a virgin.

In this world's Muslim majority nation, steadily growing numbers of moderate Muslims are looking at tomorrow's Indonesia, differently. The purists and the fundamentalists are in the minority, and shrinking.

The politicians are reading the signs and even religious parties are seeking to redefine themselves.

Only opportunists are using the religious card for political gain, by ignoring the popular view and promoting the incendiary actions of the fundamentalist fringe instead.

The bigots and their political supporters have yet to buckle under the popular winds of change. Sabres drawn, they are the defenders of a faith they share with only their diminishing ranks. They aren't exactly keen to go with the flow.

In the minority, they are the elected leaders who provide protection to lawless groups like the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), imposing their will on a peaceful, moderate, gentle majority eager to see a modern Indonesia blossom.

The economy is in good shape, consumer confidence is running high. But the meaningless distractions created by elected leaders are just that, distractions and meaningless.

In a country where religions have lived side by side for centuries, where the constitution endorses plurality, the views of a diminishing minority being imposed on a growing majority has a surreal air, similar to the days of Idi Amin in Uganda.

Will the president of this republic please take note? And let the people know which side he is on?

Focusing on the runaway mayors of Tangerang and Bekasi, the picture is similar. Undoubtedly, they are imposing the minority will on the majority. Like the rest of the nation, that includes the majority of Muslims in their jurisdictions.

Only 38 percent of Muslims in Tangerang think "Islamic sharia law should be implemented in my area."

In the past, its mayor had neither the authority nor mandate to impose his beliefs on the majority.

In Bekasi, only 42 percent of the population and 42 percent of Muslims agree. Who is the mayor of Bekasi aiming to please, in the future? The majority of voters everywhere, not just in Bekasi, would like the President to throw the book at him. The constitutional book, that is. Everybody who loves Indonesia must be wondering what's stopping him.

By shrugging off these wanton acts, by allowing them to mold a society against its own will, the silent majority will hurt itself for generations to come. A people capable of defining modern Islam should not allow themselves to be hijacked by a diminishing fundamentalist minority. A nation capable of influencing the balance of power in the 21st century cannot allow itself to be ridiculed on the world stage. Now is not the time for silent acquiescence.

Any attempt to challenge the research on which these conclusions are based, is a waste of time. With more than adequate numbers of respondents, the margin of error is insignificant.

This is not a flimsy one-off poll conducted on the web with a handful of interviews. The opinions are based on Roy Morgan Single Source, country's largest syndicated consumer survey with over 25,000 respondents annually. Interviews are conducted face-to-face each week, continuously, with results released every quarter. The findings are projected to reflect over 85 percent of the population, 14 years of age and older.

[The writer is regional director-Asia for Roy Morgan Research. He is also a columnist and speaker at investment forums overseas and a frequent visitor to Indonesia. He can be contacted at debnath.guharoy@roymorgan.com.]