Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Academics, religious leaders and students in North Sumatra have called on the central government to immediately issue a law regulating on inter-religious relationships.
The call was made Tuesday following recent attacks on houses of worship, which were viewed as having the potential of sparking interfaith violence.
"As a pluralistic country, Indonesia needs a law regulating inter-religious life," Jhon Tafbu Ritongam, the academics spokesman, said in a joint forum in Medan at the School of Economy of the North Sumatra University (USU) on Tuesday.
Ritonga, dean of the USU School of Economy, said the law on interfaith relationships should be issued as a guidance for people of different faiths in maintaining harmony.
As an economist, Ritonga compared interfaith regulations with the regulation of market economies, which have clear and complete rules governing its implementation.
According to Ritonga, the further the economy of a country improves, the more complete and detailed the rules are. He said that to overcome a financial crisis, a bank should have a protocol to resolve the issue to avoid having a negative impact on other banks and the economy.
"In interfaith life, there should also be a protocol to resolve issues and conflicts that could extend to the community," said Ritonga.
Ritonga added that in terms of building and maintaining harmony, they could learn from the market economy system which provides freedom as well as rules. He said rules, such as bans on monopolies, oligopolies, monopsonies and cartels must be imposed to maintain healthy competition.
In response to the attacks on houses of worship, Ritonga said it was detrimental in an economic perspective. "Obviously, it is a disadvantage to the economy because the yields of development have been destroyed," he said, adding that, according to economic perspectives, the presence of houses of worship was part of trade principles that benefit everyone.
Ritonga added that interfaith issues had echoed across the globe, from the US to Lomban Lobu village in Humbang Hasundutan regency, North Sumatra.
He said in the US, Reverend Terry Jones opposed plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero in New York, by threatening to burn the Koran, while a report in the Internet said a mosque in Lumban Lobu was set on fire in July this year. According to Ritonga, the reports are the actions of individuals that could extend to community issues, and escalate into interfaith conflict.
"Personal actions that escalate into inter-religious issues negatively impact the economy on a local, national and even international scale. If this is allowed to happen, it could damage the community, the state and mankind," he said.
Akmal Tarigan from the North Sumatra State Islamic University said religion currently was no longer an inner reflection for its adherents but had become a sort of organization. As a result, he added, religion often sparks conflicts of interest triggered by negative sentiments.
He said the condition also influenced religious life and led to misbehavior in practicing religion, such as attacking houses of worship. "We should base religion on its spiritual values and not as a trigger of conflict of interests," said Akmal.