Jakarta – Human rights activists and political observers have criticized the outcome of a recent meeting between the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) Yasmin in Bogor, West Java, and the city's administration in which "win-win" compromise will see a mosque built adjacent to the church.
This followed a series of mediation sessions between church representatives, the administration, members of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Advisory Council and the National Defense Council, which ended on Wednesday.
According to Indonesian Human Rights Committee for Social Justice's (IHCS) chief executive, Gunawan, the government should not have required GKI Yasmin to accept the construction of the mosque.
"The state should not prescribe requirements on individuals or communities in what they worship or where they worship," Gunawan said on Thursday.
"Suppose I was trying to build a mosque in Bali. Am I automatically required to build a Hindu temple right next to my mosque? Of course not. Religious minority groups should not be obligated to appease majority groups for the right to worship."
"If the state wants to use my taxes to build such things, that's fine, so long as they follow the proper procedures. In this case, they didn't."
Driyarkara School of Philosophy sociologist B. Herry-Priyono said Thursday that the proposal was "a very ridiculous idea" that would create even more tension.
"According to the Constitution, the government must protect minority groups. However, such a policy could be a time bomb for us because the government did not consider the needs of religious followers to have their own space," he told The Jakarta Post over the phone.
"What will the government do if there was a battle of loudspeakers there?" he said, adding that the followers of each religion need at least 200 to 300 meters of space from the other group.
A University of Indonesia social science and politics professor, Otho Hernowo Hadi, said that Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto exacerbated tensions between his administration and GKI Yasmin by his absence at the mediation sessions.
"It is the responsibility of officials like Diani to lead mediation whenever there are social tensions. Diani's absence also lowers the public faith in the law."
There are ways for leaders to prevent violence without having to limit religious liberties, Otho said.
"The government has to be vigilant in promoting mediation forums to resolve social disputes. In this case, the regional administration should open up religious tolerance forums. And in this case, of course, Diani should help lead them," Otho said.
However, despite their criticisms of the recent outcome, both Gunawan and Otho were optimistic that the Bogor and GKI Yasmin communities can coexist peacefully.
"Look at Nusa Dua in Bali. There they have an entire row of religious worship buildings next to one another. There is no conflict there. A Hindu can worship next door to a Muslim or any other religion without any problems. They're relaxed. Religious harmony is a practical reality," he said.
Meanwhile, Abdul Muti, secretary of Muhammadiyah, the country's second-largest Muslim group, said that the solution "would be okay" as long as it was in line with the procedures of building a prayer house.
"I think it will not be deemed as an act of coercion if they follow the law. Look at the case of the Jakarta Cathedral standing side-by-side with the Istiqlal Mosque, or other cases such as in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, where a churche's walls sometimes fuse with a mosque's," Abdul said.
Separately, Ahmad Suaedy, executive director of the Wahid Institute, a nongovernmental organization focusing on pluralism, said moving the church building was a better option.
"They need to be wise. Building the church in that location, even though it has been ordered by the Supreme Court, will only lead to further conflict," he said The dispute over the church building started in 2001, when the congregation purchased land in Curug Mekar, West Bogor.
Despite being able to get a building permit from the Bogor administration in 2005, Diani later revoked GKI Yasmin's permit in 2008, saying that the church forged documents to gain the permit, which the caretakers denied.
Diani ignored a Supreme Court ruling ordering the opening of the church and a recommendation from the National Ombudsman Commission saying that members of the GKI Yasmin congregation should be allowed to perform religious practices in their own church. (png/asa)