Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – In the next few weeks, Indonesia's liberal-minded middle class will possibly get what they have always wanted: the end of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI).

This is because by the end of this month at the latest, the House of Representatives will pass into law a bill that, if enacted, will allow the government to freeze or dissolve an organization for operating against the state ideology of Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution.

The Mass Organizations Bill will replace the 1985 law of the same name, which Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi once said had prevented him from taking swift action on "violent groups". This is almost like a dream come true.

The FPI has long been accused of acting against everything Pancasila stands for. The group is violent – at least it used to be, according to our records – and definitely has trouble coexisting with people who disagree with them, especially the educated middle class who may not like Lady Gaga but want to know the country is open to all foreign performers, no matter how controversial they are.

The proposal to revise the 1985 law came when online calls mounted for the government to outlaw the FPI. The imminent passage of the bill will surely give hope to those who have long dreamed of an Indonesia without the FPI, like feminist Ratna Sarumpaet, who initiated a petition against the FPI on the social movement website, change.org.

This may sound encouraging to Ratna, but I beg to differ. As a liberal myself, I am against any form of religious fascism, but I think calling on the government to disable the FPI is wrong, hypocritical and even dangerous.

First of all, it is detrimental to the basic principle of democracy, of peaceful coexistence. The problem with the FPI is the violent behavior of its members. The government's job is to ensure they play by the rules, not to deny their right to freedom of association.

Furthermore, such a call could be used as a pretext to bring back authoritarianism to this country. We have lived in a democracy for more than 14 years, but the specter of Soeharto's authoritarianism has not left. It haunts us every time we feel democracy is failing us.

In the past few years, the government has attempted to pass legislation deemed as draconian by human rights activists. This bill, known as the "Ormas" bill, is just one of a few legislative proposals that could turn the clock back to a time when it was not okay to say anything bad about the government, let alone the first family.

At the end of the day, this is not about the FPI. Several Islamic groups and human rights defenders, including those at the United Nations, have voiced their concerns about the possible adverse outcome of the bill's enactment.

For Islamic groups, the bill brings to mind Soeharto's asas tunggal policy that criminalized those who subscribed to any ideology other than Pancasila. The policy was to blame for the 1984 Tanjung Priok tragedy during which human rights abuses are believed to have taken place.

For rights defenders, it will only worsen the persecution against "dangerous" people. The bill stipulates that any organization operating in the country, including foreign NGOs, must uphold Pancasila or other ideologies that do not contradict it. The bill does not specify what those other ideologies are, but atheism and communism are definitely not on the list. While it is far-fetched to assume the bill, when enacted, will trigger a sort of witch-hunt, it is perfectly reasonable to be anxious that it could be used by the powers that be to take our freedom away.

It is likely too late to block the passage of the bill. The House's special committee tasked with deliberating the bill said it had resolved almost all contentious issues and would soon bring it to plenary for approval. Human rights activists have failed to convince the lawmakers to suspend the bill's approval, while Islamic groups are calling for lawmakers to insert a clause in the bill stating that liberalism and atheism have no place in the country.

The bill, of course, will likely foment the culture war between Muslim conservatives and liberals – most of them are Muslims, too – in the country. But it may no longer be a fair fight between the two, as the government may step in at any time to end the battle the wrong way.

In a democracy, it is natural for people to differ and compete for influence. Even in the United States, the world's evangelistic democracy, religious conservatism still influences the process of policy and law-making.

The problem in Indonesia is that the government has failed to enforce the law. It has failed to punish those who do not play by the rules, and tacitly condoned the violent behavior of militants. The answer to this problem is not to devise potentially draconian legislation, but to make a stronger commitment to carrying out political and judicial reforms. This may take a while and we need to be patient.

It is a truism to say that without strong law enforcement democracy can easily turn into anarchy. But this is exactly what is happening in Indonesia. There is no excuse to let the recalcitrant FPI members get a slap on the wrist or go unpunished for repeatedly breaking the law. But that is by no means a pretext to revive Soeharto's authoritarianism. If we believe in democracy and cherish our freedom, we may have to let the FPI remain among us.