A'an Suryana, Norshahril Saat – Last week's visit by Pope Francis to the world's largest Muslim country came at a sensitive time. Rhetorical tolerance and humility paled in the light of His Holiness' simplicity in leadership.
When Pope Francis visited Indonesia last week, the Indonesian political elite and religious leaders emphasised interfaith dialogue, harmony and tolerance as their key messages and were quick to portray themselves as defenders of tolerance. After all, Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world and recognises Catholicism as one of its six official religions. On 4 September 2024, President Joko Widodo and about 300 social and political leaders welcomed the Pope at the State Palace. Francis is only the third Pope to visit Indonesia, after Pope Paul VI in 1970 and Pope John Paul II in 1989. Many had hoped that global issues such as climate change would be included on the agenda since the 87-year-old pontiff advocates the 2015 Paris climate agreement, but religious matters dominated the discussion.
Overall, the Indonesian religious leaders warmly supported the Pope's call for peace and tolerance. Sudarnoto Abdul Hakim, chairman of the International Relations division of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), said that the visit would set the momentum for people of different faiths to strengthen their commitment to building peace in the world. Khofifah Indar Parawangsa, the women's wing chair of Indonesia's largest Islamic organisation, Nadhlatul Ulama (NU), contended that the visit strengthened Indonesia's resolve to deepen friendship and tolerance among people of different beliefs.
Notably, the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) made the respectful move to request that all Indonesian television stations not broadcast the evening maghrib call for prayer (adzan) when Pope Francis was leading a mass in Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta (between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time). All TV stations instead broadcast the daily adzan through a short video clip and it was recommended that running text indicating it was time for prayers ran onscreen during the Pope's broadcast. The rationale was to allow Indonesian Catholics who could not join the mass in person at the stadium to follow the Pope's mass through viewing their televisions uninterrupted.
A majority of the larger Muslim organisations did not object to this MoRA advice. MUI's chairman of the fatwa division, Asrorun Ni'am Sholeh, argued that it did not violate Islamic sharia. It was a Muslim expression of respect and tolerance for the Catholics joining the mass through television and did not eradicate the Muslim call for prayer. Both NU and Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second-largest Muslim organisation, supported the advice as a form of tolerance. However, Jusuf Kalla, Indonesia's former vice president and the current chairman of a non-governmental organisation called the Indonesia Mosque Council, had a different, though less practical, proposal that sought to be fair to both Muslim and Catholic interests. He suggested that television stations divided their screens into two to accommodate both the adzan and the mass, and argued that the running text was unnecessary. The conservative Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) agreed with Kalla.
Indonesian Muslims generally welcomed the rare papal visit, although a minority objected. The police dealt sternly with any individuals who crossed the line. Between 2 and 5 September, the police's anti-terror squad arrested seven people across Indonesia who were planning extremist attacks and charged them with provoking hatred and violence against the Pope.
Some Indonesians were less interested in the interfaith discourse. Instead, they took the opportunity to take a jibe at Indonesia's political elites, contrasting their behaviour with the Pope's humility, a quality they hoped the elites could emulate. Before the papal visit, Indonesia had witnessed widespread street demonstrations against Parliament's attempt to overrule the Constitutional Court's rulings on the regional elections law and a string of public scandals about the luxurious lifestyles of the president's children. Netizens compared how the leader of 1.3 billion Catholics wore a humble Casio wristwatch valued at US$8 (Rp124,000) while Mr Widodo's second son Kaesang Pangarep wore a Rolex GMT-Master II Rose Gold Root Beer, valued at Rp682.7 million (US$44,045) during a charity event in Jakarta in April. Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Widodo's eldest son and vice president-elect, reportedly wore a wristwatch "similar" to a Rolex Submariner Date – 126610LN Black, valued at Rp218 million (US$14,064) during a presidential campaign event on 25 October 2023.
Kaesang was sharply criticised by the Indonesian public and netizens after he and his pregnant wife recently travelled to the United States using a private jet owned by a tech tycoon. This contrasts with the humble lifestyle exemplified by Pope Francis, who travelled 13 hours to Indonesia from Italy using a commercial flight. The Pope refused to stay in a luxury hotel for his official visit and to travel around Jakarta in a fancy car. Instead, he stayed at the Vatican Embassy and travelled in a Toyota Innova Zenix (seen as a non-luxury car in Indonesia).
The Indonesian elites' emphasis on interfaith dialogue and tolerance as the common denominator between Indonesian Muslims and the Pope has merit. However, the country's grappling with fulfilling these ideals remains a work in progress. Evidently, several Islamic organisations and prominent personalities have not revised their opinions, including some that have fanned hatred towards other religions or Muslims with differing orientations. MUI, for instance, despite showcasing tolerance throughout the Pope's visit, has not apologised for its 2005 "SIPILIS" fatwa (religious edict) declaring secularism, pluralism, and liberalism deviant. This ruling had led to conservatives harassing progressive activists, among other negative outcomes. Moreover, certain religious elites' views on minority groups, like the Shias and Ahmadis, remain vague; while these minorities are not harmed in the same way as they were a decade ago, mainstream Muslims continue to shun them.
The Indonesian religious elite's selection of what lessons to draw from the pontiff's visit must extend to his humility, integrity, and compassion. They must not practise double standards when dealing with interfaith and intra-faith issues.
[A'an Suryana is a Visiting Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute and is a lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia. Norshahril Saat is a Senior Fellow and Coordinator at the Regional Social & Cultural Studies Programme, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.]
Source: https://fulcrum.sg/pope-francis-visit-to-indonesia-lessons-beyond-interfaith-tolerance