Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Muslim scholars are questioning a recent survey that suggested there is a relationship between Islam and violence in Indonesia, saying the survey was not based on a true understanding of Islamic doctrines and of economic and cultural factors in the country.
According to the survey of 1,200 Muslims in 30 of Indonesia's 33 provinces, 0.1 percent of respondents admitted involvement in demolishing or burning churches constructed without official permits. Another 1.3 percent said they had committed "intimidation" of those they considered to have blasphemed Islam.
The survey, conducted by the Center for Islamic and Social Studies (PPIM), was carried out from 2001 to this year. It also found 43.5 percent of respondents said they were ready to "wage war" on threatening non-Muslim groups.
PPIM researcher Jajat Burhanudin attributed these hostile tendencies to a simplistic understanding of Islamic teachings.
Chaider Bamualim, chairman of the Center for the Study of Religion and Culture (CSRC), questioned the survey's methodology and said the researchers' perceptions of Islamic norms and doctrines may be inaccurate.
Based on the percentage of respondents who said they had committed, or were willing to commit violence, Chaider said it was highly questionable that hundreds of thousands of Muslims have admitted using violence in the name of religion, "and that Islamic educational institutions such as the pesantren and madrasah have encouraged their students to commit violence," he said.
Chaider, an alumni of the Gontor Islamic Boarding School, said Islam had a great number of norms and doctrines, but only a small number allowed the use of violence, in a context which could not be compared to that of groups presently using violence and intimidation in the name of religion.
The rector of Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic University, Azyumardi Azra, said most violent incidents have been triggered by economic and cultural factors. "The agents behind the violence are incidentally Muslims but it is exaggerating to conclude that the way the Muslims have behaved is encouraged by religious factors," he said.
Azyumardi, who addressed a discussion on the survey last week, said local cultures were quite familier with the use of violence. He cited the custom of revenge called carok in Madurese culture and tribal wars in Papuan culture.
Azyumardi added that poverty and the high rate of unemployment in urban areas have also encouraged poor Muslims to use force or join militant organizations to express their frustration over unfavorable economic conditions, rampant corruption and political instability.
The two scholars agreed, however, that clerics and other Islamic figures, in cooperation with the government, should work diligently not only to review old Islamic doctrines and norms to make them applicable to the modern age, but also to seek role models for Muslims.