The government has finally settled the sharia debate, which has dogged Indonesia these past few years, essentially rejecting demands that sharia-based laws introduced in many regencies be rejected on constitutional grounds. Whether this is acceptable or not is another question entirely.

Home Minister Mardiyanto announced Friday the government did not see any need to revise these bylaws because, contrary to the claims of critics, they do not contravene the 1945 Constitution or the Pancasila state ideology.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in June 2006 ordered M. Ma'ruf, Mardiyanto's predecessor, to look into the issue after 56 members of the House of Representatives sent a petition urging the government to roll back sharia-based bylaws because they discriminated against non-Muslims.

Ma'ruf expanded, and thus watered down, the issue when he said that his ministry was reviewing more than 600 "problematic" bylaws, including those that were sharia-inspired. He later took ill and has since been replaced by Mardiyanto, who provided the government's final answer on Friday.

Critics pointed out that substance-wise the bylaws go against the democratic principles contained in the 1945 Constitution. Articles 28D and 28I state everyone should be free from discrimination and entitled to equal treatment before the law.

They contend that the bylaws also violate the 2004 Regional Autonomy Law, which states that religion is the realm of the central government, with Article 28 of the law forbidding regions from taking decisions that discriminate against any citizen.

These bylaws are against the pluralistic and heterogeneous nature of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.

Why? They promote discriminatory treatment in public life.

In Padang municipality in West Sumatra, for example, female Muslim students are obliged to wear the jilbab (headscarf), but in practice, non-Muslim women are also subjected to the same requirement.

In nearby Tangerang, a bylaw restricts women from walking alone in the streets after 10 pm, or they face charges of prostitution.

These bylaws are an example of our failure to distinguish between religion and state affairs.

Politicians continue to exploit society's desire for equality, justice and propriety by fueling religious zeal, all the while neglecting the fact that morality and justice have nothing to do with the intrinsic application of religious laws.

Islamic values, as are those of most religions, are universal. They are ingrained within the spirit of the 1945 Constitution, which includes respect for all irrespective of their faith.

The core values of Islam are already alive and well in the hearts of all good Muslims. They need no boasting from politicians who already have their eyes on the next round of elections.

Today, Aceh is the only province governed by sharia, but more than 50 regencies already have some sort of sharia bylaws in place. The number is bound to increase now that the government has ruled there is nothing wrong with these bylaws.

This, however, endangers the unity of the country. Other religious minorities are already restless. Some have taken retaliatory action.

The predominantly Christian regency of Manokwari in Papua, for example, has established an ordinance based on the Bible.

Predominantly Hindu Bali sent a clear message in 2006 that it would seek to secede from the republic if the House of Representatives went ahead with an anti-pornography law that would have restricted their artistic expression and dictated how women dress.

Our forefathers would most likely turn in their graves if they knew that their vision of a pluralist Indonesia, obtained after a democratic debate in 1945, was being overruled by a small group of the country's political elites.

The government's announcement on Friday, which has essentially opened the door wide for more sharia-based bylaws, could, God forbid, be the beginning of the end for this republic.