Indonesia grapples with lack of religious freedom: 'I think how difficult it is for people to worship. It's sad'

Indonesian president Joko Widodo appears to be on a mission to openly address and atone for the country's chequered human rights record stretching back decades.

After publicly regretting Indonesia's past atrocities, the president this week asked his subordinates to uphold the right to freedom of worship, another point of friction in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation.

Widodo's sudden attention to religious freedom is being welcomed by rights activists and victims of religious intolerance, although they have warned that discrimination will persist if Jakarta does not revoke a problematic 16-year-old ministerial decree that has complicated minority group's attempts to build places of worship.

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In remarks to regional leaders, Widodo, who has mostly focused on infrastructure and investments since being elected leader in 2014, said that Indonesia's constitution guarantees freedom of worship to all six state-recognised religions - Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism

"Regarding freedom of worship and freedom of religion. [You have to] be mindful. Those who are Christians, Catholics, Hindus and Confucians ... have the same right to worship. They have the same rights in terms of freedom of religion and worship," Widodo said on Tuesday.

"Religion and worship are guaranteed by our constitution, guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution Article 29, paragraph 2. You must know this. The police chief, the regional police chief, the regional commander must understand this, as well as the prosecutor's office. Don't let the constitution be defeated by agreement[s]."

Widodo was referring to the fact that rights are sometimes trumped by agreements forged by Indonesia's religious majority under the Religious Harmony Forum, or FKUB, a community-level, multi-religion body overseen by the government to maintain religious harmony. Its tasks include providing recommendations to local governments on the building of new houses of worship.

The Indonesian president pointed to how a meeting of the FKUB can agree not to allow places of worship to be built, despite what the constitution says, as can regulations set by mayors and other local officials.

"Even if [this happens] only in one, two, or three cities or counties," he said. "I see it's still happening. Sometimes I think how difficult it is for people to worship. It's sad when I hear it."

Halili Hasan, a research director at the Setara Institute, a Jakarta-based organisation advocating for democracy and human rights, rubbished Widodo's claim that worship discrimination only occurs in a few areas.

There were 573 disturbances related to worship and places of worship in the 2007-2022 period, he said, including the rejection of worship, rejection of place of worship, intimidation, vandalism and arson. All affected minority groups.

"This is a symptom of majoritarianism exacerbated by the weak capacity of local governments to handle problems," Halili said.

At the heart of the problem is a 2006 ministerial decree that laid out the requirements for building a new house of worship.

Among them is approval from 90 members of the congregation and at least 60 in the local community, as well as written recommendations from the local FKUB branch. But these requirements have proved "too restrictive" for minority groups, Halili said.

This formula was also "contrary" to constitutional rights that maintain the state "guarantees the freedom of each resident to embrace their own religion and worship according to their religion and beliefs".

"In many cases, authorities have a tendency to bow to intolerant groups that claim to represent the majority," he said.

Eva Sibarani in Bogor, West Java province, can attest to the formidable challenges of being a minority Christian in a Muslim-majority region.

The 55 year-old belongs to the Batak Christian Protestant Church in West Cilebut district, Bogor regency, where more than 5 million residents are Muslim and only around 91,000 are Christians.

Over Christmas, Eva and other congregation members were barred from attending religious services by what she described as a "mob".

She said that since 2018, the congregation of around 300 had been worshipping in a big rented house owned by one of its members that they turned into a temporary church while waiting for local officials to grant their request to build a church.

Between 2013 and 2018, the congregation had held Sundays services at one of Eva's four houses, located next to each other, as their main church in the city of Bogor - an hour away from West Cilebut- could no longer accommodate the growing number of worshippers. But the local community protested these services, as they were taking place in a home instead of a place of worship.

"We are still trying to get permits to build our church, but the process takes a long time. Does it mean that we can't worship in the meantime?" Eva said.

Eva had put on her best clothes and headed to the house for a Christmas service but was stopped at the entrance by "a group wearing peci" (caps commonly worn by Muslim men). The men had also laid down branches and twigs to try to block access to the house, she said.

"The men were asking me, 'where are you going? Are you going to worship? You must go home!'" Eva said. Instead, after moving the branches, she entered the house. "The men were angry, but I dared them to hit me. They looked away after I said that. I pulled out my phone and started recording."

In the video she can be heard asking one peci-wearing man what harm could come out of the congregation's Christmas services, and the man only answered "we object to you worshipping here". The video garnered attention on social media, including on Twitter.

According to Eva, the authorities, including the police, were also present at the house "but they did not do anything". The incident left the congregation, including children, feeling upset, she said.

"I don't know why, suddenly, we were prohibited to carry out services on Christmas, it really hurt us a lot. Poor kids ... they are traumatised, they have been made afraid [to go to the church]," she said.

The resistance from Muslims in the community dates back to June last year, when they installed banners saying that they did not want a church in the neighbourhood, Eva said.

In July the local community agreed to send a recommendation letter, signed by the local police chief and district chief, asking the house owner to stop the congregation's activity, but the Christians continued to use the building as their temporary place of worship.

A letter sent to local officials saying the group intended to use a rented house for Christmas services received no response, Eva said, so they held midnight mass there on Christmas Eve.

The mob didn't not turn up to disrupt that service. But they didturn up on Christmas morning. "Maybe because they thought that we only pray on Sundays," Eva said.

Eventually, the congregation was allowed to hold a Christmas communion in their coordinator's house, which is smaller than the rented property, after officials agreed to grant permission. But only around 30 people attended, Eva said.

Now services take place in the homes of members willing to host them. On January 15, 92 worshippers headed to Eva's house. She could not accommodate them all so some guests sat on chairs in the street, she said.

"It is our heart that must focus on worship, focus on God, with the existing conditions. They all know this and are willing to accept the situation," she said.

Eva said she "appreciates" Widodo's remarks as "God showing us the way". But she also hopes that the president's comments will be followed by concrete action that will make it easier for religious minorities to worship.

"We beg the government, have pity on us who are in the minority, why are we not allowed to worship in a comfortable place?" Eva said.

"Hopefully it will be followed up [by actions], such as revoking the ministerial decree, which is burdensome to minorities. It was issued in 2006 and Indonesia has been progressing as a society since then."

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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