Center for Religious and Cross-cultural StudiesGraduate School, Universitas Gadjah Mada

PERSPECTIVESon Religious Life in Indonesia

Gadjah Mada Graduate Building, III Floor, Jl. Teknika Utara, Pogung, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 55281: crcs@ugm.ac.id (62-274-544976), : icrs@ugm.ac.id (62-274-562570)CRCS ICRS

http://crcs.ugm.ac.id, http://icrs.ugm.ac.id

Dakwahtainment and Its Discontent ¹By DickySofjan, Ph.D.

My interest in this

topic stemmed from years

of discomfort watching

numerous dakwah (Islamic

propagation) programs

being run every single day

on virtually all television

channels. Here, religion or

r e l i g i o u s t e a c h i n g s ,

represented by the notion

of dakwah is combined with

entertainment, hence the

term dakwahtainment. At its

most superficial level, it

suggested to me some sort

of an Islamic resurgence or

at the very least a new type of religious zeal among the burgeoning Indonesian middle class. At

best, it signaled the incursion of religion and spirituality in what can otherwise be regarded as an

exceedingly secular and ferocious Capitalistic media industry. However, taking a closer look at

the phenomenon, I have come to realize that the much hyped form of Islamic propagation is

pregnant with problems associated with fundamental principles of religious norms and ethics.

Simultaneous with the arrival of dakwahtainment was the pervasive and invasive

“infotainment” programs broadcasted in virtually all television stations. These programs

mostly valorize and glamorize the already glamorous culture of celebrity among the artists and

public figures, including prominent ustads (religious teachers). Arising out of the

democratization movement at the turn of the century and the 1999 media liberalization laws,

dakwahtainment and infotainment programs have arguably emerged as a counterweight to the

moribund, dreary state-sponsored dakwah programs rampant during the heydays of Suharto's

New Order regime. Previously, such programs employed government-sanctioned ustads, who

were bent on safeguarding the status quo while keeping Islamic radicalism at bay.

Dakwahtainment is therefore defined here as a concept amalgamating Islamic

propagation and the innumerable forms of entertainment programs broadcast through the

medium of television, allowing millions of home viewers to watch and receive their messages. In

its application, the notion of dakwahtainment is guided by a strict principle used by media

executives, producers and creative teams, who often operationalize it in terms of tuntunan

(spiritual guidance) and tontonan (entertainment viewing). Today, dakwahtainment conjures up

the image of handsome, photogenic, seemingly pious and wealthy celebrity ustads, who are

typically proficient in the use of Bahasa Gaul or the 'socialization' language of the young.

Dakwahtainment thus denotes the proliferation and amplification of popular Islam, wherein

their fans and followers participate through the medium of television, and transform

themselves into a jama'ah (religious congregation). It is through television that these celebrity

ustads gain their credibility and authority, challenging the conventional power and charismatic

appeal of the kiyais (Javanese, religious scholar-teachers), whose base have been largely

Volume 1, April 2013

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the first printed edition of our

Perspective Newsletter 2013. This newsletter is

jointly issued by the Center for Religious and

Cross-cultural Studies (CRCS) of Universitas

Gadjah Mada and Indonesian Consortium for

Religious Studies (ICRS). Each edition will

consist of one main article on religious issue in

Indonesia and some news of our activities.

In this volume we highlight the issue of

dakwahtainment-Islamic propagation combined

with entertainment- which color Indonesian

television along with the emergence of Islam in

the society after the Reformasi Era. The news

contents include coverages of the role of

CRCS's d irec tor, in the Indones ian

Constitutional Court as an expert witness for

the judicial review of the Blasphemy Law, the

succes of civic pluralism school that brigdes the

gap between activist and academic in pluralism

advocacies i, news about ICRS's second open

dissertation defence and ICRS' international

conference on Shia in Southeast Asia. As you

will find in this volume, in every edition we will

provide reports from of our Wednesday

Forum.

This newsletter will be available every two

month both printed and in pdf format

a c c e s s i b l e i n o u r w e b s i t e

w w w. c r c s . u g m . a c . i d / n e w s l e t t e r a n d

www.icrs.ugm.ac.id.

We hope that this newsletter helps widen

our understanding on religious issues in

Indonesia. We hope you enjoy reading it and

we welcome your feedback.

Thank you.

Inside This Issue

1. Dakwahtainment and its Discontents. ------ 01 3. Ph.D Open Defense: Christianity and

Islam in search for peace in Southern Philippines. ----- 03

2. Civic Pluralism School: Building Activist Academic Synergy in Research-Base Advocacy. ------ 04

4. Conference: The Presence of Shia and its Trajectory in Southeast Asia. ----- 05

6. Pentecostal Movement in Indonesia:The Role of Women and the Mobility of Church Members. ------ 06

7.. ------ 07

8. “The Blasphemy Law is Blind of Case Diversity “Zainal Abidin Bagir delivered his testimony at the Judicial Review of the BlasphemyLaw. ------ 08

Rel ig ion And The Publ i c Sphere

In Indonesia Revisited

¹ Some portions of this article were derived from a paper the author presented entitled “Dakwahtainment and Discontent: Ethical

Considerations in Islamic Televangelism” in the International Conference on Akhlaak-e vaAadian (Ethics and Religions) in Qum, Iran, on

February 27-28, 2013. The conference was convened by the Ma'arij Research Institution of Divine Sciences of Isra International Divine Sciences

Foundation based in Qum.

01

02

(Islamic popular literature), springing a new lucrative cottage

industry for the old and new Indonesian publishers, vying for the

huge and insatiable body of the Indonesian Muslim consumers.

These works include Perempuan Berkalung Sorban (Woman with a

Turban) in 2001; Ayat-Ayat Cinta (The Love Verses) in 2004, Laskar

Pelangi (Rainbow Troops) in 2005, and the more recent publication of

Negeri Lima Menara (The Land of Five Towers) in 2009. All the said

novels were later made into movies, prompting a 'comeback' of

Indonesian cinema, which experienced near-collapse due to the

New Order government's restrictions and state-centralized

management of culture.

Religion and Television

For some television might be seen as a means to deliver

religious teachings. However, the relationhsip between television

and media is more complex than such a one direction influnce. In his

book entitled Television Culture: Popular Pleasures and Politics (1987),

John Fiske argues that television is a “cultural agent”, which serves

as “a provoker and circulator of meanings” and concerns

“pleasures.” Fiske contends that television is “made to appear the

result of natural rather than cultural processes, it is taken away from

the realm of history and culture and moved towards that of

universal truth … [In short,] television produces 'reality' rather than

reflects it” (1987: 21). Here, religion is mediated by cultural

meanings that are projected onto the screen and controlled by

gatekeepers, who serve as agents of the “dominant ideology.”

Currently, many programs suggest almost perfect

e x a m p l e s o f f u n c t i o n a l

util ization of religion in

Indonesian television. They

include religiously-oriented

films, movies, sinetrons (literally,

electronic cinemas)—akin to

soap operas else where, docu-

dramas, reality and game shows

and other genres that blatantly

propagate religion, namely

Is lam, in Indonesia . For

example, films and sinetrons

take the form of various

programs suggestive of the

nature, orientation and content of such programs: Rahasia Ilahi

(Divine Secrets), Hidayah (Divine Guidance), Astagfirullah (Taking

Refuge from Allah), Takdir Ilahi (Divine Destiny), Khadijah (name of

the Prophet Muhammad's wife), Cinta Fitri (Pure Love), Tukang

Bubur Naik Haji (Porridge Seller Goes on a Pilgrimage), Ustad Foto

Copy (Xeroxed Religious Teacher), etc. In terms of themes, they

frequently run along the lines of submission or resignation to God's

will, patience and grace under pressure, repentance and salvation

from religiously unlawful ways of living, and dilemmas in Islamic-

sanctioned love and marriages. One noticeable element distinctively

similar in these sinetrons is the over-reliance of display on the latest

fashionable Islamic garbs, apparels and accessories donned by the

performing actors and actresses.

Within the mystic docu-dramas, the audience is offered

programs that usually take the viewers for an excursion into the

world of the unseen. They include programs entitled Dunia Ghaib

(The World of the Unseen), Dunia Lain (The Other World) and the

most dramatic of all, the Pemburu Hantu (Ghost Busters). The

program involve a pious ustad that facilitates the process of

intercession with the spirits, which would subsequently be followed

by a dialog between a medium—a person possessed by the

spirits—and the host or the ustad him self. In some cases it also

acrobatic and performative martial arts. Typically, the scenario

concerns the existence of roh-roh pengganggu (literally, disturbing

spirits) that inhabit a house, where the owners or residents had

centered in and around the Pesantrens or traditional Islamic

boarding schools.

It can be argued that the phenomenon of dakwahtinment

originated from the enterprise that Abdullah Gymnastiar, otherwise

locally known as Aa Gym, developed through his Manajemen Qalbu

(Management of the Heart) or MQ Corporation. Through his skillful

use of modest language and unassuming, non-patronizing style of

preaching, he had gained much support and quickly developed a

legion of followers across the archipelago. His main message was

essentially based on neo-Sufistic notions found in many spiritual

movements around the world, which attempt to re-contextualize

religiosity and spirituality in the face of modernity perceived to be

predisposed to plunging humanity into hedonism, materialism,

consumerism and nihilism. Howell (2008) argues that such

“electronically-mediated mass predication programs” effectively

promote and project “intense spiritual intimacy with God, which

Muslims seek through Sufi devotions.” It is in this context that Aa

Gym offered dakwahtainment through his MQTV station, and was

able to break the mold by presenting “dakwah content that is

entertaining” and refreshing through a combined functional

utilization of the passivist Sufi tradition and the profit hungry media

industry.

The rise of Aa Gym in the late 1990s evidently marked a

major beginning of the commoditization of Islam in Indonesia,

which concomitantly combined the expansion of the post-

authoritarian, centralized market with the spiritual needs of the

modern sophisticated society eager to sought new meanings of life.

It also came at a time when the

push for democratization and

d e c e n t r a l i z a t i o n b e c a m e

inevitable, and the government

h a d t o s u c c u m b t o t h e

liberalization agenda, especially

in the area of the media, wherein

the state no longer became the

foremost primary monopolizer

of information in the country.

This new Law No.40/1999 on the

media effectively annulled the

long-held policy of censorship

and media licensing, rendering

the government as mere facilitator to ensure a healthy exchange of

information and communication. Unfortunately, Aa Gym's sudden

rise met with an unexpected and abrupt fall from grace, rapidly

downgrading his celebrity status. His drastic fall came in 2006 when

he self-assuredly decided to take up a second wife, a widow with

three children, raising the Sword of Damocles against the ibu-ibu

(literally, 'mothers') who hold considerable power in Indonesia and

previously looked up to him as an 'alim (wise, pious person) and a

wife-loving husband.

As such, the precipitation of dakwahtainment programs can

also be analyzed through the'return' of the Indonesian popular

culture, which experienced decades of deliberate state suppression

intended to stifle creativity in the name of political stability and

economic development. Previously, preachers and scholars

engaging in Islamic dakwah programs on television were

handpicked by the regime. One well-known television preacher, for

instance, Qasim Nurseha, was an army chaplain, whose regular

morning preaching was highly popular. Alternatively, religious

discussions on TVRI—the state-owned television station—would

invite such scholars from MUI (Indonesian Council of Religious

Scholars) to deliver legal opinions, and propagandize the state's

stance on virtually all matters on Islam,which again was based on its

own set of logic and interpretation.

The reform era had thus inadvertently provided a major

thrust in the so-called Sastra Wangi (adult novels) and Sastra Islam

The precipitiationof dakwahtainment programs

can also be analyzed through the 'return' of the

Indonesian popular culture, which experienced

decades of deliberate state suppression intended

to stiffl creativity in the name of political

stability and economic development

encountered strange, unexplained phenomena such as lost items

and mysteriously moving objects. Eventually Pemburu Hantu

received numerous criticisms from the public and monitoring

agencies, which led to its demise.

Discontentment toward Dakwahtainment

Criticism toward dakwahtainment programs in Indonesia is

mainly directed to the way they explicitly and deliberately deploy

props, scripts and setups based on comedies of errors to support

Islamic propagation. For instance, many of the celebrity preachers

such as Jeffry al-Buchory (a.k.a. “Uje”), Yusuf Mansyur and Mamah

Dedeh all engage comedians as their hosts or counterparts in their

programs. Such an industrial tactic is supposedly to provide light

entertainment to the usually all-too-serious Islamic dakwah

messages, effectively giving the impression that religion is fun, cool,

trendy and easily digestible, intellectually speaking. This

phenomenon had thus transformed what used to be serious-minded

dakwah to religious preaching and gathering filled with routine

anecdotes and jokes combined with the utilization of an array of

performative skills displayed by the celebrity ustads, which has

resulted in a shift in how the audience views religion and

spirituality, specifically Islam.

Thus, the whole industrialization of dakwahtainment with

the whole of props, scripts and setups have become ipso facto

necessity for these programs to flourish in Indonesian television,

hence safe guarding the interest of the supposed uncritical public.

The previously famous preacher Abdullah Gymnastiar (a.k.a. “Aa

Gym”), whose fame skyrocketed from the late 1990s to 2006, had to

succumb to such pressure, and evidently tried hard to appeal to the

Muslim masses. When asked what his formula of success was in

preaching, Aa Gym said, “I only deliver materials that are simple

(tidak rumit-rumit), the easy ones.” (Hernowo and Ridwan 2003: 43).

This pattern of the dakwahtainment programs is indeed

ironic. From the Islamic perspective, it is an obligation for all

Muslims to call others to Islam, as it is considered a noble cause to

bring humanity under the fold of God's blessings. The problem

begins foremost with the dichotomy and deployment of the tontonan

and tuntunan principle, which for the most part has made dakwah

programs to easily succumb to the allures of entertainment business,

hence reducing considerably the integrity and credibility of the

message as well as the messenger, who happen to be celebrity ustads,

who would often receive handsome amounts in return for the

advertisements they invite to such programs.

Behind the scenes, such programs are tightly and directly

observed, usually by the producers and creative teams, who follow a

certain logic that operates within the supposed preference of the

segmented market viewers. They claim to be catering to the

demands of the large body of Indonesian Muslim audience, which

assumingly prefers a combination of the two as opposed to merely

receiving the tuntunan without the pleasure of the tontonan.

It is conceivable that Indonesia's increasing religious

societies will encourage television producers to continue the

dakwahtainment programs. At the end the public should have a voice

on the kind of dakwah program they need on their screens.

***

The author is a Core Doctoral Faculty in the Indonesian Consortium for

Religious Studies (ICRS). He can be contacted at: dickysofjan@yahoo.com.

03

Jerson Benia Narciso

passed his final Dissertation

Examination on January 29,

2013. In his Ph.D. Open

Defense, Jerson successfully

defended his dissertation

entitled Christianity and Islam

in the Search for Peace in Southern Philippines. Admitted into IRCS in

2007, Jerson is the second ICRS student and the first Filipino student to

receive a Ph.D. degree in Inter-Religious Studies at the Indonesian

Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS), Universitas Gadjah Mada

Graduate School.

Jerson's dissertation discusses the potential roles of Christianity

and Islam in bridging the gap and resolving particular conflicts in

Southern Philippines, of which includes negative perception that treats

Islam and Christianity as “natural enemies.”

The main issue addressed by this dissertation is the issue of

whether it is possible for Christians and Muslims to identify and

establish a common theological and political agenda that could bring

forth justice, reconciliation and peace in Southern Philippines. Jersen's

outstanding research explores whether it is possible for Christians and

Muslims to create structured or functional programs of collaboration to

subvert the system of social, economic and political injustice reigning

in Southern Philippines.

Jersen's arguments are based on analysis of the current socio-

political realities in the Southern Philippines and the roles played by

Christians and Muslims (as represented by various Christian and

Islamic groups and organizations) in the Mindanao peace process since

the post-colonial era up to the present time.

Jerson suggests that religion in the Philippines has been

negatively perceived by some quarters as a tool to pacify and to

legitimize authoritarian and repressive regimes. This situation

developed during the era of the Spanish and American colonial rules,

and has continued until the present time. In other words, the colonial

rules used religion as a political and economic instruments for

repression. For instance, both the Spanish and American colonizers

were known to have used religion as a justification for their

imperialism, political subjugation, and economic exploitation. Then,

Jerson brilliantly argued that “this practice of manipulation which

makes religion subservient to the political and economic whims of

authoritarian and repressive regimes has continued over the past four

hundred years and has been perpetuated by some quarters in the

government until now.”

However, Jerson believes that “the identification of a common

theological and political agenda that is informed both by Islamic and

Christian faiths is a viable project”. In fact, he said “Christianity and

Islam share common values and principles, like the universality of

God, interrelatedness and interdependence of all reality, love,

righteousness, justice, equality, and peace”. Those for him are

significant potentials to promote genuine and perpetual peace in

Mindanao through certain theological basis in shaping a unified

theological and political agenda. (Cherry A.)

Ph.D. Open Defense: Christianity and Islam in the Search for Peace in Southern Philippines

Civic Pluralism School:Building

Activist-Academic Synergy

in Research-based Advocacy

04

05

ICRS in cooperation with the Embassy of the Islamic

Republic of Iran recently organized the International Conference on

Historical and Cultural Presence of Shias in Southeast Asia: Looking at

Future Trajectories. The conference took place the University Club

UGM, on the 21st of February, 2013.

The conference began with the Opening Remarks (Keynote

Speech) by Prof. Dr. Azyumardi Azra, from the State Islamic

University of Sharif Hidayatullah, Jakarta. The conference was

divided into two panels. The first panel discussed the Dynamics of

the Shia in the Archipelago, by presenting four speakers: Dr. Siti

Maryam from State

Islamic University (UIN)

S u n a n K a l i j a g a ,

Yogyakarta; Dr. Yance

Zadrak Rumahuru from

the State College of

Protestant Christ ian

R e l i g i o u s S t u d i e s

(STKAPN) Ambon; Dr.

K a m a r u z z a m a n

Bustaman Ahmad from

the State Islamic Institute

(IAIN) Ar-Raniry, Aceh,

and Dr. Sunyoto Agus

from Global Islamic

S c h o o l Ta r b i y ya t u l

Arifin, Malang.

The second panel

discussed the Dynamics

of the Shia in Southeast

Asia by presenting four

speakers: Dr. Julispong

Chularatana from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; Dr. Zainal

Abidin Bagir from Center of Religion and Cross-cultural Studies

(CRCS), Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Dr. Rabita

Mohamad Ghazali from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and Dr.

Hosseini from ICAS Jakarta. There were about 250 conference

participants, including academics, religious leaders, activists,

journalists, and government officials.

The main idea emphasized by all of the panels in the

conference was that Shia Muslims in Southeast Asia have had a long

and complex history of development. Shia Muslims in Thailand has

developed since the arrival of traders from Persia in the early

seventeenth century; the role figure was Shaykh Ahmad Qumi of

Iran. He and his followers built the Muslim community in

Ayyuthaya, the capital of the kingdom of Thailand. At that time,

there were three groups of Muslims in Ayyuthaya. The first group

lived in the outskirts along the Chao Praya river. The second group

is a community outside the walls of the city, near the river. The third

group is the community living within the city wall. Thailand is the

first country in Southeast Asia to establish permanent diplomatic

relations with Iran (1925-1979).

THE PRESENCE OF SHIAAND ITS TRAJECTORY

I N S O U T H E A S T A S I A

Shia Muslims in Indonesia began in the fourth century. The

Acheya town (now Aceh) in northern part of Sumatra was the

center of Shia Muslims in Indonesia. Acheya become the center of

Shi'ism missionary to the most parts of Indonesia. At that time, the

community was mostly centralized in the Kowal town (now Kuala).

Then, shortly after the Indonesian independence, the Government

of Indonesia established a university in the Kowal, known as the

University of Shia Kowal (Universitas Syiah Kuala). Within thirty

years, the Shia community spread throughout Indonesia and it is

estimated there are one million Shi'i. Shia communities are found in

major cities, such as Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya.

The Shia community also flourished in Malaysia,

particularly in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, Selangor.

Evenmore, this country is the home of the largest Shia communities.

In Singapore, Shia Islam has grown since World War I, between

1914-1918. At the time of Japanese occupation in Singapore on 1942-

1945, prisoners of the war (British Indian Army) and local

communities were allowed to celebrate Muharram (Islamic New

Year) and to organize Shia religious rituals associated with the

celebration. As befits

Indonesian students, a

large number of Malay

a n d S i n g a p o r e a n

students travelled to

Iran, or continued their

studies at the Theological

Seminaries in Qom.

I n t h e r e c e n t

developments, the Shia

Muslim's communities in

S o u t h e a s t A s i a

f r e q u e n t l y f a c e

d i s c r i m i n a t i o n a n d

marginalization. In the

Indonesian context ,

during the era of Suharto

regime, Shia Muslims

w e r e v i e w e d a s a

national threat, as they

were considered as a

revolutionary movement that threatened the regime. The anti-Shia

notion in Indonesia were also spreading widely through

publications, including books, journals, magazines, and websites.

The recent case of discrimination Shia Muslim occurred in Cikeusik

(West Java) and Sampang (Madura), where the Shia communities

were attacked by a group of people, left some of them were killed

and hundreds of burning houses.

In Malaysia, the pressure on Shia communities come from

the state, which stigmatizes them as a "forbidden" religious group.

According to the Malaysian security law, a member of Shia

community can be detained without trial process. The country

guarantees freedom of religion, but in the Islamic tradition, only

schools of Sunni are permitted and received the government aid.

While, other schools, including Shia Islam, are considered deviant

and their activities are restricted. While in Singapore, the issue of

marriage is one of the important issues for Shia communities. To

make a marriage official for Shia couple, they have to obtain grants

from both Shi'ite and Sunni imams. The same problems are faced by

them when filing for divorces, birth certificates and other legal

matters. (Cherry A.)

06

Cherry Agusta and Marthen Tahun

“Pentecostal/Charismatic movements are Christian movements that

are undoubtedly among the fastest growing religious movements in

the world.” This was the opening remark of Marthen Tahun in the

CRCS-ICRS Wednesday Forum, held in the Department of

Theology, Duta Wacana Christian University on Wednesday, March th6 , 2013. Marthen Tahun is a researcher in the Center of Religion and

Cross-cultural Studies (CRCS), Universitas Gadjah Mada.

The study of Pentecostal/Charismatic movements in many

places concluded that the fast-growth of these movements were

supported by the following aspects: it grew along with the growth of

Evangelical-leaning churches, it reached out to the urban marginal

migrants, it marked with egalitarian ethos by allowing the female

members to actively be involved in the church's activities, the

independence organization, and it emphasized the “experience”

with the Holy Spirit. Marthen further explained the general

overview of the present Pentecostal/Charismatic churches in

Indonesia. His report mainly focused on two issues: the role of

women and the mobilization of church members.

The report is based on the research conducted by CRCS within

the period 2010-2012. It found that the female members of the

Pentecostal/Charismatic churches are greater than the male

members. The women held important position and roles within the

church, visibly led activities such as liturgy and Bible studies, and

were involved in the administrative and social services. They also

took part in almost any male roles in the church. Nevertheless, these

churches held different views in woman leadership, which is how

far it could be implemented in the church. The issue of the

permissibility of women to become leaders is a hotly debated issue

in the history of Pentecostal churches in Indonesia, which is, in fact,

one of the point of discordances among these churches. In general,

there are three positions on the issue. First, women enjoy equal role

with men in any aspect of church's activities, including becoming

pastors. The second position asserts that women are allowed to take

part in any activity, including becoming pastors, but there are

restrictions to certain activities that are domain of male pastors, such

as wedding ceremonial and communion services. Thirdly, women

are allowed to take part in any church activities but cannot be elected

as pastors.

In the case of the mobility of the church's members, Marthen

explained that Pentecostal/Charismatic church's members are

coming from various backgrounds. Some are coming from the

P e n t e c o s t a l c h u r c h e s , w h i l e o t h e r s f r o m n o n -

Pentecostal/Charismatic, such as from the Protestant and Catholic

churches. A small number of them are from non-Christian

backgrounds. Most of the Pentecostal/Charismatic churches are

developed in urban settings. This condition ensures the quantity of

participants at any Sunday service. Some of the members of these

churches are registered members but many others are temporary

goers, or even some are registered in other Pentecostal/Charismatic

churches. Double membership is also found in this research. In

connection with this, among the temporary goers, the research

found that many of them never leave the original church. There is

minor indication of backflow tendency to the original churches.

In Q&A session, one participant asked about the relationship

between the research objective and the pluralistic context of

Indonesian society. Marthen answered that one of the objective of

this research is to develop academic understanding regarding

religious issues in Indonesia. In this regard, demographic

understanding of Pentecostal/Charismatic groups in Indonesia and

its relationship with non-Pentecostal/Charismatic churches and

other religions is important. It can help determine the future

program of involving these groups in larger conversations and

dialogues regarding domestic issues in intra- and inter-religious

communities [].

Pentecostal Movement in Indonesia:The Role of Women and the Mobility of Church Members

W e d n e s d a y F o r u m

Doctoral Promotion

Annual Report on Religious Life in Indonesia 2012

now available at www.crcs.ugm.ac.id/download

Annual Report on Religious Life in Indonesia 2012

now available at www.crcs.ugm.ac.id/download

07

It has become truism to remark that there is veritable

explosion on economic, political, and religious issues in Indonesian

public sphere. In termof economic, advertisements tremendously

fill up public space. The advertisements are every where, in radio,

television, bill boards, newspapers, magazines, internet, and even

handphones. This phenomena is remarkably different from those of

20 years ago. In this sense, various modern mass media plays pivotal

role in bringing economic elements into public space.

Political issues are also emerging. Ironically, the issues are

dominated by politics and violence. Every media brings stories

about political intrigues and violence to public. In this context,

media told political stories on uncontrolled pragmatic attitudes in

pursuing of and maintaining of power. In thi sense, there is no clear

boundary between just and unjust violence. The line between

government's legal violence and non-government's illegal's

violence also become unclear. For instance, in the case of Kopassus's

members killed criminals in the Cebongan Prison. Moreover,

religious issues also play significant role. For instance, call to

Muslim prayer is everywhere in television channels. There is also

requirement to wear hijab for Muslim and non-Muslim in certain

areas. In addition, religious issues also grow in film, public

education, architecture, literature, and many others.

Prof. Dr. Bernard T. Adeney-Risakotta (Bernie), the

international representative of Indonesian Consortium for Religious

Studies (ICRS-Yogya), presented this enlightening topic. On April

24th, 2013, Bernie bocome a speaker on the CRCS-ICRS Wed-Forum.

Bernie was a director of ICRS-UGM and Professor of Ethics and

Social Science in the same institution. He received his bachelor

degree in Asian Studies and English Literature from the University

of Wisconsin, Madison, while his master degree was obtained from

the University of London, in Social Ethics and Asian Religions. His

doctoral degree was earned from the Graduate Theological Union at

the University of California, Berkeley, in Religion and Society, Social

Ethics and Political Science.

Bernie criticize what he calls “unholy marriage between

economics, politics and religion” in Indonesian public sphere. He

refers to the controversy about Golkar Treasurer's statement

mentioning at least 1 billion (milyar) rupiah needed to become a

political candidate. Meanwhile, the another issue is considerable

accuse of corruption to politicians and police. Moreover, religious

groups committed to violent actions attacking other groups to force

their arguments. Specifically, Bernie mentioned the case of Yasmin

church in Bogor to show “the love triangle between politics,

economics and religion.”

Then, Bernie address the ideal of public sphere in Western

countries to compare and to contrast with the case of Indonesian

public sphere. He further explains that, ideally, impartiality of

public sphere and freedom on it are essential. In this sense, people

from various backgrounds can express their ideas freely and savely.

This ideal is built on democratic, human rights and Enlightenment

assumptions. Freedom, civility and reason are the most

fundamental values underlying such assumptions. Moreover, he

convincingly explains that public sphere should empower every

citizen and it can be a place of deliberation to reach a public

consensus for the common good.

In his conclusion, Bernie also critically identify three factors

distorting public sphere in Indonesia, as follows: Firstly, there is

lacking of clear separation between the public and the private in

Indonesia; Secondly, people from different religions, each has a

tendency to make their religions can order public sphere; Thirdly,

non-religious sphere in Indonesia are never really secular and

neutral. Therefore, Bernie argue that Nurcholis Madjid's discourse

on secularization is very relevant to consider to address the issue of

distorted public sphere in Indonesia. This includes separation

between religion and politics by using tauhid, emphasizing on

substantion rather than symbol of religion, multicultural

appreciation, and defending of Pancasila.

RELIGION AND THE PUBLIC SPHERE

IN INDONESIA REVISITED

W e d n e s d a y F o r u m

The pdf file of this book is available at www.crcs.ugm.ac.id

On January 31, 2013, CRCS'director, Zainal Abidin Bagir, came to the

Indonesian Constitutional Court's session on the Judicial Review of

Law Number 8 of 1981 about the Indonesian Criminal Code (Article

156a) and the Law No. 1/PNPS 1965 on Prevention of Misusing and

or Defamation towards Religions (Article No. 4).

Zainal presented the finding of CRCS' research on the uses of the law

within the last decade. He said that legal prosecution used in this

law has increased dramatically since the Reform era. In the past, the

law was only used 5 times in 40 years. The number skyrocketed into

40 cases in only the last 15 years.

The increasing use of the law is marred with the expanding category

of target groups, including religious groups that have been

historically acknowledged as part of Islam, such as Syi'ah. The law is

also used to address issues of social relations that could be

addressed through mediation. A good example of this is the

prosecution of a community member who unplugged the cable of

mosque speaker because he felt annoyed by the noise.

The diversity of cases brought to the court in the name of this law

indicates a problem with this law. He said “The cases brought to the

court using this law are very diverse. This law seems to be blind in

recognizing this diversity. In Indonesia it is difficult to find case

brought to the court using this law that is purely about blasphemy.

In other countries we can see the case of The Innocence of Muslim

movie that could be intended to insult a Islam.”This flexible use of

this law could potentially become a wild ball that may hit a wide

variety of issues including those that do not relate to religion. Zainal

calls attention to Article 4 of the UU 156, which says that a case can be

prosecuted by this law if it constitutes an intention to promote

“enmity” toward a religion. Unfortunately the uses of this law tend

to blindly categorize many cases of internal difference of religion

and social issues as blasphemous to religion even though they do not

have the element of “spreading enmity. ”

“The Blasphemy Law is Blind of Case Diversity “Zainal Abidin Bagir delivered his testimony at the Judicial Review of the Blasphemy Law

08

Advisor: Dr. Siti Syamsiyatun, Dr. Zainal Abidin Bagir

Editors: Dr. Mohammad Iqbal Ahnaf, Leonard C. Epafras, Ph.D.

Managing Editors: Najiyah Martiam, M.A., Hendrikus P. Kaunang, M.A.

Layout: Wijaya Media

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