* Indonesia: International Religious Freedom Report 2007
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Indonesia International Religious Freedom Report 2007
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government
generally respected this right in practice. There was no change in
the status of respect for religious freedom by the Government during
the reporting period, and government policy continued to contribute
to the generally free practice of religion. However, while most of
the population enjoyed a high degree of religious freedom, the
Government recognized only six major religions. Some legal
restrictions continued on certain types of religious activity and on
unrecognized religions.
The Government sometimes tolerated discrimination against and the
abuse of religious groups by private actors and often failed to
punish perpetrators. While Aceh remained the only province
authorized to implement Islamic law (Shari'a), several local
governments outside of Aceh promulgated laws implementing elements
of Shari'a that abrogated the rights of women and religious
minorities. The Government did not use its constitutional authority
over religious matters to review or overturn these local laws.
Persons of minority religious groups and atheists continued to
experience official discrimination, often in the context of civil
registration of marriages and births or the issuance
of identity cards.
The public generally respected religious freedom; however, extremist
groups used violence and intimidation to force eight small,
unlicensed churches and one Ahmadiyya mosque to close. In addition
several churches and Ahmadiyya places of worship that were forcibly
shut in previous years by mobs remained closed. Some government
officials and mass Muslim organizations continued to reject the
Ahmadiyya interpretation of Islam resulting in discrimination
against its followers. Many perpetrators of past abuse against
religious minorities were not brought to justice. Also, instances of
extremists attacking and attempting to terrorize members of other
religions occurred in certain provinces during the reporting period.
The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues with the
Government as part of its overall policy to promote human rights. The
Embassy promoted religious freedom and tolerance through exchanges
and civil society development.
Section I. Religious Demography
An archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, the country has an area
of 700,000 million square miles and a population of 245 million.
According to the 2000 census report, 88.2 percent of the population
described themselves as Muslim, 5.9 percent Protestant, 3.1 percent
Roman Catholic, 1.8 percent Hindu, 0.8 percent Buddhist, and 0.2
percent "other," including traditional indigenous religions, other
Christian groups, and Jewish. Some Christians, Hindus, and members of
other minority religious groups argued that the census undercounted
non-Muslims. The Government does not recognize atheism.
Most Muslims in the country are Sunni. The Shi'a estimate that there
are between one and three million Shi'a. The majority of the
mainstream Muslim community follows two orientations: modernists, who
closely adhere to scriptural orthodox theology while embracing modern
learning and concepts; and traditionalists, who often follow
charismatic religious scholars and organize around Islamic boarding
schools. The leading modernist social organization, Muhammadiyah,
claimed 30 million followers, while the largest traditionalist social
organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, claimed 40 million.
Smaller Islamic organizations range from the Liberal Islam Network,
which promotes an individual interpretation of doctrine, to groups
such as Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia, which advocates a pan-Islamic
caliphate, and the Indonesian Mujahidin Council, which advocates
implementation of Shari'a as a precursor to an Islamic state. A small
minority of people subscribe to the Ahmadiyya interpretation of Islam
and there are 242 Ahmadiyya branches. Other messianic Islamic groups
exist, including Darul Arqam, Jamaah Salamulla (Salamulla
Congregation)
The Ministry of Religious Affairs estimates that 19 million
Protestants (referred to as Christians in the country) and 8 million
Catholics live in the country. The province of East Nusa Tenggara has
the highest proportion of Catholics at 55 percent. Meanwhile, the
province of Papua contains the highest proportion of Protestants at
58 percent.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs estimates that 10 million Hindus
also live in the country. Hindus account for almost 90 percent of the
population in Bali. Hindu minorities (called "Keharingan"
Central and East Kalimantan, the city of Medan (North Sumatra), South
and Central Sulawesi, and Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara). Hindu groups
such as Hare Krishna and followers of the Indian spiritual leader Sai
Baba also present, although in smaller numbers. Some indigenous
religious groups, including the "Naurus" on Seram Island in Maluku
Province, incorporate Hindu and animist beliefs into their practices.
Many have also adopted some Protestant principles. The Tamil
community in Medan represents another important concentration of
Hindus.
The country has a small Sikh population, between 10 and 15 thousand.
Sikhs reside primarily in Medan and Jakarta. Eight Sikh temples
(gurdwaras) are located in North Sumatra while Jakarta has two Sikh
temples with active congregations.
Among Buddhists, approximately 60 percent follow the Mahayana school,
Theravada followers account for 30 percent, and the remaining 10
percent belong to the Tantrayana, Tridharma, Kasogatan, Nichiren, and
Maitreya schools. According to the Young Generation of Indonesian
Buddhists, most adherents live in Java, Bali, Lampung, West
Kalimantan, and the Riau islands, ethnic Chinese make up an estimated
60 percent of Buddhists.
The number of Confucians remains unclear because at the time of the
2000 national census respondents were not allowed to identify
themselves as such. Their number may have increased after the
Government lifted restrictions in 2000, such as the right to
celebrate publicly the Chinese New Year. The Supreme Council for
Confucian Religion in Indonesia (MATAKIN) estimated that ethnic
Chinese made up 95 percent of Confucians with the balance mostly
indigenous Javanese. Many Confucians also practiced Buddhism and
Christianity. MATAKIN urged the Government to include Confucianism
as a category in the next census.
An estimated 20 million people in Java, Kalimantan, and Papua
practice animism and other types of traditional belief systems
termed "Aliran Kepercayaan.
with one of the government-recogniz
There are small Jewish communities in Jakarta and Surabaya. The
Baha'i community reported thousands of members, but there were no
reliable figures available.
Falun Dafa representatives claim the group, which considers itself a
spiritual organization instead of a religion, has between 2,000 and
3,000 followers, nearly half of whom live in Yogyakarta, Bali, and
Medan.
No data exists on the religious affiliations of foreign nationals and
immigrants.
Approximately 191 foreign missionaries, primarily Christian, operate
in the country. Many work in Papua, Kalimantan, and other areas with
large numbers of animists.
Section II. Status of Religious Freedom
Legal/Policy Framework
The Constitution provides for the freedom of religion, and the
Government generally respected this right in practice. The
Constitution accords "all persons the right to worship according to
their own religion or belief " and states that "the nation is based
upon belief in one supreme God." The first tenet of the country's
national ideology, Pancasila, declares belief in one God. However,
some restrictions exist on certain types of religious activity and on
unrecognized religions. Government employees must swear allegiance to
the nation and to the Pancasila ideology. The Government sometimes
tolerated extremist groups that used violence and intimidation
against religious groups, and often failed to punish perpetrators.
The Government did not use its authority to review or revoke local
laws that violated freedom of religion.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs extends official status to six
faiths: Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and,
as of January 2006, Confucianism. Atheism is not recognized.
Religious organizations other than the six recognized religions can
register with the Ministry for Culture and Tourism only as social
organizations, restricting certain religious activities. Unregistered
religious groups do not have the right to establish a house of
worship and have administrative difficulties obtaining identity
cards and registering marriages and births.
The Government requires officially recognized religious groups to
comply with Ministry of Religious Affairs and other ministerial
directives, such as the Revised Joint Ministerial Decree on the
Construction of Houses of Worship (2006), Overseas Aid to Religious
Institutions in Indonesia (1978), and the Guidelines for the
Propagation of Religion (1978).
On December 9, 2006, the House of Representatives passed a new civil
registration bill requiring citizens to identify themselves on
government ID cards as belonging to one of the six religions
recognized by the Government. The bill legalized what in the past had
been a nationwide administrative practice. The bill does not allow
for the registration of other religions on ID cards.
The 2006 Revised Joint Ministerial Decree on the Construction of
Houses of Worship, issued on March 21, 2006, requires religious
groups that want to build a house of worship to obtain the
signatures of at least 90 members and 60 persons of other religious
groups in the community stating that they support the establishment,
as well as approval from the local religious affairs office. Some
religious groups complained that the revised decree made it too
difficult to establish a house of worship, while others argued that
the increased clarity of the revised decree would improve the
situation by diminishing conflicting interpretations of the 1969
decree that it superseded.
The Guidelines for Overseas Aid to Religious Institutions requires
domestic religious organizations to obtain approval from the Ministry
of Religion to receive funding from overseas donors. The Guidelines
for Propagation of Religion ban proselytizing under most
circumstances.
The Child Protection Act of 2002 makes attempting to convert minors
to a religion other than their own through "tricks" and/or "lies" a
crime punishable by up to 5 years in prison.
Article 156 of the criminal code makes spreading hatred, heresy, and
blasphemy punishable by up to 5 years in prison. Although the law
applies to all officially recognized religions, it is usually
applicable in cases involving blasphemy and heresy against Islam.
The question of implementing Shari'a generated controversy and
concern during the reporting period. Aceh remained the only province
in which the central Government specifically authorized Shari'a.
Presidential Decree 11/2003 formally established Shari'a courts in
Aceh. However, several local governments across the country
promulgated Shari'a-inspired ordinances.
According to the Indonesian Women's Coalition, at least 46
Shari'a-based local laws have been issued by local governments
throughout the country. These include laws requiring women to wear
headscarves in public; mandating elected officials, students, civil
servants, and individuals seeking marriage licenses to be able to
read the Qur'an in Arabic; and prohibiting the drinking of alcohol
and gambling. During the reporting period, the Government did not
exercise its jurisdiction over religious matters in order to review
or invalidate these controversial local laws that appear to
contravene the Constitution.
For example, according to a senior provincial official, 18 out of 22
South Sulawesi regencies adopted aspects of Shari'a law. These range
from the implementation of Islamic dress codes for women in public to
prohibitions on alcohol and gambling. Bulukumba Regency in South
Sulawesi has four local laws implementing elements of Shari'a for all
Muslims. Bulukumba and Bone Regencies have implemented specific
requirements that local village heads, candidates for political
office, secondary school students, and people seeking marriage
licenses be able to read the Qur'an in Arabic. In Padang, West
Sumatra, the mayor instructed all Muslim women to wear a headscarf
and local authorities enforced this requirement. The regulations did
not apply to non-Muslims. Several regencies have passed regulations
preventing women from receiving government services if they are not
wearing headscarves. Several other places have local laws similar to
those in Bulukumba Regency.
Regulations in the Madura Regency of Pamekasan call for Muslim attire
to be worn by Muslim civil servants and the cessation of both public
and work activities during the call to prayer.
Tangerang in Banten Province continues to ban public displays of
affection, alcohol, and prostitution. These bans apply to both
Muslims and non-Muslims. The controversial antiprostitution clause
vaguely defines a prostitute as anyone drawing suspicion based on
his or her attitude, behavior, or dress and places the burden on
suspected women to prove their innocence. Advocacy groups challenged
the constitutionality of Tangerang's regulation, but in March 2007
the Supreme Court upheld the prohibition.
In October 2005 the regional representative office of the Ministry of
Religious Affairs in West Nusa Tenggara issued a ban on 13 religious
groups, including Ahmadiyya, Jehovah's Witness, Hare Krishna, and 9
forms of traditional beliefs (Aliran Kepercayaan) as being deviations
of Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism. The ban is still valid.
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