The crisis in Indonesia

New context for the mission and witness of the church

Karel Phil Erari

Indonesia today is in crisis. This crisis can be seen in the unpredictability of our sociopolitical life and especially in the religious tensions which have led to violence in several areas. This is ironic, when we consider that for three decades Indonesia has presented itself as a model of religious harmony.

Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim society. About 87 per cent of the population of 200 million is Muslim. Christians, including Roman Catholics, number roughly 10 per cent. The Christian population is, however, unevenly distributed across the islands and island groups, with the highest concentrations in Nusengattara Timor, North Sulawesi, the Malukus, North Sumatra and West Kalimantan.

Constitutionally, the Republic of Indonesia is founded on the Pancasila, the "five principles", which include belief in God, humanity, national unity, consultative democracy and social justice. It is neither a Muslim nor a secular state. Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism are officially recognized. Other religions are not forbidden. A government ministerial office oversees the religious life of the country. The constitution provides for religious freedom for members of the first five of the six officially recognized religions; and the government generally respects these provisions, although there are some restrictions on certain types of religious activity, including that of unrecognized religions. A few groups are banned explicitly, including the Jehovah's Witnesses, whose adherents may experience difficulties in civil matters like marriage. Citizens who are members of religions other than the six officially recognized may be obliged to register as Catholics, Protestants, Muslims etc., in order to obtain national cards or for other civil purposes.

During President Suharto's New Order, the government issued regulations concerning religious practice which contain restrictions on churches operating freely in Muslim strongholds like Aceh, South Sumatra, Madura island and some other parts of the country. In order to erect a church building, there are certain procedures to follow and conditions to meet, including having the approval of 100 Muslim families in the neighbourhood. Many congregations have never been able to gain access to get approval, with the result that many Christians are obliged to worship in private homes on Sundays.

Religious intolerance has led to violence in several regions. Over the past three decades, more than 800 church buildings have been attacked and destroyed: 450 during the Suharto government (1965-1998), 80 during BJ Habibie's presidency (1998-1999), and more than 300 during the first year of the administration of President Abdurrahman Wahid ("Gus Dur").

Migration is a significant factor in the recent wave of interreligious strife in the Malukus, or former Dutch Spice Islands. Migrants, predominantly Muslims from Sulawesi, changed the demography of the islands, previously mainly Christian.

The violence was sparked by a petty dispute on an Ambon bus in January 1999. This led to a wave of religious killings. The contagion spread to the islands of Sulawesi and Lombok and on to other regions.

At least 4,000 people in the Malukus and in Sulawesi have lost their lives, with the victims divided roughly equally between Muslims and Christians. A total of 400,000 people are internally displaced in these regions. A handful of mosques were attacked, while 280 churches were burnt and destroyed. There were no reports that any perpetrators were punished. Many Christians were forced to convert to Islam.

The Joint Committee on the East Timor Crisis has extended its mandate to cover other areas in Indonesia and we are now addressing the situation in the city of Ambon and the neighbouring islands. Christian communities are continually attacked by Muslim Jihad militias backed by partisan elements in the Indonesian military (the TNI) and the government. Houses and churches are targeted for arson and people killed while praying in church. A nurse in Hatiwe Besar was recently raped and brutally murdered while on duty in a government clinic to assist the injured people from her village; Betty died from inhuman treatment while giving humanitarian service.

On Halmahera, a young pastor called Risamasu is reported to have been assassinated in a local district office. Fifty Christian children on Halmahera were killed after Sunday school and their bodies dumped offshore at Tobelo, in the north of Maluku. Two days later, Christian youth leaders organized a counter-attack and killed 100 Muslims.

This interreligious conflict in the Maluku islands presents an enormous challenge to the mission of the church in Indonesia. People no longer see religion as an institution of peace and justice; it is more like a monster. Muslims hate their Christian relatives, and Christians are afraid to associate with their Muslim friends.

Churches seeking peace and unity

In the context of the current movement of political reform, churches in Indonesia are challenged to carry out their mission with new approaches and new themes. The churches should become healing communities and work towards building peace. We should commit ourselves to church unity and to addressing social crises as an integral part of our mission. We should seek new grounds for dialogue with people of other faiths. We are called to combat conflict in the society by embracing our Muslim friends who are seeking peace and the unity of the nation.

The Research and Development Board of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (CCI) has appealed to Muslim and Christian scholars to make a joint declaration seeking peace and justice. In September, an annual seminar on religious issues affirmed the urgency of reconciliation. It proposed that reconciliation should become a church programme; the need for sharing on common goals and the threat to national unity might provide entry points for such efforts.

At its 13th general assembly in March 2000, the CCI called upon the churches to work for Christian unity in Indonesia by the year 2005. The majority of CCI member churches are Reformed (28) or Lutheran (10); they are striving for unity with other Protestant groups and with Roman Catholics. The assembly recommended establishing a joint secretariat for Protestants and Catholics. The unity of the churches will be a new platform for reconciliation among the churches and make a strong moral contribution to mission for peace and reconciliation in Indonesia.

As part of the decade to overcome violence sponsored by the World Council of Churches, Indonesian churches are preparing various programmes to help Christians initiate activities within the congregations and in Christian educational institutions and enterprises to demonstrate justice and peace as a genuine Christian presence in the society. This interreligious and intercommunal crisis must come to an end; and the Christians of Indonesia are called to be a part of the movement for peace for all.

Karel Phil Erari of the Evangelical Christian Church in Irian Jaya is a member of the WARC executive committee.