Leonard Chrysostomos Epafras

United Evangelical Mission (UEM) organized the Asian chapter of the fourth round of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Conference (JCM) in Manila on February 5-12, 2024. The initiative commenced 51 years ago in Germany as the immediate response to the post-Holocaust and post-World War II circumstances. Twenty scholars, religious leaders, and activists of refugee services, including Christians, Muslims, and Jews from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Palestine, convened and discussed the meaning of home and displacement. The conference was organized with the local committee from the United Churches of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP). Dr. Leonard Chrysostomos Epafras from the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS), Universitas Gadjah Mada Graduate School, was one of the steering committee members and resource persons.

The conference theme is “Understanding and Standing Up for the Displaced.” The keyword “displaced” unleashed the complex history of human attachment/detachment to space, interspace movement, migration, interpersonal/intergroup interaction, frontier experience, and the longing for homecoming. Since the advent of human civilization, our humanity has been shaped by voluntary or involuntary movements from one place to another, basically a “displacement” experience. Such movements outgrew many pull and push factors, such as scarcity of resources, environmental degradation, war, famine, socio-political and economic situations, and many others.

While people’s spatial movements were primarily organic and evolving, some resulted from involuntary conditions, producing refugees and forming new socio-cultural realities. Not long ago was the presence of Vietnamese boat people appeared in the Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesian waters. The latest were Rohingya in Aceh and Palestinian refugees. To them, the participants sensed the ultimate condition of the “displaced” with all the consequences: loss of citizenship, discrimination, resource dependency, insecurity, and many other ills of the people without protection.

To respond to the above considerations, the conference commenced with a keynote address by UCCP and UEM, laying down the principal positions of the two organizations and why both are active in dealing with the issues of displacement. A session followed it up on the perception of other religions, which included sharing prejudices, and each of the representations responded genuinely regardless of whether the prejudices were negative. Activities include mindful walking, lectures, discussions, and synagogue and mosque exposure. Mindful walking each morning in the neighborhood allowed the participants to grind the questions of “What is the meaning of home?” and “What does it mean to come home?” into the deep of the urban lives manifested among the ordinary people in the street, the urban poor and people experienced homelessness. Discussions were touched upon challenging issues such as Rohingya in Aceh, Gazan Palestinians, land conversion and developmental aggression in many areas in the Philippines, climate change’s impact on displacement, and the displacement of Dayaks and the locals surrounding the establishment of the new capital, the Nusantara Capital City (IKN, Ibukota Nusantara). Unfortunately, the Palestinian refugees were unable to complete the entire session. The program concluded with a follow-up plan and commitment.

Athanasia Safitri

Our very definition of ‘indigenous’ has transformed from the meaning of originating and a group of people from the earliest times, into the localised belief systems when it is related to religion. One of the parallel sessions which took place in the 5th International Conference and Consolidation on Indigenous Religions in Surakarta on 22-23 November 2023, was a special panel conducted by Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS) UGM.  The need to speak out, to listen and respond to various voices from the indigenous communities has triggered the implementation of digital media in several platforms with different goals.

Following the theme of the conference which was “Democracy of the Vulnerable” , three speakers presented their findings regarding the indigenous voices and digital inclusion. Fardan M. Imamah of ICRS talked about the discourse of ritual in relation to nature in the website, whereas Leonard C. Epafras of Postgraduate School UGM explained the digital inclusion of an indigenous community. The last speaker Dedi Priyono of UNTAG Semarang took a case of an indigenous group from Kebumen and made an analysis on their digital technology operation. These three researchers seek for the relation between indigenous groups’ tradition and digital media.

The usage of digital platform for indigenous voices

Imamah described how the media’s construction of rituals has a major effect in dominating the discourse on ritual actors, actions, and networks. Using ‘baritan’ which was the gratitude rituals done by many indigenous communities in Java for the period of 2018-2023, she aimed to determine the discourse of ritual and its relation to nature in 136 news articles on the online website. These articles did not convey the moral code of nature, but more about how the ritual supports social cohesiveness and shows gratitude from the people. Ecological problems might have been addressed using technological approaches, yet she observed that the cultural and religious aspects played a significant role as well. Imamah concluded that Baritan rituals in the dominant discourse are perceived as tradition and culture, without focusing on the ecological aspects.

The second speaker Epafras presented how government restrictions limit the way indigenous communities practise their religious tradition, not to mention the overall intervention  regarding digital support, such as access to digital services for citizenship and even financial banking system. Some indigenous communities’ digital accounts might be considered as illegal beliefs or religions that their presence in the digital platform is mostly cautious and self-censored. The term used by the state and society as ‘penghayat’ can be quite tricky too since it is put alongside a hidden political or communal agenda, with various interpretations. Epafras also mentioned that there has been conflict between indigenous religions and the officially acknowledged religions related with the acceptance of digital technology by each group.

Priyono took the case from the indigenous community of Paguyuban Budaya Bangsa Pusat Kebumen, Central Java, as the focus of his research to be presented for the last topic in the session. He explained that digital technology brought changes in how spiritual values were understood in culture, especially related to indigenous spirituality and its practice. More guidance was obtained when community members interact with digital technology while the organisation itself uses computers to adapt to modern times. The members of Paguyuban Budaya Bangsa also used mobile phones as a communication means to interact with others. Priyono continued that they still maintain guidance in the use of digital technology, which reflects the balance between tradition and modernity.

Urgency versus Importance

The experience of various indigenous communities, either religious or cultural, demonstrated that the discourse of digital inclusion should also view tradition, religious and cultural values, local people’s perception, and their embracement of digital technology. Not only the principle, teachings, and thoughts of indigenous groups can be voiced actively and concretely, the response may lead to two opposite directions. It can also trigger backlash from the oppositions or simply from people who still have not accepted differences in religions and beliefs. The question which lies before every indigenous community is whether digital inclusion can be considered as an important aspect in familiarising the concept to the broader society or simply as a supporting means of communication for actualization. Another concern also arises if the participation of digital platforms is urgently needed in the indigenous community to bridge dialogue among different communities to avoid misinterpretation and misconception.

Athanasia Safitri

The 12th International Graduate Students and Scholars’ Conference in Indonesia (IGSSCI) was held on 7-8 November 2023 in the Graduate School of Universitas Gadjah Mada with ten main speakers and over a hundred panel speakers from different nationalities. The theme is ‘Ethics and Accountability in Politics, Sciences, and Professions” offering 15 related topics in four main sessions and 17 panel sessions. Dicky Sofjan, as the head of the organising committee, gave the welcoming remarks and mentioned the awareness of scientific development related to technology and AI. He also underlined the urgency in responding to the conflict in Gaza, and for academics to wisely do their research with good intentions.

Siti Malkhamah, the Dean of the Graduate School, officially opened the conference by stressing the importance of maintaining ethical conduct at the academic level for there have been challenges in various fields of life, related to politics, sciences, and professions. For the first main session, five speakers presented their findings on ethics in different spheres of citizenship, interreligious dialogue, academic integrity, genetic modification, and financial institutions. Focusing on politics, science, the rise of technocracy, and institutional accountability, the session exposed the need for ethical values from diverse angles.

Ethical values in policy and society

Purwo Santoso, a professor in Governance and Public Policy in the Department of Politics and Government UGM, started the session by presenting the citizenship ethics for exercising popular control. Regarding the presidential election and governance policy, there is not much popular control whereas many political parties are mistakenly interpreted. There have been criticisms against the process of electoral democracy. Santoso proposed to mainstream discourse of democracy as popular control, within which citizenship is the core of the issue where more active citizenry must be conducted to ensure the ethics in politics are carried out properly.

The second speaker was Paul Hedges from RSIS-Nanyang Technological University Singapore who discussed the perspective of the ethics of dialogue and interreligious ethics toward a global conversation on moral thinking. He invited the participants to be aware of the need to engage in global moral conversations and encourage us to do learning across religious and cultural borders. Hedges presented the worldviews and conceptions that lie behind ethical thinking and principles through the experience of the East Asia Buddhists. This principle was intended to be an example of how an interreligious ethical conversation may lead people to seeing in new ways in the society and building relation with others.

The importance of ethics in science and institutions

Frans Wijsen of Radboud University in the Netherlands showed the important conduct of ethics in science, especially with academic integrity and social safety in educational institutions. He displayed a case where a high-profile figure in a particular university resigned from his position due to a comment he made to a staff member over seven years before. He compared the situation with the policy of UGM whose goal is a safe and healthy university. Healthy universities must support antitoxic relationships between teaching staff and students, also among students and staff. He added that instead of being task oriented, universities should be student oriented where a personal approach and accompaniment for students are available. He concluded by stating that trust is a very essential ethic as the moral compass in educational institutions.

The fourth speaker, Michael Northcott from Edinburgh University, presented his shocking findings on the genetic modification of cells and organisms and highlighted the ethical code in science when it comes to community health in relation to a mosquito strategy project to eliminate dengue called Bali mosquito programme. There was a significant decrease in the number of dengue cases after the release of the biotechno mosquito in Yogyakarta. However the implementation of the project was put into question as to whether it violates societal ethics in human health issues in the wider community. Other concerns on public health problems were also pointed out since there was an infection raised immediately before the release and ecological risks to plants.

The last presentation was conducted by Rusdian Lubis, an Indonesian Infrastructure Finance (IFI) advisor, who projected the accountability mechanism to guide the ethical values of international financial institutions on social and cultural issues. The IFI promotes economic growth, reduces poverty, improves governance, and addresses global challenges through maintaining several ethnic values. Lubis showed the standard mechanism for ensuring accountability by publishing rules, guidelines, procedures with specific standards, facing challenges, and adapting to the role of technology, up to involving the local community. It is important that IFIs operate according to ethical values and principles and that they have effective accountability mechanisms to address concerns.

These five notable speakers shared their research findings accordingly to show the problems that arise related to ethics and accountability, as well as the dilemma that occurs in each situation, from various perspectives. Shortly after the presentation was completed, Sofjan as the moderator of the session underlined several points that these different issues have in common. There has been a deficiency of ethics in many aspects and professions. Apart from that, there is a power imbalance between actors in the field whether it is the state and the society, the citizens and the government, or with institutions or faculty members and the community or students. What lies before us now are possible steps to bring about to ensure all actors may conduct proper ethics without victimising the other party by maximising a more accountable system with various approaches.

Athanasia Safitri

Apart from the plenary session about the Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB) which was conducted during the 5th International Conference and Consolidation on Indigenous Religions in Surakarta on 22-23 November 2023, there were three parallel panels about FoRB. It reminds us of the urgency in acknowledging the challenges facing many religious communities and citizens belonging to either the officially recognized religions or indigenous religions in Indonesia that they have had to endure. Thirteen speakers discussed the penal code, state policy, bureaucracy, religious and cultural values, interfaith marriage, and child custody throughout the two-day conference held in PUI Javanologi UNS.

The theme of the conference was ‘Democracy of the Vulnerable” where the voices of vulnerable religious and cultural groups were given space to voice their concerns. On one of the panels about FoRB for the marginalised, Muhammad Lutfi Hakim from IAIN Pontianak examined custody disputes involving parents of different religions, Rohit Mahatir Manese of IAIN Manado presented the emergence of religious value, and Zulfadli of Universitas Andalas Padang reviewed Law No. 17/2022 regarding the recognition and equality of citizenship of the local community of West Sumatra.

Religious freedom issues have many faces

Hakim was the first to present his findings in the FoRB panel and his discussion focused on the legal interpretation of ‘best interests of the child’ in religious courts related to custody of divorced parents of different religions. Verdict of custody was influenced by parents’ financial stability, availability of time, lifestyle; the children’s medical and psychological health; as well as education and religious upbringing. However, protection of children’s religious beliefs is the strongest argument and from his research of nine cases, Hakim highlighted that only two non-Muslim parents won custody and there are three cases tried in the Supreme Court. He strongly argued that religious affiliation can limit the rights that non-Muslims may hold, and that there has been violence to FoRB in favour of the Muslim parents.

The second speaker was Zulfadli who explained an indication of neglect of citizen equality in the province of West Sumatera. He started by giving the facts that the public only recognise Minangkabau as the West Sumatera local identity despite the existence of other ethnicities and tribes that are non-Minang. In addition to that, the distinct inequality was shown in the citizenship recognition in Law No. 17/2022 in West Sumatra Province, which was controversial and was objected to by the Mentawai people. Zulfadli continued that the resistance began since the Provincial Law seems to ignore the recognition of Mentawai ethnicity, customs, and traditions by favouring only the Minangkabau.

The panel continued with Manese who explored the history of the inclusion of the phrase ‘religious values’ as one of the considerations of human rights limitations in Article 28J of the 1945 Constitution. It certainly affects the practice of FoRB in Indonesia. Manese concluded that “religious values”, which are not included in the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, were on the order of human rights restriction laws in Indonesia along with perceptions of public morality, security, and public order. Religious values then became exclusive since they only covered six official religions in Indonesia and ‘unusual religious values’ can be considered blasphemous. This restriction using considerations of ‘religious values’ affects the freedom of religion of minority groups in Indonesia, such as the Ahmadiyya community. It also affects the freedom of expression, as in the cases of Roy Suryo and Panji Gumilang, who were charged with blasphemy.

Voices of the vulnerable – how loud are they?

The inequality experienced by particular groups of vulnerable demonstrates that the road to free practice of religion, belief, or indigenous traditions still has a long way to go. The tendency of religious discrimination in child custody cases to the neglect of nonmajor tribes require further study to formulate a more universal policy and equal social order. Instead of establishing judgmental opinions and pointing fingers at one another, all parties especially the state have to work hand in hand with other organisations, institutions and religious or cultural communities to create more space for equal democracy in practice.

The Q&A session underlines the pivotal role of academic researchers in advocacy to give more space for indigenous religions and communities to grow and live in their existence peacefully and equally. Three presenters agreed on the need for more collaboration and discussions to acknowledge the problems we face related to freedom of religion and belief for religious groups and cultural minorities. Only through active participation will the change we all aim for will come to life.

On Friday, December 1, 2023, at the Aula of the Radboud University Nijmegen, Professor Emeritus Frans Wijsen delivered his farewell speech entitled “Exploring Man and Nature: Does the Supernatural Matter?” At Radboud University, Wijsen served for many years in the Department of Empirical and Practical Religious Studies. Since 2022, he has been an adjunct professor at the Graduate School of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM).

He was honored with the Distinguished Lifelong Academic Achievements Award of the African Academics Network. He also received a copy of the book Beyond the Spirit of Bandung, edited by Frans Dokman and Antoinette Kankindi. The book, available open-access, is dedicated to him on the occasion of his retirement as professor at Radboud University Nijmegen.

The retirement from Radboud does not mean that Wijsen will become less busy, as he is now more active as an adjunct professor at UGM. At UGM, he teaches mostly in the PhD Program in Interreligious Studies (ICRS) and the Master’s Program of Religious and Cross-cultural Studies (CRCS). He also holds academic writing classes to supervise students’ academic writing.

Even before the official appointment as an adjunct professor, he has been working with colleagues at CRCS and ICRS for many years and supervised quite a few Indonesian students finishing their PhD at Radboud. At present, he co-directs a large-scale research project on humans and nature with Zainal Abidin Bagir of ICRS, Samsul Maarif of CRCS, Muhammad Yusuf of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, UGM, and Any Marsiyanti. The first article from this collaboration, based on a pilot project conducted in 2020, was published in the Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture (2023). The large-scale survey of more than 1000 respondents was delayed because of the COVID-19, but was completed in 2023.

In his farewell speech, Wijsen referred to the research. It is a comparative analysis of Human and Nature Research that originated in the Netherlands, and then was conducted in several other countries. Among the questions he addressed in his speech was whether religion matters when it comes to thinking about nature and how people should deal with it? Is there a difference between the Netherlands and Indonesia in this regard?

From January to July 2024, Wijsen will live in Yogyakarta, co-teaching a class on research methods in religious studies and another on religion and ecology. He will also continue supervising doctoral students in the process of writing publications based on their dissertation research.

Wijsen has also been the editor-in-chief of the journal Studies in Interreligious Dialogue. Along with his move to Yogyakarta, the journal will also move its home to Yogya, hosted by ICRS, and supported by the Graduate School of UGM. The move carries a symbolic meaning: while the journal will remain international in its scope, he hopes that it would also create an epistemic community based in Asia, a very religiously diverse continent, and a place which sees a vibrant growth of interreligious studies.

(Maria Ingrid, ICRS staff who is about to complete her doctoral study at Radboud University, contributed to this article)

Maurisa Zinira 

Democracy activists consistently predict polarization. While several groups argue that polarization is inevitable and may even serve as a catalyst for democratic development, uncontrolled polarization can undermine the fundamental principles of a functioning democracy. With the upcoming political year, there is a growing apprehension regarding the detrimental consequences of polarization. Furthermore, political elites may intentionally manufacture polarization to serve their partisan political objectives.

The topic of polarization sparked a compelling discussion during the special panel organized by IGSSCI (International Graduate Students and Scholars’ Conference in Indonesia) on November 7, 2023, at Gadjah Mada University. This forum, entitled “The Impact of Polarization Mitigation on The Promotion of Social and Environmental Justice”, featured three distinguished experts: Andrew O’Donohue (Harvard University), Damar Juniarto (Executive Director of SAFEnet and lecturer of digital politics at UPN Yogyakarta), and Ihsan Ali Fauzi (PUSAD Paramadina). The three speakers emphasized the importance of mitigating division to safeguard democracy and social cohesion from the adverse effects of polarization.

Polarization: Perpetrators vs Victims

Polarization frequently emerges as a result of intense partisan political dynamics. Interestingly, Andrew, Damar, and Ihsan Ali did not refute the fact that polarized political circumstances have been orchestrated or intentionally invented by opportunistic political autocrats to garner backing for their political objectives. The election periods in Indonesia in 2014 and 2019 exhibited significant divides that were intentionally exploited by political figures to undermine their rivals and seek widespread backing. Furthermore, given the prominent influence of social media, hate speech shared online has the potential to quickly incite and exacerbate political polarization, which remains highly intense.

According to Andrew O’Donohue, polarization unfolds in diverse forms. Regarding actors, polarization can be categorized into elite and mass polarization. Elite polarization involves the division among prominent political entities, including political parties, politicians, and legislative bodies, resulting from divergent viewpoints concerning statistics on parliamentary seats and legislative voting. Mass polarization, in this context, describes the fragmentation of the general public, typically concerning data on public opinion. Depending on its form and model, polarization can be categorized into two types: ideological polarization and affective polarization. Ideological polarization is the degree of strong disagreement among voters in the legislature about public policy matters. Conversely, affective polarization quantifies the degree of animosity individuals on one end of a divided spectrum have towards individuals on the opposing end. Indeed, polarization is an unavoidable outcome. Nevertheless, when polarization intensifies to a severe or pernicious level, it is crucial to promptly alleviate it.

It is important to anticipate certain events that can exacerbate or have harmful effects on polarization. O’Donohue identified several factors contributing to it, including divisive inflammatory political leadership, the transformation of the media landscape, the influence of social media, contentious political strategies, urbanization, social shifts, and inadequate or politically biased institutional safeguards. The presence of many religious, ethnic, and ideological identities can contribute to and exacerbate conditions of division.

Damar Juniarto stated that the utilization of social media plays a role in exacerbating political polarization. One reason is the extensive dissemination of propaganda by influential groups. For example, he noted a group of cyber troops emerged in the social media space to incite and manipulate public opinion on internet platforms. These cyber troops include buzzers (anonymous participants in online campaigns), influencers (individuals with notable popularity and a large following), and content creators (individuals responsible for generating materials, memes, and hashtags that the buzzers will spread). These troops are led by a coordinator who recruits them and organizes their activities, so that the cyber warriors will follow the orders and political objectives of the candidate they are endorsing.

Unfortunately, the government also joins this game during the political process by exploiting the excuse of combating hoaxes and fake news as a means to prosecute their political adversaries. Referring to earlier research on Justifying Digital Repression via Fighting Fake News, Ihsan Ali Fauzi mentioned four strategies often employed by the government to exert control in the online realm: 1] prosecuting specific individuals such as internet users, journalists, and dissidents, 2] pressuring internet service providers and social media platforms to restrict and delete content, 3] intensifying surveillance of social media platforms, and 4] completely shutting down internet access. Given this circumstance, it is evident that political polarization detrimentally affects democracy and must be proactively addressed to limit its impact on societal fragmentation.

Mitigating Polarization

Ihsan Ali stated that polarization leads to the shrinking of civic space in several forms. First, the shrinking of civic space is caused by restrictions imposed by both state and non-state entities. The state enforces restrictions through intimidation, physical aggression, online censorship, oppressive legal regulations, and the exercise of administrative power. Conversely, non-state actors may enforce limitations through intimidating and detrimental actions, such as intimidating discussions regarding specific topics like LGBT rights and protests against the Omnibus Law. Additionally, leaders of institutions like universities may intervene to restrict the freedoms of students, while online threats, such as a company threatening to sue a customer using the ITE (Information and Electronic Transactions) law, can also be employed. Second, the shrinking of civic space can be seen in the realm of law enforcement. Law enforcement continues to be conducted in a discriminatory manner because the process of criminalization disproportionately affects vulnerable populations and minorities, while politicians frequently enjoy immunity from legal consequences. Third, polarization also affects the division of CSO (Civil Society Organization) activists in their efforts to mitigate polarization. CSOs are frequently reluctant to express their criticism as a result of the danger posed by the ITE law.

To prevent polarization from becoming severe or destructive to democracy, it is necessary to implement several mitigating measures. O’Donohue remarked that while the process of mending divided social conditions is challenging, it is imperative to implement several options. These measures encompass institutional reform, conciliatory political leadership, grassroots research, and civic engagement.

In order to achieve institutional change, it is necessary to not only revise problematic articles, but also to ensure consistent law enforcement. The ITE article in Indonesia restricts civic spaces by instilling fear of expressing oneself and deviating from the norm. Minority groups continue to be subjected to hate speech in highly polarized social environments. Hence, in addition to reviewing a few problematic bills and bolstering civic collaboration, addressing polarization must also prioritize the recognition of marginalized victims who receive little attention.

Likewise, Ihsan Ali proposed three strategies to address polarization. These strategies include advocating for the reinforcement of moderate positions, establishing consistent and unbiased enforcement of laws, and urging civil society organizations to reassess their priorities and redirect their efforts towards safeguarding democracy at any expense. The resolution of this polarization may not be achieved immediately. However, by enhancing commitment towards mitigation and maintaining its regularity, the likelihood of political polarization in the following political years could be minimized.

Johanes Koraag

Nowadays Indonesia is still experiencing a situation where there is still a gap between the national demand and availability of donated blood. Based on data from the 2022 PMI Central Blood Donor Unit Annual Report, the need for donated blood in 2022 is 5,515,476 bags of blood. Meanwhile, the blood that was collected from voluntary donors is as many as 3,796,698 bags of blood. The data shows that in 2022 Indonesia lacked 1,718,778 bags of blood. The insufficiency of blood needs certainly has an impact on patients who need these lifesaving blood donations.

A lack of blood supply can trigger several public health problems. For example,  data from the Central Bureau of Statistics reported that the maternal mortality rate in Indonesia in 2022 reached 207 per 100,000 live births, exceeding the strategic plan target of 190 per 100,000 live births. Many mothers in labor who experience bleeding are not saved because of the unavailability of blood transfusions.

The first two precepts of Pancasila clearly show that for Indonesians a vertical relationship to God and a horizontal relationship to fellow humans are very important. In Islam, this principle is called Hablunn Minnallah and Hablunn Minannas. In Protestant and Catholic Christianity, this principle is the greatest commandment taught by Christ, which is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. In Buddhism, this love is called metta, which is given the meaning of infinite love. The Dhamma of Buddhism is preached to all beings for the sake of happiness. In Hinduism, the concept of Tri Hita Karana teaches that love can be manifested in religious social interactions, namely between fellow humans (pawongan), between humans and the natural environment (palemahan), and between humans and God Almighty (parahyangan).

The presence of religions, whose core teachings are about love and kindness, should be a positive energy that encourages and moves its adherents to be actively involved in providing solutions to this problem of blood donations. Religious leaders are expected to motivate or teach people that donating a small portion of our blood to others who are suffering from illness and threatened with loss of life is a noble act that is priceless. To give blood is to give life, it is a gift that cannot be valued in material or monetary means because you are trying to save a life.

In response to the issue of blood donations and that religion can play an active role in providing answers to this problem, the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS), a study program established by three universities, namely Gadjah Mada University, Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University and Duta Wacana Christian University, took the initiative to carry out Community Service programs in the form of blood donation activities involving people from various religions. The activity was held on Friday, December 15, 2023, at the Gunung Kidul PMI Hall. This activity went well because of the support of technical personnel from the PMI Blood Donor Unit of Gunung Kidul Regency, as well as because of the mobilization of participants from various religious backgrounds carried out by the Gunung Kidul Religious Harmony Forum (Forum Kerukunan Umat Beragama / FKUB).

This interfaith blood donation activity began with remarks from H. Ngatemin, Vice Chair of FKUB Gunung Kidul, who said that blood donation activities are a humanitarian act that can unite mankind without discriminating against their religious backgrounds. Furthermore, Triyani Heny Astuti, MD, the Head of the Blood Unit of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI/Palang Merah Indonesia) Gunung Kidul said that PMI Gunung Kidul had tried to involve religious people in the Gunung Kidul area as a way to meet the blood needs there. According to her, the response of religious people has been very good, but the participation rate needs to increase, especially in special situations such as during the fasting month of Ramadan, where there is always a decrease in the number of blood donors compared to ordinary days. The last speech was given by Dr. Leo Epafras from the ICRS study program, who emphasized that religion as a guide to life must be able to take a more active role in seeing the problem of the lack of donated blood. Religious leaders are expected to be able to put this issue in perspective following the teachings of each religion and to convey this message consistently to foster a culture of social care in each religion.

Within 2 hours this interfaith blood donation activity managed to collect 14 bags of blood from 25 participants present. Some participants were unsuccessful in donating blood for several health reasons, such as hemoglobin levels that were too low or too high, blood pressure that was not up to standard or due to taking medications. According to Triyani Heny Astuti, MD, being able to get 14 bags of blood within 2 hours was a very good result. She appreciated the implementation of this activity and she hopes that this can be an activity that is routinely carried out both in this location and in other areas of Yogyakarta.

Written by Rezza Prasetyo Setiawan

Within the Indonesian postcolonial democracy that is heavily influenced by religion-based identity politics, law and regulations have become the frontiers where interests are contested through the politics of policymaking. The new Criminal Code (Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Pidana, or KUHP), which was enacted in January 2023, was proposed to address these problems and, indeed, it has made progress. However, fundamental reconsiderations are still needed for it to better accommodate justice and to prevent interpretations that allow further marginalization of minority groups. Moreover, the public sphere has also expanded to the digital realm, which necessitates new operational definitions and understandings on freedom of expression, religious freedom, and on the nature of communication itself.

These complex and interrelated topics were discussed by law and social science experts on the second day of the International Conference and Consolidation of Indigenous Religions (ICIR), which was held on 22-23 November 2024 at Universitas Sebelas Maret, Solo. Two plenary sessions were held on the second day. The first session focused on freedom of expression and hate speech within the new Criminal Code, led by Herlambang P. Wiratraman, Johanna Poerba, Mohamad Iqbal Ahnaf, and Leonard C. Epafras as the speakers. The second session, still focused on the new Criminal Code, focused on Art. 300, which is on the prohibition of hostility and incitement to violence or discrimination on the basis of religion/belief, and was led by Uli Parulian Sihombing, Asfinawati, and Zainal Abidin Bagir as the speakers. This article will summarize the main issues proposed by the speakers, concerning the progress and the possibilities for improvement.

Between embedded racism and hate speech

Opening the first session, Wiratraman explained that colonialism and racism are still embedded within the implementation of the current and the formulation of the new Criminal Codes. Rather than being a decolonization project, the new Criminal Code instead reinstalls articles on hate-sowing (Ind: siar kebencian) which were originally made by the colonial rulers to criminalize indigenous oppositions toward their colonial authority. Further, these articles were repeatedly scrapped but also repeatedly reinstalled within the Indonesian legal system, demonstrating how the colonial tendency is still being favored by a certain number of the current policymakers. As a result, this tendency clearly undermines the Indonesian people’s freedom of expression and these articles on hate-sowing have been used side-by-side with the systemic racism, especially toward the Papuan populations.

Ahnaf also highlighted  the danger of minimal control toward the expressions of hate. He reminded the audience of the past genocide in Rwanda against the Tutsi to demonstrate the extreme danger if expressions of hatred are left unregulated. He pointed out the already-existing phenomena in Indonesia when Rizieq Shihab and a mayor in Sampang  (in separate occasions) explicitly incited violence and hatred in their public speech.

So, on the one hand, articles concerning hate speech were used by the colonial rule to exert their domination and to silence oppositions, which are no longer ideal in the context of democratic citizenships. On the other hand, the postcolonial rule also left identity polarizations which, if left unregulated, could spiral to violence. Already there is a significant consideration to be put in understanding this complex issue.

Between how it is and how it should be

As is, the Criminal Codes have faced criticism and efforts have been made to fix the formulations to better accommodate justice. As a result, some points of progress have been made, while the new code also still faces criticism in the democratic process of its dynamic becoming. One of the significant points Bagir pointed out was the disappearance of the term “religious blasphemy” (penodaan agama). The problematic article 156a from the current Criminal Code which stated “… blasphemy on a religion …” is problematic for many reasons and creates serious interpretation and implementation problems in the past. The article has been replaced by article 300 on the new 2023 Criminal Code, which contains more concrete and measurable components in its formulation. Its interpretation and implementation can be guided by the Rabat Plan of Action.

However, Asfinawati also pointed out that although its formulation is already relatively more concrete, the term “… toward religion or belief …” is still there and still potentially causes similar interpretation problems in its implementation. Nonetheless, Asfinawati still noticed the progress made in the 2023 Criminal Code, because it no longer allows for criminalization against alternative interpretations in one’s religious practices which was usually used to oppress religious minority groups.

There are also remarks from Poerba on the need for better phrasings in the new Criminal Code, including in the previously mentioned hate-sowing articles, which Poerba argued are still open to ambiguous interpretations. For example, in relation to one’s freedom of expression, the new Criminal Code needs a clearer phrasing or definition on the terms “expression,” “criticism,” and on “incitement.” The plurality of understanding among the public and among the legal apparatuses, including the law enforcers.

Here Bagir proposes the use of Temperman’s triangle of incitement model to clearly discern what should be categorized as incitement to hostility, discrimination, or violence based on religion/belief. The model puts three irreducible components of incitement, which are the inciter, audience, and the target group. Bagir argues that usually the cases of religious blasphemy do not fulfill these three components and therefore were not really valid cases of incitement. With this model, it is not always necessary for law enforcement agency to refer to religious authorities, which may lead to a religiously-based conflict of interest.

Digital bepuzzlement

Further adding into the complexity of the issue, the growing context of digital media puts into question the pre-digital notions of the terms in the written laws. Epafras pointed out the term “in public” (Ind: di muka umum) needs to be revisited in the context of digital public space. Poerba also noticed this problem and noted that the new Criminal Code already accommodated this shift to the digital by incorporating it into their written body, instead of relying on the previous separate regulation on information and electronic transactions (Law No.19/ 2016 on Electronic Information and Transaction). Here it is apparent that legal definitions ought to follow the progressive dynamics of society.

With this context, Epafras proposed the idea of monitory democracy to be applied within the Indonesian context. Epafras points out the idea of viral logic in which the public opinions and law enforcement agency are generally driven by the trending posts in the social media. Here the roles of social media platforms become obvious. The idea presented an open opportunity for a more active involvement from the citizens in the policymaking process. Although, it also demands a more critical attitude toward the policymakers and their policymaking processes. Nevertheless, the digital public space opens up a new field for political contestation in which, said Wiratraman, politically charged maneuvers will play a major role in shaping the future process of Indonesian policymaking.

Conclusion: Restorative justice and meaning-making for peace

Finally, Sihombing promoted the popularization of restorative justice in dealing with cases concerning religion to encourage reconciliation. Bagir also agreed, stating that “… not every case needs to be addressed through legal means.” This restorative justice approach seeks alternative solutions that aim not to punish one or the other party, but rather aims to reconcile the relationships that arose from the conflict. The current legal system that is still largely dominated by punitive means, if used in a situation with a tense religious sentiment, will further push the spiral of conflict to violence on a wider scale, which in turn will sow more polarization.

Thus, it becomes clearer that the vast complexity of Indonesian politics of policymaking is entangled with its postcolonial context, embedded racism, tension between lack of freedom and risk of violence, and the rising digital public spheres, among many other issues. It invites us to be critical to the power at-play in the policymaking process and to be mindful that the objective of the law is to protect the marginalized and to promote peace and justice for all. Here, Asfinawati’s remark sets a powerful conclusion: “Indeed, the regulations have been written, but we can still struggle to seize its meaning … for the interest of the minorities.”