Written By Maurisa Zinira

The diversity of religions and cultures that have become the ancestral heritage of the Indonesian nation is on the verge of fading. Although this diversity continues to be glorified as the treasure of the Indonesian nation, the facts on the ground show otherwise. Adherents of the ancestral (indigenous) religions continue to face persecution and threats even though the Administration and Population Laws have been revised to recognize the adherents administratively.

In Minahasa, a land known for its religious tolerance, the LAROMA (Lalang Rondor Malesung), a community organization, which adheres to the Malesung ancestral religion, is still being persecuted. Since 2016, hate speech  has been heard in churches, government events, and even at weddings. This hatred continued to heat up leading to the demolition of Wale Paliusan (a place of worship) by surrounding residents. Now, a year after the tragedy of the persecution, Iswan Sual, the chairman of LAROMA, who spoke at the ICIR (Intersectoral Collaboration for Indigenous Religion) #15 monthly discussion on Thursday, July 13, 2023, noted that discrimination still exists in many forms.  Along with two other presenters, Febriani Sumual and Mary Silvita, he discussed the experiences and challenges faced by the community amid the diversity of Minahasa society. read more

Written by Athanasia Safitri

Started as a dissertation for his doctorate, Akhmad  Siddiq transforms the writing into a book entitled “Kristen Madura: Agama, Identitas, dan Pergulatan Sosial” for more people to understand about the existence of Madurese Christians and their social struggle in society. He realises that there has been a stigma stating that Madurese are all Muslims and it shapes not only their religion but also their cultural identity, which roots in Islam. This is one of the reasons of discomfort that Madurese Christians experience, to the extent that they are reluctant in revealing their religion to their community to avoid tension from the majority. For the time being, however, the growing number of non-Muslim Madurese, both on Madura Island and in other parts in East Java, has made assimilation inevitable and interreligious interaction even more unpreventable. read more

Written by Johanes Koraag

Yogyakarta was once known as a city with a high level of tolerance, because, as a city of education, every year it receives students from various regions with diverse backgrounds. However, this situation has recently undergone a significant change. Events such as the refusal of non-Muslims to live in Muslim neighborhoods in Bantul, the destruction of Christian graves in Sleman, and the rise of exclusive boarding houses that only accept tenants with certain religions show that there has been a decline in the level of tolerance among the people of the Special Region of Yogyakarta. This certainly needs to be scrutinized, given special attention, and solutions sought in order to restore the image of Yogyakarta as a tolerant city. read more

Written by Athanasia Safitri

In Indonesian, Jewish and Judaism are translated the same as ‘Yahudi’ whereas Jewish ethnicity and religion are interrelated, and Judaism is the ethnic religion of the Jewish people. ICRS and CRCS of UGM, in collaboration with the American Jewish Committee (AJC) held a day workshop to introduce the basic principle of the Jewish tradition, religious practice of Judaism, and their community. Dr. Ari Gordon, the Director of Muslim-Jewish Relations at AJC, was invited to share the history of Judaism, the Jewish life and practice, and several contemporary issues in the Jewish world. The sessions included audio-visual material, traditional Jewish texts, and dialogue which allowed the participants to exchange questions and experiences. read more

 Written by Athanasia Safitri

As much as it is sensitive to discuss queer^[1] issues in our society, there is an academic need to address the new social reality and conduct related research. Getting an invite to talk about queer activism in relation to interfaith dialogue on the Wednesday Forum, Amar Alfikar is an Indonesian trans man activist whose work challenges religious-based queerphobia, as well as pushing queer-inclusive narratives in theology. He is the founder and director of IQAMAH (Indonesian Queer Muslim and Allies) and has been working for seven years to advocate queer-of-faith activism in Muslim contexts. read more

The concept of decolonization continues to develop alongside a growing understanding of the negative consequences of knowledge hegemony. Generally, established knowledge is considered as absolute truth, thereby hindering new scientific discoveries. Such knowledge is often regarded as the most authoritative and valid, therefore generating unidirectional knowledge and precluding the advancement of its various forms.

During a public lecture that took place on 17 March, 2023, at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Frans Wijesen remarked that in the discourse of decolonization studies, a sort of hegemonic knowledge emerges, which serves as a gauge of the truth of knowledge. Studies on Indonesian Islam tend to portray Christian Snouck Hurgronje (CSH) as an orientalist with a number of shadowy sides and detrimental effects on Indonesian Islam. As stated as well in Wijsen’s article published in Christian-Muslim Relations: A Bibliographical History  entitled “Christian Snouck Hurgronje”, CSH has been portrayed by many researchers as a white man engaged in a great deal of intervention and manipulation of the Islamic reality. However, because there are numerous historical truths that have not been brought to light by studies that have been evolving to date, Wijsen is attempting to transmit a new perspective that sees CSH as an ordinary human being who has multiple identities. These identities led him to engage in numerous negotiations regarding his position as a scholar and advisor to the colonial administration. read more