Written by Athanasia Safitri

Professor Nelly van Doorn-Harder, who teaches in Wake Forest University (North Carolina, USA) and the Vrije Universiteit (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), attended an international conference hosted by Universitas Gadjah Mada in July 2022 titled Religion and Human Rights: Pedagogical Challenges and Opportunities in Higher Education in Indonesia. Van Doorn writes and edits books and articles on religion with regard to gender, leadership, interfaith engagement, and issues pertaining to freedom of religion, and shared her insights in a session of the conference titled “Emerging Discourse on Freedom of Religion and Belief in Indonesia”. Her inaugural lecture last March was entitled “Strong Rights, Fragile People: The Politics of Freedom of Religion or Belief” talks about child marriage in Indonesia, where it relates with the Muslim religious practice and its consequence on women in Indonesia. The article shows the way Van Doorn learns about the influence of Indonesian Muslim religious practice during her close observation in the last five years with several groups, especially on gender issues and freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in Indonesia.   read more

Written by Jekonia Tarigan

Freedom of religion has become an important aspect of human rights as declared in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948.[[i]] However, the challenge of freedom of religion or belief has been rolling throughout the history of human life and to this day is often still a problem. The challenges are now are greater and more pressing than before. The challenges at hand cover important sectors of modern life, from culture and civic society, politics and identity, security, and conflict.[[ii]] This is in line with the remarks delivered at the opening of the International Conference on Religion and Human Rights on 18 July 2022 by Prof. Djagal Wiseso, the Vice Rector for Education, Learning and Student Affairs, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM). Wiseso noted that religion and human rights is a timely issue; therefore, he really appreciates this conference. Prof. Siti Malkhamah, the Dean of the Graduate School of UGM, also delivered a welcoming speech to participants, speakers, and paper presenters. read more

Written by Maurisa Zinira

Human relations are influenced by the operationalization of power, including those carried out by state institutions. In Indonesia, the practice of power played by the government is often authoritarian as it continues to emphasize the assimilation of various local powers into the structure and logic of the government. Often local people are forced to give up some of their cultural values ​​to adapt to these demands. As a result, discrimination and marginalization often arise due to unequal power relations between state authorities and minority groups. read more

Written by Jekonia Tarigan

Women often face multi-layered suffering such as poverty, discrimination, gender-based violence/injustice, human trafficking, and domestic violence. Women are also often more vulnerable to religious-based violence, especially in situations of increasing religious intolerance. This was conveyed by the Rev. Dr. Suryaningsi Mila, Lecturer of the Sumba Christian Church Theology College. According to Mila, an alumna of the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS) at the ‘Dialogue on Diversity #7’ which was held on July 16, 2022, with a presentation entitled ‘The Dynamics of Encountering Women in Cross-Community Reading Rooms’. In fact, according to Mila, women have an important contribution to maintaining peace and efforts to build peace in many places, including post-conflict areas. There are two villages in Central Sumba, North Wendewa and Watu, where women’s groups are very active in building a dialogue about life through sharing food and clean water and supporting each other in various ways. But it is ironic because women are often absent in dialogue forums organized by the Religious Harmony Forum (FKUB), although Muslim and Christian women have women’s religious organizations such as the Taklim Council for Muslim women and the Women’s Commission for Christian Women. read more

Written by Jekonia Tarigan

Across Indonesia’s rich cultural landscape are many unique funeral ceremonies. One of the most famous ones is from Sulawesi, namely Rambu Solo’ that is performed by the Torajan people in Toraja (or Tana Toraja). Rambu Solo’ is a traditional funeral ceremony which aims to respect the spirits as they return to immortality among the ancestors. In addition to Tana Toraja, other areas in Sulawesi such as Mamasa also have rich traditions of funeral ceremonies.[1] This topic was the focus of the Kamisan Daring Forum on June 2022. This forum was organized by the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS), the Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies (CRCS), the Center for Religious and Democratic Studies (PUSAD) Paramadina, the Satunama Foundation, Institute of Sciences Indonesia (LIPI), and several other organizations. read more

Written by Jekonia Tarigan

People groups around the world have different tradition of funeral ceremonies. Among Indonesia’s hundreds of cultures, there are a variety of funeral ceremony traditions. In conducting funerals, the focus is often on the various traditions and aspects of local belief systems. The June 16, 2022 discussion of funeral rites during the Kamisan Daring Forum centered on Hubula tribe in Papua and the Iban Dayak tribe in Kalimantan and the unique gender roles of these traditions. The forum was organized by the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS), the Center for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies (CRCS), Center for Religious and Democratic Studies (PUSAD), Paramadina, Satunama Foundation, Institute of Sciences Indonesia (LIPI), and several other organizations. The first speaker in this forum was Korneles Siep from the Hubula tribe, one of the indigenous tribes in Papua. This tribe inhabits the mountainous area of central Papua, precisely in the Baliem Valley. The second speaker was Imanuel Febrianto Dagang, of the Iban Dayak indigenous group of Kalimantan. read more

Written by Jekonia Tarigan

Death and the funeral process can be a rich source of inspiration for human efforts to find meaning in suffering, eternity in finitude. Religion, culture, social structures, and the vitality of these rudimentary elements of communal life depends upon ritually putting the corpse in its place, managing the relations between the living and the dead, and providing explanations for the existence of death. Throughout human history the problem of bodily decay has had to be solved in a meaningful way—the social body cannot function without agreed upon principles to respond to the universal presence of dead bodies. [[i]] This also happens in the context of Indonesian society with every religious and ethnic group having its own rich funeral traditions, formed as part of the culture and way of life of each ethnic group. At the Kamisan Daring Forum event on June 2, 2022, which was organized by the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS), the Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies (CRCS), Center for Religious and Democratic Studies (PUSAD) Paramadina, Satunama Foundation, Institute of Sciences Indonesia (LIPI) and several other organizations, raised a discussion entitled ‘Towards an Eternal Light: The Meaning of Death Ceremonies in Mentawai and Cilacap’. On this occasion, two speakers were present: Yosep Sagari from the Mentawai Indigenous Peoples Forum Community and Muslam Guno Waseso from the Association of Pangudi Mysticism Intisarining Rasa (Paguyuban Pikir) Cilacap, Central Java. read more

Written by Athanasia Safitri

Following the familiarization of the draft bill revision of the Indonesian criminal code (RKUHP) to the public in February-June 2021, the government through the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Kemenkumham) highlighted 12 points, one of which touched on the issue of blasphemy. Two months ago, on 7 April 2022, Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), represented by Eva K. Sundari, initiated a public discussion in collaboration with the Indonesian Commision of Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS). Sundari opened the discussion, held via Zoom, by stating that the purpose of the meeting was to seek solutions for the many problems related to freedom of religion. From the government level, the final draft is targeted for June this year and there is a need to follow up with other organizations and institutions which share the same purpose. The idea is not only to get people ready for the legalization of the draft bill, but also to give space for the public so that the issue can be addressed urgently and to avoid the abuse of policy by the government in favor of certain religious groups. read more

Written by Maurisa Zinira

Political space has always been an arena of never-ending contestation due to competing political interests. Not surprisingly, in every general election period, political rhetoric amplifies and becomes divisive. Divisions constantly occur and often lead to acts of violence and criminality. The case of the 2019 presidential election is a real example of how political mobilization hardens identity politics. In this period, intolerance in its various forms was accepted as a matter of course and perpetuated through political practices that threatened social solidarity. read more

Written by Jekonia Tarigan

Religious dialogue, both intra-religious and inter-religious, takes place over a historical period and is colored by various dynamics, as well as ups and downs, which by studying them can be found wisdom in building religious dialogue in the future. [i]  This was conveyed by Fr. Dr. Martinus Joko Lelono, at the sixth installment of the Dialogues of Diversity forums organized by the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS). Lelono is an ICRS batch 2016 and currently serves as Chairman of the Commission on Inter-Religious and Trust Relations, East Yogyakarta Vicary. In this forum he delivered a presentation entitled “The Dynamics of Religious Dialogue in the Catholic Church”. The second speaker for the forum was Dr. Laila Kholid Alfirdaus, S. IP, MPP, a 2011 ICRS alumna who is now working as the Head of the Political Science Master’s Program at Diponegoro University. Alfirdaus delivered a presentation entitled “COVID-19, Diversity and Access to Public Service: Assessing Support and Challenges”. read more