[ppi] [ppiindia] Say no to conservative Islam

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http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20060830.E02&irec=1



Say no to conservative Islam 
Aguswandi, Banda Aceh



If ever there was a discourse about "them and us" in Indonesia, it should be 
about "them" who want to promote conservative Islam through sharia that 
oppresses women and is antidemocratic and against multiculturalism, and "us" 
who want to promote civil Islam, secular democracy and a multicultural, 
cosmopolitan society. Those of us in the "us" category have to take a stand on 
this now before it is too late. We have to parade our views, demonstrate and 
speak out immediately and clearly against "them".

Indonesian Islam has been unique in its compatibility with democracy. It has 
been celebrated for its moderation in contrast to the conservative, extreme 
version that is practiced in the Middle East. Despite being in the majority, 
Muslims in Indonesia have lived happily side by side with Indonesians of all 
other religious beliefs. 

However, that might not be the case in the future. It is already not the case 
in some parts of Indonesia. Now, as in many other parts of the Muslim world, 
Islam is under threat from the tidal wave of "Arabization" and conservatism. If 
we do not stop it now, this growing conservatism will result in our religion 
becoming a tyranny of the majority Muslims against the minority non-Muslims or 
even a tyranny against mainstream Muslims. 

This is a critical moment for the future of the unique and moderate Indonesian 
version of Islam. It is now time for moderate Muslims, in alliance with the 
democratic and human rights movement in Indonesia, to speak out against "them". 
It is time for "us" to voice our loud support for civil and moderate Islam, to 
defend secularism and the multicultural society of Indonesia. 

It is time to combine all of this with our work to build democracy and human 
rights in Indonesia. This is not about echoing what the west says. It is not 
about appeasing western pressure on the Muslim world. It is about what kind of 
future society we want to have. 

We cannot let the rise of conservative Islam continue unchecked; it will be too 
late to deal with it later. In future, the subject could become too risky to 
touch; it could become impossible to find the space to debate it. 

They are not winning yet, but the space is already constrained. Anybody who 
speaks out against "them" is accused of and perceived as anti-Islam. Foreigners 
who say something about sharia are regarded as Islamophobes. Women who speak 
out about sharia's discrimination against women are easily dismissed as 
western-influenced feminists. The only possible challenge can come from male 
Muslims who still face the risk of being seen as bad Muslims. 

Before it's too late, we have to take that risk. Aceh's implementation of 
conservative sharia law should be a lesson for everyone. We should not repeat 
our failure to engage and deal with sharia and conservative groups, as we did 
in Aceh. Many of us failed to realize how Islam in Aceh was being exploited by 
conservative groups to promote something new, a different type of Islam that 
oppressed women, restricted freedom of speech, imposed a strict code of conduct 
and behavior that was against the local tradition and the nature of Islam 
itself. 

When sharia in Aceh was still a discourse, the Acehnese did not express their 
disagreement clearly enough. Many people did not want to say anything publicly 
for many reasons, including fear. Many Indonesians were ignorant about what was 
proposed. Now it is being implemented as the law, it is too late and too 
difficult to even challenge. The lesson here is do not play with time or it 
will become too late. 

We need to do something about this now. This is an elephant in the room that 
cannot be ignored. The elephant will take and has taken victims in some parts 
of Indonesia, especially in Aceh. It will cause more harm later to the 
development of the country. It will harm the development of democracy. It will 
interfere with economic recovery. It will create a very bad image for everyone. 
This is the last thing anyone should want to happen to Indonesia right now. 

There is no other option, but for all of us to build alliances against 
conservatism. An axis of anti-extremism and conservative Islam has to be built. 
We should reject any attempt to intimidate and restrict the debate. We have to 
challenge the promotion of conservative Islamic values. 

We should not be silent anymore. The time has come for us to speak out against 
"them" loudly and clearly. We cannot wait for the future impact. All the 
accusations of being anti-Islam, Islamophobia, being sympathetic to the west, 
etc., should not deter us from discussing the bigger issues that will have an 
impact on our society. It is still not too late to do things better. The stakes 
are high: if they win, everyone here will be a mullah, but if we win, everyone 
will be a democrat. 

The writer is a human rights advocate. He can be reached at 
agus_smur@xxxxxxxxxxx




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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