Hard-Line Faith Draws Indonesia’s Youth: Author

The Jakarta Globe

Islamic fundamentalism is getting a foothold in Indonesia, home to the world’s largest number of Muslims, mainly through its younger generations, a Japanese author said.

Hisanori Kato, who has lived in Indonesia and studied Islamic fundamentalism here, said the country’s youth can be easily lured by fundamentalism as they try to determine a sense of self.

“I say that fundamentalism in Islam has a strong influence on youths because many of them are still in the process of seeking their identity and giving a meaning to life,” Kato said.

Fundamentalists, he said, have been actively reaching out to younger generations with their Islamic teachings.

“In searching for identity and the meaning of life, they [the youth] can find answers to their questions in Islam,” Kato said.

He added that many Muslims in Indonesia lack a deep understanding of their religion, so they may be more susceptible to fundamentalist teachings.

Islamic fundamentalism has a long history in the country, Kato said, but it was repressed in the past and could not propagate so freely — especially during more than three decade’s of rule under former authoritarian President Suharto.

Religious restrictions were lifted during the reform era, and fundamentalists today have more freedom to gather and spread their teachings, he said.

Kato wanted the international community to understand that Islam has many interpretations, so he decided to write a book on the subject.

“The Clash of Ijtihad: Fundamentalist Versus Liberal Muslims: The Development of Islamic Thinking in Contemporary Indonesia,” sheds light on the various interpretations of Islam among Muslims in Indonesia.

The 214-page book, which Kato wrote in four years, is meant to help readers understand that Islamic teachings cannot be viewed in any single way, and that different practitioners throughout the country possess different beliefs about their religion.

“Through this book, I want people to know that there are many interpretations of Islam so that non-Muslims can understand that this is the case in Indonesia,” he said.

Kato, a Buddhist, first became familiar with Islam when he came to Indonesia to work as a teacher at an international school here.

He became interested in the pervasiveness of Islam in everyday life, so he took a postgraduate course about democratization in Indonesia and its relationship to Islam.

Dunia Perlu Tahu Banyak Tafsir Islam

Beritasatu.com


Hasil penelitian Kato tuangkan ke dalam suatu buku yang berjudul The Clash of Ijtihad Fundamentalist versus Liberal Muslims: The Development of Islamic Thinking in Contemporary Indonesia.

“Dunia perlu mengetahui bahwa banyak penafsiran terhadap ajaran Islam.” Demikian kata-kata pengamat Islam di Indonesia asal Jepang, Hisanori Kato, tentang kehidupan masyarakat muslim di Indonesia.

Bagi Hisanori Kato, seorang warga negara Jepang yang beragama Buddha, Islam dan Indonesia merupakan sesuatu yang sangat misterius dan perlu untuk dipahami secara mendalam. Bermula dengan kepindahanya ke Indonesia pada tahun 1991, Kato menemukan suatu perilaku masyarakat yang sangat dipengaruhi oleh agama, dalam hal ini Islam.

“Ketika saya pindah ke Indonesia untuk bekerja sebagai seorang guru di salah satu sekolah internasional di Jakarta, saya tidak tahu menahu tentang Indonesia dan Islam,” kata Kato, kepada beritasatu.com, di Jakarta, Sabtu (29/10).

“Selama tiga tahun tinggal di Indonesia, saya melihat sebuah fenomena dalam masyarakat di mana orang dapat berperilaku berdasarkan agamanya seperti orang berpuasa selama satu bulan lamanya,” tutur Kaito. “Saya tidak habis pikir mengapa orang dapat melakukan hal tersebut hanya karena agama?”

Kato mengatakan bahwa sejak saat itu, ia mulai memiliki ketertarikan terhadap Islam dan Indonesia dan memutuskan untuk mengambil studi pasca sarjana mengenai demokratisasi di Indonesia dalam kaitannya dengan Islam.

“Saya mulai melakukan banyak penelitian dan saya mulai mengenal banyak tokoh muslim liberal seperti Gus Dur dan Ulil,” ungkap Kato. “Namun pada saat yang sama, saya mulai melihat bahwa banyak kaum fundamentalis yang bermunculan sejak jatuhnya Soeharto dan saya ingin tahu pokok pikiran dan perilaku mereka.”

Kato memberanikan diri untuk menghubungi tokoh Islam fundamentalis dan sangat terkejut ketika diterima dengan hangat mereka.

“Saya datang pada mereka dan saya katakan pada mereka bahwa saya bukan seorang Muslim tetapi saya ingin mengetahui tentang pokok pikiran mereka sebagai seorang Muslim Fundamentalis,” tutur Kato.

“Saya sangat senang bahwa mereka cukup terbuka dan menerima saya dengan sangat hangat. Kehangatan mereka membuat saya bertanya, kenapa orang-orang Islam ini (liberal dan fundamentalis) memiliki pandangan sangat baik berbeda satu sama lain?”

Hasil penelitian Kato tuangkan ke dalam suatu buku yang berjudul “The Clash of Ijtihad Fundamentalist versus Liberal Muslims: The Development of Islamic Thinking in Contemporary Indonesia” yang ditulis selama kurang lebih empat tahun.

Buku setebal 214 halaman itu menyajikan berbagai interpretasi terhadap ajaran agama Islam di kalangan umat Muslim sehingga dapat memberikan kesempatan untuk memahami keanekaragaman di kalangan umat Muslim sendiri.

“Melalui buku ini, saya hanya ingin orang mengetahui bahwa ada banyak penafsiran terhadap ajaran agama Islam sehingga orang non Muslim dapat memahami bahwa adanya banyak penafsiran Islam,” tutur Kato.

“Selain itu, meskipun banyak kaum Muslim di Indonesia masih banyak pula kaum Muslim yang belum benar-benar memahami tentang ajaran agama Islam itu sendiri. Karena itu, saya harapkan agar buku ini berguna sebagai sumber informasi.”

Sementara itu, Kato mengatakan bahwa ajaran Islam fundamentalis sangat mudah untuk mempengaruhi kaum muda terutama bagi mereka yang tengah mencari jati dirinya.

“Saya mengatakan bahwa Islam fundamentalis memiliki pengaruh yang kuat terhadap kaum muda karena banyak kaum muda yang tengah mencari identitas diri mereka dan mencarai makna kehidupan.” tutur Kato.

“Sehingga dalam pencarian identitas dan makna kehidupan, mereka menemukan jawaban atas pertanyaan mereka melalui Islam karena Islam telah menjawab semua pertanyaan tentang kehidupan dan jawaban tersebut menawarkan suatu solusi,” papar dia. “Sehingga hal tersebut membuat Islam menjadi sangat menarik bagi mereka.”

Kato menambahkan bahwa elemen fundamentalis di Indonesia sudah ada sejak lama namun kaum fundamentalis tidak berani untuk keluar dan melakukan aktivitas mereka yang mereka lakukan saat ini karena kuatnya pemerintah Soeharto.

Govt Calls for Private Sector to Work With It to Help Special-Needs Children

The Jakarta Globe

Govt Calls for Private Sector to Work With It to Help Special-Needs Children

The government and private sector must work together to create a more nurturing environment for children with special needs, officials said on Friday.

Linda Amalia Sari Gumelar, the minister for women’s empowerment and child protection, said the onus for looking after special-needs children should not be on the government alone.

“It is also up to the private sector to pay special attention to these children,” she said at the opening of a congress of parents of special-needs children.

“I believe this congress is a good step toward setting up a support group bringing together parents, carers and medical practitioners. It will also push the government and the private sector to do more.”

Wanda Hamidah, a member of the Jakarta City Council’s oversight commission on social and children’s affairs, said there needed to be better enforcement of the rights of special-needs children.

“We need to keep fighting for them because many of them are still being deprived of their most basic rights, particularly in terms of access to health care and education,” she said at the congress.

She added that the council had last week passed a bylaw on the protection of the disabled.

“The bylaw will provide protection for the rights of special-needs children to a proper education, health care, employment and accessibility in public places,” Wanda said.

“It also stipulates punishments, including fines and jail time, for those violating these rights. Our hope is that with the passage of the bylaw, special-needs children will receive better treatment and service.”

The councilwoman said one area that needed particular attention was education, with very few schools equipped or staffed to teach special-needs children.

“That said, the government has a fundamental obligation to provide access to education for all,” she said.

She added that sufficient funding to meet the needs of special-needs children could easily be found, but only if the political will to do so was there.

“Jakarta’s annual budget is huge,” she said. “If we could just allocate Rp 50 billion [$5.7 million] to training teachers, we would have enough to teach all special-needs children,” Wanda said.

There are an estimated 500,000 special-needs children across Indonesia, according to the parents’ group.

Negara Tanpa Agama Sama Saja Malapetaka

Beritasatu.com


Malapetaka akan timbul bila negara tidak memiliki acuan nilai moral dan etika yang kokoh.

KH Masdar Farid Mas’udi, Ketua Pengurus Besar Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) mengatakan, negara dan agama saling membutuhkan. Sebab, malapetaka akan timbul bila negara tidak memiliki acuan nilai moral dan etika yang kokoh.

“Negara merupakan institusi kekuasaan. Sedangkan agama merupakan sumber moralitas. Namun, hubungan antara keduanya harus didefinisikan sedemikian rupa,” kata Kyai Masdar di Jakarta, Sabtu (29/10).

Menurut dia, untuk mewujudkan keadilan dalam kehidupan bernegara, agama tidak dapat dipisahkan dalam menjalankan kehidupan bernegara.

“Jangan sampai suatu negara mengikuti arus pikir legal formal keagamaan. Di mana suatu negara harus diatur secara rigid dan formil oleh hukum agama tertentu karena yang harus diinternalisasikan bukan hukum agama melainkan nilai moral dan etikanya,” jelasnya.

“Namun, jangan pula sampai hubungan antara keduanya saling menyangkal,” lanjutnya.

Dijelaskannya, ketika Islam berbicara mengenai negara terdapat dua hal penting yang harus dipegang. Yakni keadilan dan demokrasi.

“Pertama, negara harus menjadikan keadilan sebagai tujuan utama kehidupan bernegara,” tutur dia.

Sebab, lanjutnya, keadilan berkaitan dengan hak segenap rakyat yang harus dilindungi dan dipenuhi. Sehingga, apabila rakyat tidak dapat memenuhinya sendiri maka negara harus proaktif untuk memenuhi hak warga negaranya.

“Kedua, secara jelas, Islam juga menegaskan bahwa metode untuk mewujudkan aspirasi keadilan sebagai cita-cita negara. Negara perlu mengimplementasikan metode syuro bainahumatau demokrasi,” papar dia.

Demokrasi Indonesia Masih Dibajak Elit Politik

Beritasatu.com


“Omong kosong kalau demokrasi tidak dapat mempercepat terwujudnya keadilan.”

KH Masdar Farid Mas’udi, Ketua Pengurus Besar Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) mengatakan, sesungguhnya dengan adanya sila ke-4 dan ke-5 dalam Pancasila, demokrasi Indonesia sudah sangat Islami. Namun sangat disayangkan, menurutnya saat ini syuro bainahum atau demokrasi itu telah dibajak oleh para elit politik, sehingga kehilangan jati dirinya sebagai metode untuk mewujudkan keadilan.

“Saat ini, demokrasi sedang diagung-agungkan. Namun proses demokrasi ini justru membuat rakyat kecewa,” kata Kyai Masdar, kepada wartawan di Jakarta, Sabtu (29/10).

Lebih jauh, Masdar melihat bahwa demokrasi yang seharusnya yang menjadi metode untuk mewujudkan keadilan, justru hanya dijadikan sebagai tujuan, sedangkan faktor keadilan justru diabaikan. “Misalnya, demokrasi dituangkan dalam prosedur memilih pemimpin, mengoreksi pemimpin dan sebagainya,” sesalnya.

Melihat fenomena tersebut, Masdar mengatakan bahwa demokrasi di Indonesia perlu diuji, apakah (memang) demokrasi mempercepat terwujudnya keadilan. “Omong kosong kalau demokrasi tidak dapat mempercepat terwujudnya keadilan. Demokrasi akan dikutuk oleh dirinya, jika tidak mewujudkan keadilan atau bahkan mengabaikan keadilan. Demokrasi telah kehilangan jati dirinya sebagai metode untuk mewujudkan keadilan,” paparnya.

“Oleh sebab itu, demokrasi harus diuji, apakah dia mempercepat keadilan atau tidak. Kalau tidak, berarti telah terjadi pembajakan atau distorsi terhadap demokrasi,” imbuh Kyai Masdar pula.

Film Forecast: Showing as Scheduled

The Jakarta Globe


Indonesian fans of Hollywood films need not worry, theater operators say. New Hollywood blockbusters will be screened here as scheduled.

Concerns have been aired that since the resumption of the supply of Hollywood movies in July, the flow of feature films to the country’s theaters has been little more than a trickle.

Catherine Keng, corporate secretary of Cineplex 21, one of the nation’s largest cinema operators, said Hollywood film distribution was proceeding “smoothly.”

“Some were postponed because we want to first screen several films that could not be screened a while ago,” Catherine said via text message.

She went on to say that most upcoming Hollywood blockbusters would be screened in Indonesia on time.

“ ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ and ‘Breaking Dawn: Part 1’ [of The Twilight Saga] will be screened as scheduled, but ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ will be postponed because the slots for films at the cinema are currently already full,” Catherine said.

Top film studios in the United States launched a boycott of the Indonesian market in February because of a dispute over royalties, but they resumed their exports in July.

Djonny Sjafruddin, who heads the Indonesian Cinema Companies Union (GPBSI), said films from the Motion Picture Association of America were being given screening priority.

“We are prioritizing films from the MPAA so that we are not left behind other countries. American indie films, we will delay,” Djonny said.

The MPAA represents many of the biggest Hollywood studios, including Warner Bros. and Disney.

He said that since the boycott was lifted, movie theaters were beginning to see their incomes return to normal levels.

He also said that although the members of his association remained committed to having Indonesian films account for 60 percent of those screened, the market did not appear to support those efforts.

“There may only be about 5 percent of all national film productions that are capable of drawing the market’s interest,” Djonny said.

He said Indonesian film producers and directors should seek input from public figures as well as from movie theater operators to see what kind of films the country’s movie-goers actually demand.

“Better quality Indonesian films would benefit all sides as national films would be popular among the public,” he said.

Komnas HAM Bentuk Tim Khusus Investigasi Papua

Beritasatu.com


Tim tersebut nantinya akan melakukan investigasi, penyelidikan dan evaluasi yang dapat dilakukan dengan memanggil pihak-pihak yang terkait.”

Komisi Nasional Hak Asasi Manusia (Komnas HAM) akan memberikan rekomendasi kepada Pemerintah Indonesia soal pemulihan keamanan di Papua. “Pemulihan keamanan merupakan hal yang paling utama untuk ditegakkan, sehingga dapat mencegah kejadian yang lebih berat,” kata Wakil Ketua Komnas HAM Nur Kholis di Jakarta, Senin (24/10).

Untuk itu, ungkapnya, Komnas HAM segera berkoordinasi dengan Polri maupun Polda Papua. Tak hanya itu, Komnas HAM juga akan membentuk tim khusus untuk Papua yang akan bekerja selama tiga bulan.

“Tim Khusus untuk Papua akan memiliki kewenangan yang lebih luas, sehingga dapat mempercepat kinerja kami dalam mengungkapkan fakta. Apalagi, mereka bisa masuk ke dalam,” tutur dia.

“Tim tersebut nantinya akan melakukan investigasi, penyelidikan dan evaluasi yang dapat dilakukan dengan memanggil pihak-pihak yang terkait.” lanjutnya.

Menurut dia, hasil investigas di Papua juga akan disampaikan kepada masyarakat sebagai bentuk tanggung jawab publik.

Situasi di Papua semakin tak menentu. Bahkan, hari ini, sejumlah warga Papua yang tinggal di wilayah PT. Freeport Indonesia mendatangi kantor Komnas HAM untuk mengadukan keresahan mereka atas rasa tidak aman pascabentrok antara aparat keamanan dan karyawan PTFI, beberapa waktu lalu.

“Saya sudah bekerja di PT. Freeport Indonesia di tambang bawah tanah dan dulu selalu merasa aman. Namun sejak 2009, saya merasa terancam dan tidak merdeka untuk tinggal di negara saya,” kata Sammy Rumbiak, salah satu wakil warga Papua yang mendatangi kantor Komnas HAM di Jakarta.

“Sampai kapan kami harus merasa tidak aman di tempat kami sendiri padahal saya warga negara Indonesia? Apalagi saya selalu dikawal ke mana-mana oleh orang bersenjata,” imbuh Sammy.

Sammy menuturkan, sejak terjadinya peristiwa penembakan pada 2009, tidak ada satu kasus pun yang diungkap. Itu menyebabkan adanya kecemasan di tengah masyarakat.

“Kami ingin agar presiden SBY turun tangan langsung dan melihat apa yang terjadi sebab kami telah hidup di tengah terror dalam tiga tahun terakhir ini,” kata Debby.

Film Tintin Segera Tayang di Indonesia

Beritasatu.com

Jika distribusi lancar, film Tintin akan tayang sesuai jadwal.


Distribusi dan penayangan film-film Hollywood di layar perak Indonesia sudah tidak ada kendala lagi sehingga film-filmbox office baru bisa tayang sesuai jadwal.

“Beberapa memang diundur karena kami ingin menayangkan beberapa film yang tidak tayang beberapa waktu yang lalu,” kata Catherine Keng, Corporate Secretary dari 21Cineplex, dalam pesan tertulisnya ke Beritasatu, Selasa (25/10).

“Namun sejauh ini, distribusi film Hollywood ke Indonesia lancar-lancar saja,” tambahnya.

Lebih lanjut, Catherine mengatakan bahwa sebagaian besar film Hollywood tayang di Indonesia sesuai dengan jadwal.

“The Adventures of Tintin dan Breaking Dawn: Part 1 akan tayang sesuai dengan jadwal, namunParanormal Activity 3 akan ditunda karena penuhnya slot film di bioskop,” tutur Catherine.

Rights Group Vows to Probe Timika Plight

The Jakarta Globe

Rights Group Vows to Probe Timika Plight

The national human rights body vowed on Monday to carry out a lengthy investigation into the deteriorating security situation in the Papua mining town of Timika, following complaints by local residents.

Nur Kholis, deputy chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), said the commission would set up a special team to conduct a three-month investigation into the complaints.

“The special Papua team will have wide-reaching authority and can speed up our investigation because they can go in there and call witnesses,” he said.

He added that the results of the investigation would be presented openly as a form of public accountability.

The announcement came as a group of representatives from Timika in Mimika district, which services the massive Grasberg gold and copper mine that is run by US-based Freeport-McMoRan, visited the Komnas HAM headquarters in Jakarta to complain about a recent spate of attacks that have claimed nine lives, including those of six Freeport workers.

On Monday, the police chief of the town of Mulia in neighboring Puncak Jaya district was reportedly assaulted and shot dead by unknown attackers.

One contract worker and two others were shot by unknown gunmen early on Friday. Several days earlier, five Freeport workers were killed — two by police trying to control a crowd and three by unknown gunmen.

Sammy Rumbiak, a member of the Timika delegation, said the climate of fear first descended on the area in 2009.

“I worked at the underground mine in Freeport and I always felt safe. But since 2009 I have felt threatened, without the freedom to live in my own country,” he said.

“For how long must I feel unsafe in my own land, even though I am an Indonesian citizen? Especially since we are led around everywhere by men with guns.”

Sammy said that ever since the first shooting incidents in 2009, widely blamed on the separatist Free Papua Organization (OPM), no single case had been resolved, resulting in heightened anxiety among the public.

“We want President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to roll up his sleeves and visit the site directly to see for himself what’s going on, because we have been living in terror for the past three years,” he said.

Nur Kholis said Komnas HAM would deliver a recommendation to the government following its investigation.

“Restoring security is the most important thing to do in order to prevent more serious incidents,” he said.

“Therefore, we are going to coordinate with the police, both the national and Papua branches [to work to make it happen].”

Oktavianus Kalilago, a resident of the neighboring town of Kuala Kencana, where Freeport’s operations are headquartered, said the people were fed up with the climate of fear that had “robbed them of their lives, freedom and sense of security.”

“We demand that concrete, firm and fair steps be taken immediately by the government to protect all those who live near Freeport,” he said, reading from a prepared statement. “We no longer want to live in constant fear of the threat of violence, terrorism or other acts that rob us of our dignity.”

Oktavianus also called for the swift resolution of all the shootings in the area and demanded that the perpetrators be brought to justice. He said that ultimately, the people of Timika, Kuala Kencana and other areas in Mimika district wanted to be able to live their lives in a climate of security and peace.

Shokilin, another resident, warned that the area was fast running out of badly needed food and medicine because of the blockade of the main access road there by Freeport workers who since mid-September have been striking for higher pay.

He said the blockade, in place since Oct. 10, had “severely impacted” the local population.

“It’s affected not just Freeport but also the residents, because the only way that supplies reach us is through Freeport, and now the only road leading to us is blocked,” he said.

Orpa Padwa, a resident of Kuala Kencana, confirmed that food and other supplies were quickly running out.

“We mothers can only cry and can’t do anything else,” she said. “Our children cannot go to school because we’re afraid [of the attacks].”

She said she hoped that the standoff between Freeport and the striking workers, as well as the spate of shootings and other attacks, could be resolved as soon as possible “because we want to celebrate Christmas peacefully.”

Protesters Rally Outside Australian Embassy to Demand Release of Children

The Jakarta Globe

Protesters Rally Outside Australian Embassy to Demand Release of Children

Human rights activists held a silent protest outside the Australian Embassy on Monday to demand justice for Indonesian minors currently incarcerated in Australia.

Febi Yonesta, from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), said most of the underage prisoners came from impoverished fishing communities and were less than 15 years old. They were not aware of the risk of transporting illegal immigrants into Australia, he said.

“Dozens of them are currently being detained in adult prisons for allegedly being involved in people-smuggling syndicates,” Febi said.

“Fishing doesn’t pay enough, but working with people-smuggling syndicates offers far more money.”

He added that the problem was compounded for fishing communities in East Nusa Tenggara when an oil spill in the Timor Sea in mid-2009 spread over much of their fishing grounds and impacted their catches.

Eko Waluyo, from the organization Indonesian Solidarity, said it was unfair that the minors continued to be held in adult facilities while Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and Prime Minister Julia Gillard could insist on the release of a 14-year-old Australian boy currently detained in Bali for drug possession.

“There is not one but rather more than 70 Indonesian youths, 15 years or younger, in Australian adult prisons or detention centers for working on boats carrying refugees in transit from Indonesia to Australia,” he said.

The Australian boy was moved out of Kerobokan prison in Denpasar on Saturday to a facility in Jimbaran, built specifically for foreigners, after newly appointed Justice and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin declared Kerobokan overcrowded and inhumane for underage inmates — despite the fact it also held nine Indonesian children.

Another official reiterated the fact that other underage inmates had to stay in Kerobokan since Bali did not yet have a good juvenile prison.

Abdul Kadir Wokanubun, advocacy and campaign director at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), decried the people-smuggling charges leveled against the Indonesian youths in Australia, which could see them face a maximum of 15 years in prison and fined the equivalent of Rp 1.5 billion ($170,000).

He added that the Australian Embassy had not provided activists with information on what it planned to do with the youths, nor had there been any action from the Indonesian government.

“Australian officials handling the youths are not convinced that they are underage,” Febi said. “The lack of official documents was used as a basis for the Australian government to put them in adult facilities.”

He added that a team of lawyers from Australia would visit Indonesia next month to gather the documents needed to prove the youths’ ages.

He said they came from as far afield as East and West Java, East and West Nusa Tenggara and South Sulawesi.

Additional reporting by Ulma Haryanto