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May 4, 2006

Indonesia: Islamic By-Laws Contravene The Constitution

We have reported extensively on the new practice of introducing Islamic bylaws in districts of Indonesia, such as those in Tangerang, near Jakarta, where innocent women who are alone at night can be charged with prostitution. These bylaws force everyone, irrespective of their faith, to be forced to abide by Islamic rules. In South Sulawesi, all government employees must read and write Arabic, and women must wear "Islamic dress".

In Depok, which like Tangerang is another satellite town of Jakarta, the proposed institution of Islamic bylaws was drawn up with the violent extremist group the Front Pembela Islam or "Islamic Defenders' Front". When this group is not smashing up pool halls and the US and Danish Embassies, or attacking the offices of Playboy, it threatens foreigners and attacks Christians in their homes.

In Aceh, the strict Sharia rules proposed for Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam district will force all non-Muslims to be ruled by Sharia, even if their "crimes" such as adultery are not illegal under secular law. Unusually for local rulings, the order for non-Muslims to be treated here under Sharia was made by state secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra of the Indonesian government.

Today's Jakarta Post has an interview with Syafi'i Anwar, who is the executive director of the International Centre for Islam and Pluralism (ICIP).

Anwar was asked of his opinion of the bylaw in Tangerang against prostitution, which saw an innocent pregnant housewife, Lilis Lindawati (pictured), who was jailed for three days and branded as a prostitute, merely for waiting to catch a bus after dark.

Anwar:There are two serious problems with the bylaw. First, several articles of the bylaw are based on preconceptions, assumptions, and suspicions which could give rise to different interpretations. For instance, Article 4 states that anyone who is suspected of being a prostitute is prohibited from loitering on public roads, in parks, hotels and coffee shops, etc. Article 8 states that people are obliged to file reports with the relevant authorities on those allegedly practicing prostitution or pimping. Those articles bring about legal uncertainty because they allow law enforcers to interpret it in their own way and, more seriously, misjudgment without proof as evident in the arrest of a career woman in a crackdown on prostitutes in the municipality recently. Second, Tangerang apparently issued the bylaw not only to fight prostitution but mainly to follow in the footsteps of other regions in implementing one of the aspects of sharia.

Anwar continued.

The growing efforts to implement sharia are really part of the gradual "sharia-ization" in the country. After Aceh which officially adopted sharia under the special Autonomy Law, many regions have followed suit. Initially, only a few regions such as Cianjur, Tasikmalaya, Padang and Bulukumba introduced this bylaw. In 2005, 13 regencies demanded sharia and up to now, 18 regions have already or are about to adopt it.

Some of the regencies have even adopted sharia in a way that discriminates against minority groups. For instance, the Padang municipal administration issued a bylaw requiring all schoolgirls, regardless of their religion, to wear the jilbab (Muslim headscarf). The bylaw is unacceptable because it is not in line with pluralism which the Constitution recognizes.

The move to impose sharia is against the Constitution. Indeed, Indonesia is predominantly a Muslim country, but not an Islamic state. Our Constitution is not based on sharia but the state ideology of Pancasila. Pancasila is a kalimatun sawa, a common platform of Indonesian society.

He noted that there are 400 ethnic groups on the archipelago, on 17,000 different islands. He said this diversity was acknowledged by the nation's founders when they drew up the Constitution. Freedom of religion is guaranteed under Article 29 of Indonesia's constitution, and Anwar argues that it is the duty of the state to assist all religious communities to practice their faiths freely. The state should implement sanctions against those who try to deny these rights.

Anwar speaks good words, but sadly, while the government tries to implement its Anti-Pornography Bill, there will be dark days ahead. This law outlaws the exposing of "flesh", and will effectively kill off tourism at the beach resorts of the mainly-Hindu island of Bali. In Papua, tribes follow an animist religion, and in the Baliem valley, the males of the Dani tribe walk entirely naked, save for a gourd penis-sheath. By the Fly River, the Asmat men wear nothing save a piece of leaf attached to their foreskins. Implementation of the prudish and Islamic "Anti-Pornography" law will lead to gross abuses of these people's human rights, and will create in practice a cultural genocide.

In a separate news item today, the Jakarta Post carries an interview with Mrs Lindawati, who speaks of the pain of her trial following her arrest on February 27. She said: "I felt like I was being raped in front of those people who laughed at me after the judge ruled I was a prostitute, simply because the law and order officers found a makeup compact and a lipstick in my bag."

35-year old Mrs Lindawati is not going to be shamed. She has reported the Tangerang Mayor, Wahidin Halim, to the police for wrongful arrest and defamation of character. Wahidin Halim is a brother of Hassan Wiraduya, Indonesia's foreign minister, and as we reported earlier he expressed no remorse whatsoever about her arrest and trial.

Mayor Wahidin Halim said of her case: "She could not prove she is not a prostitute. It is true when my men arrested her she was not committing adultery, but why does she put on such make-up?"

Yan Apul, Mrs Lindawati's lawyer, has criticised the decision of Judge Sinurat as illegal even under the outrageous bylaw. He said "Even if Lilies were a prostitute, Article No. 4, Point 1 of the bylaw states that she must be returned to her family. However, the judge sent her to jail."

Isma, a spokeswonan from the Tangerang office of the Indonesian Women's Coalition claims 15 other women have experienced similar wrongful arrest. She said: "I know that they are scared to say anything now. But I encourage them to do the same thing as Lilies because they were humiliated."

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at May 4, 2006 9:19 AM

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