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May 21, 2006

Indonesia: Muslims Demand Repressive Laws

The "anti-pornography bill" is still awaiting a vote in Indonesia's parliament. Despite its title, it is less concerned with pornography than enforcing a repressive regime upon members of the public, and also tourists.

The bill would outlaw kissing on the mouth in public. This "crime" would invoke a sentence of five years in jail, or a fine of 250,000 rupiah, equivalent to $27,000 US. The same punishment would be enacted for displays of "erotic dancing", whatever that is. But for someone organising such a display, there would be a punishment of 10 years in jail, or a fine of 1 billion rupiahs ($100,000).

The law was first suggested in 1999, following the downfall of the dictator Suharto, who had previously kept extreme Islam under strict control.

The law would, if passed, cripple the tourist industry on the Hindu island of Bali, as it would outlaw displays of flesh. Consequently, no-one would be allowed to wear a bikini or bathing trunks. The same law would cause unrest if applied in Papua. There, the menfolk of the Dani people in the Baliem valley and the Asmat of the Fly River region traditionally wear only a gourd or a rudimentary cover over their genitals, and walk around naked.

According to the Santara Barbara Newspress, Channel News Asia, Yahoo News and the Jakarta Post, hardline Muslims have organised a day of protest today.

The Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI), which last June made a controversial "fatwa" condemning pluralism and liberal interpretations of Islam, was behind the organising of today's protest. Another organiser was the group the Front Pembela Islam (FPI), which was involved earlier with violence outside the Danish consulate and US Embassy. The FPI, or "Islamic Defenders front has a catalogue of violence it has carried out, including forcing the producers of the nude-free Indonesian Playboy to close down operations. A small list of their crimes can be found here.

Today, a rally was called by the MUI and FPI to march to the Indonesia Hotel in Jakarta, the capital. The groups had said 1 million people would turn up, but estimates state that between 25,000 and 50,000, far short of the turnout desired. However, it is still the largest protest of its kind.

Women in veils and their children carried placards and called: "Ban pornography and stop the sex industry", "Reject Pornography" and "Allahu Ackbar" (God is Greatest). One banner read: "Down with liberalism and secularism." Other placards read "Win from the influence of naked Satan", and "Say no to sex".

One protester told Agence France Presse: "We think the anti-pornography bill is a good weapon to curb the growth of the sex industry in Indonesia, which is thriving in Jakarta and many other cities."

Despite the calls of the protesters, there already are existing laws against pornography. But as in the case of the recent influx of Islamist local bylaws in many areas of Indonesia, which we discussed earlier, the demands for this law are part of a wider movement to introduce Islamism into all aspects of Indonesian life.

With a population of 190 million Muslims, Indonesia has the highest Muslim demographic of any other nation, but it has significant numbers of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and (on Papua) animists.

But a sign of how extreme some of the Muslims can be was shown last week in Poso, on the island of Sulawesi. Here, attacks against Christians have resurfaced, following the deaths of people as a side-effect of the Moluccan War mounted by Islamist vigilantes of the Lashkar Jihad. On October 29 last year, three Christian girls were beheaded on their way to school.

We reported on May 10 that some arrested Islamists had confessed to the murders of the schoolgirls. However, on the following day, an attempt to arrest the man who ordered the murders was thwarted by villagers of Lawangan.

We reported that this man had been arrested on May 8, quoting from the Jakarta Post, but this announcement was incorrect. Taufik Badahu could not be arrested because villagers attacked and injured the policemen sent to arrest him.

Police spokesman Brigadier General Anton Bachrul Alam said: "How can we do an investigation if the citizens prevent us from doing our job."

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at May 21, 2006 2:37 AM

Comments

Posted by: hutchrun at May 21, 2006 2:48 AM

Posted by: Giraldus Cambrensis at May 21, 2006 8:31 PM

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