CRCS | News | Hary Widyantoro
In recent years there have been a number of scholars as well as students travelling to Southeast Asia to learn more about the region. On February 7 2015 students from Victoria University in New Zealand visited Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Yogyakarta to learn about Indonesia. Their visit was part of a broader trip they were taking around Southeast Asia. Because of the important role religion plays in Indonesia and in the life of Indonesian’s, learning about Indonesia also requires learning about the dynamics of religion and politics. This leads the students to visit the Center for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies (CRCS), an institution for Religious Studies in Indonesia. CRCS arranged a short lecture in the Graduate Building (where the CRCS office is located) as well as a tour to three religious places: Pondok Pesantren Pandanaram in Yogyakarta and Borobudur Temple and Vihara Mendut in Magelang.
At CRCS, the students attended two short presentations from Haqimul Ikhwan, M.A from the ASEAN Center, UGM and Dr Iqbal Ahnaf, a lecturer at CRCS. Haqim addressed the issue of multiculturalism in Southeast Asia generally and in Indonesia specifically. Regarding one of the problems of multiculturalism in Southeast Asia, Haqim stressed that “in this globalized society, if you do not come to democracy, it will come to you.” Each country tries to implement democracy, but prejudice towards others still exists in diverse societies because nationalism is understood as homogenous. In other words, it is considered as a single identity.
Regarding this point, Haqim contended that identity is in fact not single, never fixed, relational and constructed. People consider a number of things when speaking of their identity and this consideration changes based on the context, meaning identity is always negotiated. Hence, particular people tend to feel superior to others because they have a different identity from them, which leads the “other” to feel insecure and threatened, especially if they are part of a minority group.
Continuing on this theme, Iqbal Ahnaf presented a more specific issue relating to the dynamics of Islam in Indonesia. Beginning his presentation, Iqbal contended that Indonesia is not an Islamic country because although some areas have a Muslim majority population other areas have a non-Muslim majority. For example, in western Indonesia such as Sumatra and Java, Muslims comprise the majority of the population whereas in Eastern Indonesia, such as NTT and Papua, the majority of the population are non-Muslims. Therefore, he emphasized that Indonesia is not an Islamic country, even though the majority are Muslims.
Discussions about Islam in Indonesia requires discussion of Islam and its two biggest organizations: NahdlatulUlama and Muhammadiyah. Iqbal explained that these organizations also need to be included in discussions about democracy in Indonesia because both organizations play important roles in implementing democracy. Moreover, both organizationsdo not supportthe implementation of either a Islamic state or Syari’ah in Indonesia, based on the consideration that not all Indonesians are Muslims.
With this in mind, Iqbal said that Islam in Indonesia is generally a tolerant form of Islam and many Muslims accept and respect the difference of others rather than the idea of an Islamic state. “However,” he remarked,“where is the tolerance rooted?” He then explained that Islam in Indonesia was not spread through conquest like in other parts of the world but through cultural processes such as marriage, trade, etc. It is this that led the founding fathers of Indonesia to make the decision against creating an Islamic state, but rather a secular state which recognizes religion as an important part of Indonesian life.
However, this ideology has been challenged from time to time due to the existence ofradicalism. Iqbal explained that there are two kinds of Islamic radicalism in Indonesia. First is a non-violent form, comprised mostly of people from the salafis movement, and the second a more violent form comprised of thosewho are radical political Islamists. In his presentation, Iqbal discussed the origin of radicalism in Indonesia. It arose through a conflict between those who wanted to implement Syari’ahand those who disagreed on the basis that not all Indonesians are Muslims. This disagreement occurred during the post-independent when the Indonesian state was beingconceptualized. Supporters of the implementation of Syari’ah continued to lose in elections and debates with nationalists, which lead to the formation ofnationalist parties cross-cutting religious lines, which are supported by NU and Muhammadiyah, two strong civil society organizations.
After the lecture, the students visited a Pesantren to experience a religious educational institution creating future Muslims. Representatives from both Victoria University and the Pesantrengave a presentation about their respective institution and country, in order to share experiences and information.At the end, students from both institutionsgave performances. Students of the Pesentran performed hadrah, Islamic music and songs mixed with Javanese traditions, while Victoria Students performed the Haka, which is the traditional dance of Maori people in New Zealand.
Continuing the tour the students visited Borobudur temple in Magelang, Central Java the following day. There students saw the architecture of Mahayana Buddhism in Indonesia and learnthat it was createdin the 9th Century basedon oral tradition rather than written scripture. The last place that the students visited was Mendut Buddhist monastery where they learned from a senior Buddhist monk about the purpose of meditation,that are to control emotion, illusion and thought. At the end they practiced meditation guided by the monk.

Deadline: Friday, February 6, 2015

The Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies (CRCS), Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Indonesia, and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), University of Hawai‘i, are pleased to announce a call for applications to join our summer 2015 workshop focusing on issues of religion and diversity in the Southeast Asian public.

What does this project entail?

The project will introduce select university and community college educators teaching at U.S. minority serving institutions (MSI) to issues of importance in the management of cultural and religious diversity in Southeast Asia. Through the lens of Indonesia, we’ll explore the political and social challenges facing one of the most culturally diverse nations in the world; the role of religion in everyday life and local politics; Indonesian Islam and its relation to the wider Muslim world; the legacy of colonialism on intergroup relations; the position of the state in framing questions of identity; the struggles of indigenous practitioners to gain rights and recognition; and the vital role that civil society plays in addressing these questions in Indonesia’s young democracy. Participants will have the opportunity to work with local scholars and to meet with community groups in the field in Yogyakarta, one of country’s most diverse urban spaces and an internationally recognized center for the arts and education. As representatives from MSIs, program participants will also be given the opportunity to share their expertise on the challenges of teaching about issues of diversity (religious and otherwise) in their own communities.

Kami sangat berterima kasih atas partisipasi para aplikan untuk mengikuti Sekolah Pegelolaan Keragaman (SPK) angkatan ke-V yang diselenggarakan oleh Program Studi Agama dan Lintas Budaya (Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies/CRCS, Universitas Gadjah Mada), Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Negeri Al Fatah Jayapura, Sekolah Tinggi Filsafat dan Teologi Fajar Timur Jayapura dan Ilalang Papua.
Kami ucapkan selamat kepada para peserta yang lolos untuk mengikuti kegiatan yang akan dilaksanakan di Jayapura pada 23-30 Januari 2015. Bagi yang belum lolos kali ini kami juga mengucapkan terima kasih atas waktu yang Anda curahkan untuk mengisi dan mengirim aplikasi. Masih ada kesempatan di SPK berikutnya dan SPK yang akan diselenggarakan di beberapa daerah di Indonesia.
Berikut nama-nama peserta Sekolah Pengelolaan Keragaman ke-V di Papua:

Head	Dr. Zainal Abidin Bagir Email: zainbagir@gmail.com
Secretary	Dr. Samsul Maarif Email: anchu75@yahoo.com
Academic Coordinator	Dr. Mohammad Iqbal Ahnaf Email: iqbalahnaf@gmail.com
Public Education Staff	Subandri Simbolon, M.A. Email: subandri.simbolon@mail.ugm.ac.id Azis Anwar Fachrudin Email: aafachrudin@gmail.com
Research Staff	Budi Asyhari Afwan, M.A. Email: budi_asyari@ugm.ac.id Marthen Tahun, M.A Email: mtahun@gmail.com
Office Manager	Linah Khairiyah Pary, M.Pd, M.A. Email: lina_pary@ugm.ac.id
Finance Officer	Nurlina Sari Email: nurlinasari14@ugm.ac.id
Librarian	Widiarsa, AMd. Email: widiarsa@gmail.com
Administrative Officer	Suyadi Bibit Email: suyadibibit@yahoo.com

Civic pluralism is defined as the recognition and valuation of diversity, in the name of continuing peaceful relations between diverse members of a community. If the Forum for Religious Harmony (Forum Kerukunan Beragama, FKUB), operates at the level of the central government, by what mechanism does pluralism operate in people’s everyday lives? This was one important point that was introduced during the conference on “New Directions of the Politics of Pluralism in Indonesia: Challenges and Strategies” presented by the Center for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies in Jakarta on April 27th, 2011. CRCS Director Dr. Zainal Abidin Bagir responded to this question by explaining that the implementation of the pluralism doesn’t imply that people have to change their perspectives, but seeks to improve their ability to negotiate, participate and channel their aspirations as national citizens. The goal is to demonstrate that any issues involving diversity can be handled through engaging in dialogue, instead of by violence.
The conference served as a forum to disseminate the results of the Pluralism Knowledge Program (PKP), a joint effort between academic organizations – in Indonesia headed by the CRCS program – and civil society groups. The day before the conference, CRCS launched a monograph containing the results of a research project assessing “the Problematics of the Erection of Churches in Jakarta”. Kapal Perempuan, a non-profit organization, organized the event in cooperation with CRCS.
The conference was attended by the members of a number of civil society organizations, academia, the media, and the general public. Guest speakers included Dr. Thamrin Tamagola from Universitas Indonesia, Yanti Mochtar from Kapal Perempuan, Ram Kakarala from India, Ihsan Ali Fauzi from Yayasan Paramadina and Dr. Zainal Abidin Bagir from CRCS UGM.
Addressing the resistance of some Muslim groups to the idea of pluralism, Tamagola proposed that Muslims everywhere suffer from a ‘minority syndrome’, even in Indonesia where they constitute the majority. This stems from factors related to economic and living conditions, as well as the influence of history, according to Tamagola. Dr. Bagir noted that global issues have effected Muslim attitudes, as there is a sense of defeat amongst the Muslims on a global scale. This can be traced historically, where in the past Islam was practiced in advanced civilizations that were defeated by the European civilizations during the colonial area. In addition, right-wing politics in European countries have exacerbated issues surrounding immigrants and fundamentalism, leading to a crisis of identity amongst Muslims around the world.
In the second session, Ram Kakarala discussed the state of pluralism in India. If in Indonesia religious diversity is central to the problems of pluralism, in India conflicts arise regarding linguistic diversity. Indonesia’s linguistic diversity is neutralized by the use of the national language, Bahasa Indonesia. Currently India does not have a national language, but instead nineteen languages that are officially recognized by the government. This has created a situation where language difference often becomes the background for conflict.
Ihsan Ali Fauzi charted and evaluated the current situation with pluralism advocates in Indonesia. He explained that the three major actors in religious pluralism advocacy were the typical types of organizations, the Wahid Institute, Setara and CRCS. The basic characteristics of these organizations is that they represented a response the anti-pluralism discourse that grew during the Reformation era. As the Annual Report on Religious Life in Indonesia has demonstrated, there has been a rapid advancement of this phenomena, which according to Fauzi requires perseverance and militancy to integrate empirical studies with the discourse on pluralism.
In accordance with their theme, conference presenters didn’t seek a new solution to issues of diversity in Indonesia, but instead offered new directions for considering the problems of difference through the paradigm of pluralism. (njm)

“The problems surrounding the establishment of churches are more closely related to economic issues than ideological ones. Similarly, in the resolution of these issues, this knowledge can be used as a path towards peace” stated Nathanael, one of the members of the research team partnered with CRCS, in Jakarta at the PGI building on Tuesday, April 26th 2011.
Nathanael went on to explain that the research focused closely on the erection of churches, using a sample of thirteen different churches in the Jakarta region. Although reports about this issue have already been produced by organizations like the Wahid Institute, Setara and CRCS as well, they have only provided minimal details about why destructions of churches occur. For the purposes of the analysis, the churches were divided across four categories: churches that haven’t experienced any problems, churches that have experienced problems in the past but have currently resolved those problems, churches that have only recently experienced problems, and churches that have consistently experienced problems.
The results of the research demonstrate that first factor initiating and extending the polemic surrounding the erection of new churches is the issue of “Christianization”. Some still identify the existence of churches with proselytization efforts. In addition, misunderstandings about the difference between Christians and Catholics still persist, as well as confusion about how denominational differences play into the erection of new churches in areas where established congregations already exist. Another factor is the that some groups or individuals feel that they don’t receive any economic benefits from the institution of new churches. In some cases the resistance to the erection of new churches is ideologically based, or involves radical religious groups. Other factors include changes in the relationship between the church and surrounding residents, as well as bureaucratic obstructions, government inconsistency and the ambiguity of the law.
The researchers discovered that each church possessed unique qualities, like the case of the Church of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, whose congregation has never experienced any problems due to their good relationship with local residents in their neighborhood. During Lebaran, Christian residents visit Muslim residents, and this is reciprocated by Muslim residents at Christmastime. On the other hand, in one church that was experiencing problems, it was discovered that internal divisions amongst the building committee effected their relationships with both the developer and other nieghborhood residents. The story of the Church of St. Michael, which overcame initial problems, is different yet. The congregation at St. Michael created a better relationship with the residents around them, encouraging neighborhood representatives to actively protect the relationship between church members and the surrounding community by employing selective lectures at the local mosque.
Jeirry Sumampow from the Association of Indonesian Churches (PGI), Sidney Jones from the International Crisis Group (ICG) and Ahmad Syafii Mufid, the head of the Forum for Religious Harmony (FKUB) DKI Jakarta, were all in attendance as commentators on the proceedings. Sumpampow disputed the book’s title, “The Church Controversy in Jakarta” because according to him, the churches that are experiencing problems are outside of the Jakarta region. In his opinion, churches in Jakarta are not an issue. This refutation was supported by Ahmad Syafii Mufid. Sumampow did confirm the veracity of some of the discoveries made during the field research regarding the erection of new churches, such as the length of the process (on average reaching up to ten years), the minimal role of the government as a factor in the resolution of these problems, and the role of regional heads in complicating the hampering the erection of churches.
Alternatively, Sidney Jones viewed the issue of religious conflicts, and more specifically the issues surrounding the erection of new churches, as the result of weak leadership from the central government. According to him, if the central government was able to be more assertive, then this would trickle down to the lower levels, especially in terms of the police forces who deal directly with the public. In his opinion the police, as well as local neighborhood leaders, are more often partial to those who are attacking the churches than sympathetic to those being attacked. Therefore strong leadership and policies are needed from the central government, which can be translated to the local level.
Syaffi Mufid considered the role of the Forum for Religious Harmony (FKUB) as lacking, especially in mediating the process of obtaining permission to erect new churches. He noted that in many regions outside of Jakarta there is a lack of understanding about substance and function of FKUB. He felt that many religious leaders don’t understand the framework of peace, conflict resolution and similar approaches, and therefore aren’t able to proceed constructively.

Pluralism is often explained as a concept that approves of all religions, leading to the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) to issue a fatwa that identified pluralism as haram or forbidden. Yet for the members of the CRCS program that participate in collaborative effort with four countries called the “Pluralism Knowledge Program” (PKP), the definition of pluralism is much broader. In their view, pluralism is defined as the acceptance and valuation of diversity, and for people or groups from different backgrounds to endeavor to work together to accomplish something positive.
This was the definition of pluralism that was presented at the launching and book discussion of “New Directions in the Politics of Diversity in Indonesia” that was held by CRCS on the 25th of March 2011 in the Graduate School Building at UGM. Both a book entitled “Civic Pluralism” and a monograph regarding “The Politics of the Public Space in Schools” were introduced at the launching. Dr. Zainal Abidin Bagir, acting director at the Center For Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies (CRCS) explained that pluralism should be understand as not just pertaining to tolerance, but as active efforts to understand difference. Central to the discussion was the explanation that pluralism is not the same as relativism, and that it does not call for groups to leave or lose their individual identities. While some definitions of pluralism focus on the idea of discovering similarities, here there is a stress on difference – or more specifically, on valuing difference.
Samsurizal Panggabean from the Peace and Conflict Resolution Master’s program (MPRK) at Universitas Gadjah Mada said that identity can become an issue through the rubric of diversity when it is conspicuous, exclusivist or forced. Mustagfirah Rahayu, a member of the book’s research team, explained the link between diversity and women, because the management of diversity offers an opportunity for transformative accommodation, as it is an area where the state and minority groups share jurisdiction over contested arenas, such as family law, criminal law, and education. Another member of the research team, Trisno Sutanto, elaborated the wide-scale politics of harmony that were undertaken by the New Order government. He demonstrated how the state was involved in creating problems between religious traditions in Indonesia. In the second session, speakers Alyssa Wahid, a consultant on youth issues, and Mr. Arifin, a teacher at SMAN Wonosari discussed their concerns about the growing religious conservatism among high-school students. According to Mr. Arifin, teachers who play a role in forming students’ religious behavior should initiate training on the subject of pluralism.
The discussion and book launching activities were part of a number events scheduled as part of this year’s Pluralism Knowledge Program (PKP). Indonesia cooperates with centers in India, Uganda and the Netherlands through this program. The program seeks to build and disseminate information that will improve understandings about the concept of pluralism in these four nations.