Asep S. Sudjatna | CRCS UGM | SPK NEWS
“Sebenarnya di kalangan aktivis, penelitian itu juga tidak absen, pun sebaliknya,”  cetusan Dr. Mohammad Iqbal Ahnaf , Ketua program Sekolah Pengelolaan Keragaman (SPK) VIII itu memantik perhatian para peserta yang hadir pada pembukaan SPK VIII di Disaster Oasis Kaliurang, Yogyakarta. Selama ini, aktivis dan akademisi seolah diposisikan sebagai bagian terpisah yang bekerja di ranah masing-masing. Dikotomi inilah yang sedang dikritisi oleh CRCS UGM melalui program SPK VIII. “Di kalangan akademisi, banyak sekali akademisi yang aktivis, pun banyak pula aktivis yang peneliti. Sebenarnya irisan-irisan itu sudah ada” tukas Iqbal. Pengategorian ini tidak hanya menciptakan kesenjangan semu tetapi seringkali malah menimbulkan persoalan baru. Para aktivis yang getol terjun ke lapangan dalam penyelesaian berbagai konflik keragaman kerap terbentur masalah data riset dan basis pengetahuan sebagai landasan advokasi. Di sisi lain, para akademisi yang mencoba melibatkan diri dalam proses advokasi cenderung terpaku pada teori dan kurang menguasai medan. Dalam konteks inilah SPK VIII berusaha menjembatani kesenjangan antara dunia akademis dan aktivis. Kolaborasi kreatif antara aktivis-akademisi ini akan mampu memberi terobosan dalam penyelesaian masalah-masalah keragaman tersebut.
Sementara itu, dalam kesempatan yang sama, Prof. Ir. Suryo Purwono, MA.Sc., Ph.D, Direktur Sekolah Pascasarjana UGM, menggarisbawahi tentang kekayaan keragaman Indonesia sebagai sebuah kekuatan yang tidak dapat ditandingi negara mana pun. “Sayangnya,” ujar profesor yang menamatkan studi doktoralnya di University of Waterloo, Kanada, ini, “Pengelolaan keragaman ini belum dapat ditangani dengan baik” Lebih lanjut, Prof. Suryo berharap agar setelah selesai mengikuti kegiatan ini, para peserta SPK tak hanya dapat menjadi pemantik dan pelopor bagi komunitasnya tetapi juga membangun jejaring yang solid dalam pengelolaan keragaman di Indonesia.
Untuk mewujudkan hal itu, konsep pembelajaran SPK memadukan antara kuliah dan pelatihan. Secara garis besar, ada tiga tahapan penting dalam proses pembelajaran di SPK yang akan dilalui oleh para peserta. Ketiga tahapan tersebut yaitu pemetaan masalah, pengayaan teoretis, serta advokasi berbasis riset. Selain membekali dengan materi yang bersifat teoretis, program SPK juga mengasah dimensi praktis para peserta melalui studi kasus secara nyata. “Jadi, kita tidak mengajari peserta bagaimana cara melakukan advokasi, yang kita lakukan adalah memperkaya alat analisa peserta dalam merefleksikan pengalaman advokasi mereka,” ujar Iqbal.
Perlu diketahui, 25 peserta SPK VIII tak cuma berasal dari beragam latar belakang—seperti profesi, jenis kelamin serta agama dan suku—tetapi juga orang-orang yang aktif dalam mengadvokasi situasi keragaman di komunitasnya. Seluruh peserta ini merupakan hasil seleksi ketat terhadap ratusan calon peserta dari seluruh wilayah di Indonesia yang mengirimkan aplikasi lamaran peserta beberapa bulan sebelumnya. Selain itu, keterwakilan wilayah juga menjadi salah satu pertimbangan dalam pemilihan peserta.
Pada hari pertama SPK ini, para peserta melakukan kontrak belajar yang akan menjadi tata tertib selama proses pembelajaran di SPK ini berlangsung. Nia Sjarifudin, fasilitator SPK VIII yang berasal dari Aliansi Nasional Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (ANBTI) memandu sesi kontrak belajar ini. Selanjutnya, Dr. Zainal Abidin Bagir, fasilitator dari CRCS UGM, mengajak peserta SPK untuk bersama memetakan berbagai persoalan keberagaman. Dari diskusi yang gayeng tapi serius, dirumuskanlah lima pokok persoalan yang kerap hadir dalam persoalan keberagaman, yakni interfaith atau hubungan antar agama, perempuan, masyarakat adat, pendidikan, dan media. Kelima tema inilah—dengan segenap polemik dan persoalan turunannya—yang akan menjadi bahasan sepanjang SPK berlangsung. Malam semakin larut, namun para peserta masih bersemangat untuk berbagi pengalaman soal pengelolaan keragaman. Semangat ini pula yang menjadi titik pijak pertama kebersamaan dari serangkaian acara SPK yang masih akan berlangsung hingga sepuluh hari ke depan. 

Azis A. Fahrudin | CRCS | News
The writer is a graduate student of CRCS batch 2014. This article is his response to Chaiwat Satha-Anand’s compilation articles published by PUSAD Paramadina, Jakarta and his lecture at CRCS on October 8, 2015. 

The book by Chaiwat Satha-Anand entitled “Barangsiapa Memelihara Kehidupan…” consists of a number of essays dealing with, as the subtitle of the book suggests, “nonviolence and Islamic imperatives.” The book seeks to propose theological arguments for nonviolent Islam. Many parts of the book are, thus, filled with Quranic verses and stories and quotes cited from the prophetic traditions which, according to Satha-Anand’s interpretation, support the idea of nonviolent Islam. However, the way he constructs theological arguments is not rigorous enough, especially in consideration of the fact that the position of scripture (both the Quran and the hadiths) toward violence and peace is ambiguous and multi-faceted, a position which in turn brings about complexities of interpretation. This article, thus, serves as a response to Satha-Anand’s ideas of nonviolent Islam as explained in the book. It discusses, first, violence in the scripture, both in the Quran and the prophetic traditions, to show the multi-faceted accounts and some difficulties in interpreting them. Second, it draws several points which should be taken into consideration in dealing with that complexity of interpretation—including in showing the ambivalence of the scripture. In the end, it points out that, besides proposing nonviolent interpretations of Islam, the way the perpetrators of violence perceive the surrounding reality they face must be given equal attention in the discussion.

Fardan Mahmudatul Imamah | CRCS | SPK

Jawa Barat adalah provinsi dengan kasus intoleran tertinggi di Indonesia, khususnya selama delapan tahun terakhir. Kasus intoleran tersebut berupa kekerasan terhadap kelompok minoritas seperti Ahmadiyah dan Syiah, penutupan gereja, kampanye anti perbedaan, peraturan daerah yang diskriminatif, serta pelanggaran hak-hak sipil. Hal ini terungkap pada salah satu sesi diskusi acara Sekolah Pengelolaan Keragaman (SPK), Selasa, 24 November 2015. Acara rutin tahunan hasil dari kerja sama Program Studi Lintas Agama dan Budaya (CRCS) UGM dengan Hivos tersebut dihadiri oleh dua puluh enam orang aktivis dan akademisi dari berbagai institusi pendidikan maupun lembaga sosial kemasyarakatan yang berada di Jawa Barat, seperti Fahmina Institut, Gerakan Islam Cinta, Jaringan Kerja Sama antar Umat Beragama (Jakatarub), Values Institut Bandung, Pelita Perdamaian, Peace Generation Indonesa, IPNU, Majelis Khuddamul Ahmadiyah Tasikmalaya, dan Sunda Wiwitan.

Setelah Reformasi 1998, dalam situasi transisi menuju demokrasi, Indonesia dikejutkan dengan makin maraknya konflik-konflik bernuansa agama dan etnis, dan beberapa di antaranya hingga memakan korban jiwa dalam hitungan ribuan. Demokrasi membuka saluran yang tersumbat selama beberapa dasawarsa sebelumnya, dan ternyata tidak otomatis membawa pada kedamaian dan kesejahteraan. Identitas agama dan etnis, khususnya, menjadi bahasa utama untuk membolisiasi massa. Apa yang pada periode Orde Baru diasumsikan sebagai “kerukunan”, sebagai  ciri yang dibanggakan  Indonesia sebagai masyarakat majemuk, ternyata tampak hanya seperti bangunan yang rapuh. Dan yang lebih penting, ternyata kita tampaknya belum sepenuhnya memahami kemajemukan Indonesia dan bagaimana mengelolanya.

Hary Widyantoro, A. S. Sudjatna (Ed.) | Report | CRCS

Kala bermacam identitas—seperti kesukuan dan keagamaan—muncul selepas tumbangnya Orde Baru, makin terkuaklah diskriminasi terhadap komunitas-komunitas adat yang hingga saat ini masih memegang teguh tradisi leluhur mereka. Salah satu bentuk  diskriminasi tersebut adalah institusionalisasi agama oleh pemerintah hanya terbatas pada enam agama. Hal ini—dalam beberapa kondisi—memaksa berbagai komunitas adat untuk  melebur ke dalam enam agama yang diakui oleh negara—Islam, Kristen, Budha, Hindu dan Konghuchu. Menghadapi permasalahan ini, peran akademisi dan aktivis sangatlah penting. Kedua elemen tersebut diharapkan sanggup mengadvokasi berbagai komunitas adat yang ada agar dapat menyelesaikan permasalahan mereka masing-masing.

Ahmad Khotim Muzakka*

Penulis Buku: Budi Asyhari-Afwan
Penerbit : CRCS-UGM
Tahun terbit : Januari 2015
Halaman : 86
Harga : Rp. 25.000

Download Mutiara Terpendam Papua

Buku bertajuk Mutiara Terpendam Papua, Potensi Kearifan Lokal untuk Perdamaian di Tanah Papua karya Budi Asyhari-Afwan ini mengajak pembaca untuk melihat persoalan mendasar yang dihadapi masyarakat Papua. Staf peneliti di Divisi Riset dan Data Center CRCS UGM ini, dalam kata pengantarnya, memfokuskan kajiannya kali ini pada kekayaan budaya suku-suku bangsa di Papua. Satu hal yang, menurut penulis buku ini, jarang ditempuh oleh peneliti dalam konteks Papua karena, selama ini, Papua hanya dilihat dari kacamata politik, konflik, dan sumber daya alamanya semata.

Problem keragaman seperti konflik rumah ibadah dan intoleransi selama ini seringkali dipahami sebagai akibat dari menguatnya radikalisme keagamaan. Namun tulisan-tulisan dalam buku ini memberikan gambaran yang berbeda. Secara umum relasi antar kelompok identitas ditempatkan dalam dua bentuk: kontestasi dan koeksistensi. Istilah kontestasi digunakan untuk menunjukkan bahwa konflik-konflik sosial keagamaan yang belakangan banyak terjadi tidak dapat dilepaskan dari perubahan sosial politik di Indonesia yang menunjukkan menguatnya perebutan kendali atas ruang publik oleh kekuatan-kekuatan sosial di Masyarakat. Untunglah kontestasi ini bukanlah gambaran tunggal: beberapa tulisan dalam buku ini mengangkat tradisi di masyarakat plural yang menjadi mekanisme pengelolaan keragaman secara damai atau dapat disebut koeksistensi. Kedua jenis relasi ini diharapkan dapat membuka jendela untuk mengeksplorasi ragam praktik pengelolaan keragaman di Indonesia secara jernih dan bernuansa.

Sebagai the City of Tolerance, Yogyakarta dikenal sebagai miniatur Indonesia, sebuah negara yang dibangun diatas kesadaran akan keragaman. Namun saat ini apa yang menjadi masalah dilevel nasional, Indonesia, juga terjadi di level lokal, Yogyakarta, yaitu masalah pengelolaan keragaman yang ditandai oleh maraknya tindakan-tindakan intoleransi dan konflik-konflik terkait berbedaan. Demikian salah satu bahan evaluasi dan refleksi pada pembukaan Sekolah Pengelolaan Keragaman (SPK) ketiga di Kaliurang, Yogyakarta, 24 April 2014. Kegiatan yang bertujuan untuk melakukan konsolidasi antara elemen akademik dengan aktivis ini terselenggara atas kerjasama antara CRCS dengan American Friends Service Committee. Diharapkan upaya ini dapat berkontribusi dalam mewujudkan Yogyakarta sebagai the City of Tolerance, demikian papar Dr. Samsul Maarif, ketua pelaksana prodi Agama dan Lintas Budaya (CRCS).
Sekretaris Nasional Gus Durian, Alissa Wahid yang dihadirkan pada acara pembukaan mengungkapkan, meskipun komunikasi pemuka agama relatif masih baik, namun terdapat perkembangan yang mulai mengkhawatirkan, diantaranya adalah munculnya spanduk-spanduk kebencian kepada kelompok lain, anti syiah maupun anti komunis, adanya insiden-insiden protes terhadap perbedaan dan kelompok minoritas. Serta penyelesaian masalah-masalah itu yang cenderung instan dan segera bergerak ke arah isu lain dengan cepat, sehingga insiden dan konflik tersebut akan mudah terulang.
Dihadapan 25 peserta dari berbagai organisasi di Yogyakarta, Alissa Wahid menilai bahwa kondisi Indonesia saat ini sangat ironis. Menurutnya Indonesia yang berdiri atas kesepakan bersama dari berbagai suku bangsa seharusnya menyadari bahwa keberagaman menjadi sesuatu yang given dan dihormati. Namun, ruang-ruang diskusi pengelolaan keragaman menjadi sangat resmi dan harus dilakukan berulang-ulang sebagai upaya untuk mempertahankan keragaman tersebut, karena semakin langkanya penghormatan dan pengakuan hak-hak kewargaan, khususnya untuk kelompok minoritas.
Lebih lanjut Alissa menerangkan, efek globalisasi menyebabkan komunitas tidak lagi terbentuk berdasarkan kekerabatan dan kedekatan geografis. Apa yang dulu disebut suku saat ini lebih pada kelompok masyarakat berdasarkan kesamaan ideologi dan minat. Konsekuensinya arus tersebut tidak bisa ditahan, dimana seseorang memiliki kesamaan minat dari berbagai penjuru dunia. Sayangnya, hal itu tidak dibarengi dengan kepercayaan terhadap orang yang berbeda di sekililingnya. Dengan demikian, tumbuh perasaan curiga dan jika pun tidak terdapat konflik, hanya berdasarkan pada toleransi semu semata.
Alissa menambahkan terdapat beberapa indikator masyarakat yang menuju pada kondisi destruktif, salah satunya adalah akses mendapatkan senjata yang mudah. Indonesia tidak sampai pada kondisi tersebut namun masih terdapat indikator masyarakat destruktif lainnya yang ditemukan, yaitu bagaimana Negara (maupun kelompok mayoritas) memperlakukan masyarakat yang rentan (minoritas) sebagai sesuatu yang harus dikendalikan. Dalam pengeloaan konflik, kelompok tersebut dianggap sebagai ancaman yang harus dilokalisir. Berbeda dengan indikator masyarakat berkembang dimana masyarakat kecil tidak dilihat sebagai minoritas, tetapi warga sipil yang seharusnya tetap mendapatkan hak-hak kewarganegaraannya.

Pluralism Knowledge Program is a collaborative program of four countries: Indonesia, Uganda, India and the Netherland. This video explains the activities of this program.
[youtube=https://youtu.be/h5NETlkQRqk]

Tuesday (19/11) marked the beginning of the second run of the School of Diversity Management (SekolahPengelolaan Keragaman – SPK) organized by Center for Religious and Cross Cultural Studies (CRCS), Universitas Gadjah Mada. Twenty-three participants from around the country attended the school, which gathers activists and academics to learn about religious diversity in Indonesia. In the introductory session, participants revealed concerns that their different religious, ethnic, and racial backgrounds would cause asplit during the learning process. Some feared that a lack of transparency on sensitive topics might result in divisions between the group while discussing religious, racial, and ethnic issues.
In addition to the anxiety associated with disintegration, the participants also worried about over saturation from the information as presented in a formal classroom setting, preventing the optimal transfer of knowledge. It was not only the participants who expressed these kinds of concerns. MustaghfirohRahayu, one of the team managers of the second SPK, admitted that this year’s program would be more challenging, because this group of practitioners had more experience in managing issues of diversity than the previous group. Rahayu noted that it is important for the program to adapt to the experience of the participants, providing alternative models of diversity management in accordance with their respective issues.
Nia Syarifuddin, one of the facilitators from the National Unity Alliance (AliansiNasional Bhinneka Tunggal Ika – ANBTI), explained that these concerns are a natural part of the processes of dialogue and learning. Therefore, is importantto have the cooperation and support of the participants and the committee for the course to be successful.
The Vice President for Academic Affairs, Development, and Cooperation of the Graduate School of UGM, Ir. Suryo Purnomo, M.A. Sc., Ph.D., welcomed the participants by explaining the history of Yogyakarta, a region that is intertwined with the history of religion. He mentioned Borobudur and Prambanan Temples, the Sultan’s Palace (Kraton), and Ganjuran Church as historic buildings constituting evidence of the many religious practices that are part of Yogyakarta’s history.
Suryo affirmed that discussions about religion might easily heat up, and he encouraged an air of mutual respect and appreciation in throughout the process of the program. He shared his expectations that the SPK activities were an opportunity for the participants to increase their knowledge. The SPK, in his opinion, should be used as aspace to share experiences for the benefit of mutual learning, acting as a potential force in the effort to avoid friction between religions, cultures, and races.
Participants from various regions of Indonesia, such as Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, Papua, NTT, and Java, participated in the second SPK. In addition, the participants also came from a variety of backgrounds, including educators, NGO activists, government officials, media activists, and researchers. During the 10-day session from November 18– 28, 2013, participants engaged in classroom activities, and field trips visiting various sites related to dialogue between diverse religious communities. One site they visited allowed practitioners to learn about the followers of indigenous religion at Mount Sempu. They also visited PaguyubanNotoBawono,a nd the Islamic Monday-Thursday Boarding School for waria(transgender).

Many people assume that waria (or transgender individuals) need to reform their ‘sickness’ for the good of society. However, there are some are of the opinion that waria are partof the diversity that God created. In this view, God created men and women as two distinct biological categories. But in terms of gender, the existence of waria, or men with a feminine nature, cannot be denied in contemporary Indonesian society. The Monday-Thursday Islamic Boarding School for the Waria (Pesantren Waria Senin-Kamis) is one of the unique expression of this community’s existence in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. This pesantren provides a means of representing the transgender community’s religiosity in a positive light. CRCS brought the participants of School of Diversity Management (Sekolah Pengelolaan Keragaman – SPK) to visit to the waria boarding school in Yogyakarta to look at the facts on the ground after a few days studying theories of diversity together at UGM.
Maryani, one of the pesantren’s administrators, told us, “[W]e, the waria, at this Islamic boarding school, come from various regions in Indonesia, such as Batam, Medan, Yogyakarta, and other places. Even so, we remain one; we have to practice unity as a whole. Weare also human, and as like others, we want to study religion. However, the problem is there is no place that will accommodate us. All the Islamic boarding houses are only for men and women, so wedo not have a place to learn. Therefore, we set up the Pesantren Waria Senin-Kamis, and Thank God, there is Kyai Hamroeli who is willing to support us. While there areother kyais (the clerics) who think we are distorted, and wrong according to religion, it does not matter, and we will continue to carry out activities at the school, including worship, because only God knows the admissibility of one’s deeds.”
Established in 2008, pesantren provides a schedule of religious activities for the waria community in Yogya. Religious lectures are held every Monday and Thursday evening. Activities began with a nariyah reading and prayers at five o’clock, followed by the maghrib prayer in congregation. After that, there is a reading of al-Fatiha one hundred times, followed by evening prayers in with the congregation. The waria who attend also have the opportunity to learn the practice of prayer guided by the cleric for those who cannot read the Koran. In addition to the compulsory worship practices, they also perform other sunnah (voluntary) kinds of worship such as sholat hajat (a voluntary prayerperformed when a Muslim has the intentionor particular needs) which is undertaken at 11:00 pm, and tahajud prayers at 2:00 am. They also conduct a istighosah (mass prayer) until dawn, returning to their respective homes after Fajr prayer.
Yeti, one of the pesantren students of revealed that she had felt distinct since childhood. “[I] myself have felt since childhood, and this is not as shaped by the environment, because the fact is I also have a lot of older brothers. After sensing different things for a few years, then in 1994, when I was in high school, I could accept this situation,” she admitted.
Further, Ruli, an activist for waria in Yogyakarta, described the dilemma of waria in Indonesian context, focusing on the effect of Islamicization. He reiterated his understanding that Indonesia is a country that is predominantly Muslim, but that does not mean Indonesia is a religious country. Islamic boarding schools teach students about Islam in accordance with the teachings in the Koran and Hadith. He also added that if the Prophet was alive in the present day, then it of course would be easy to ask for his clarification on this issue. However, according to Ruli, waria should not be defined by the individual in accordance with their own perspectives, because such things tend to lead to bias and discrimination against people who identify as waria.
In addition, according to Ruli, the rules and Islamic law in the Koran and Hadith also accommodate waria lives. But what must be done is to change people’s perspectives so they do not define waria only in negative terms. In fact, the negative definition of this community is already embedded in society, making it more resistant to change.
Most people identify waria with the activity of prostitution. In fact, many waria contribute positively to the community. Some of the members of this Islamic boarding school are also activists in several organizations such as Kebaya or The Big Family of Waria in Yogyakarta (KeluargaBesarWaria Yogyakarta) which focuses on health issues along with several other institutions.
Maryani added that many people ostracize the waria so they do not have the ability to support themselves. In such conditions, they can only making money through singing or night-life entertainers. Lucky waria who have the skills can find work in salons. In general, it is difficult for a wariato be accepted by society, especially to get jobs according to their abilities. The existence of this Islamic boarding school, for Maryani, is a forum for waria to study religion and good behavior, and a way to contribute to the community. It will be a means to change the negative view of society has of the waria. ThePesantrenWariaSenin-Kamisin displays that although most Muslim societies still generally do not accept the existance ofwaria, there is a possibility for interaction and learning in a religious space.

Written by Testriono
New research may hold key to Indonesia’s church-building controversy
In Bogor, in Indonesia’s West Java province, the Presbyterian congregation GKI Yasmin has been prohibited by the local administration from holding services in their church for years.
Indonesia’s Supreme Court has ruled that revoking the church’s permit is illegal. However, GKI Yasmin and many churches like it have not been protected from a small but vocal minority in Indonesia that has tried to prevent churches from receiving building and worship permits – and in some cases has even organized mobs to attack churches and congregants.
The case of GKI Yasmin is troubling, but is not representative of the status of all churches across the country. Throughout Indonesia, there are churches that successfully receive permits to build and whose congregants worship peacefully in religiously diverse neighborhoods. Those working to resolve the problems in Bogor can look to the positive examples of interfaith relations in communities that have overcome religious tensions. …
Read more Asia Sentinel

Written by Testriono
The GKI Yasmin congregation in Bogor has been prohibited by the local administration from holding services in its church for years. The Supreme Court has ruled that revoking the church’s permit is illegal. However, GKI Yasmin and many other churches in Indonesia have not been protected from a small but vocal minority that has tried to prevent them from receiving permits to build and worship — a minority that in some cases has even organized mobs to attack them.
The case of GKI Yasmin is troubling, but it is not representative of the status of all churches across the country. Throughout Indonesia, there are churches that do successfully receive building permits and congregations that can worship peacefully in religiously diverse neighborhoods. People working to resolve the problems in Bogor can look to the positive examples of interfaith relations in communities that have overcome religious tensions. …
Read more The Jakarta Post

Written by Testriono
Jakarta – In Bogor, a city in Indonesia’s West Java province, the Presbyterian congregation GKI Yasmin has been prohibited by the local administration from holding services in their church for years. Indonesia’s Supreme Court has ruled that revoking the church’s permit is illegal. However, GKI Yasmin and many churches like it have not been protected from a small but vocal minority in Indonesia that has tried to prevent churches from receiving building and worship permits – and in some cases has even organised mobs to attack churches and congregants.
The case of GKI Yasmin is troubling, but is not representative of the status of all churches across the country. Throughout Indonesia, there are churches that successfully receive permits to build churches and whose congregants worship peacefully in religiously diverse neighbourhoods. Those working to resolve the problems in Bogor can look to the positive examples of interfaith relations in communities that have overcome religious tensions. …
Read more CG News

Written by Testriono
Improving peaceful coexistence between majority and minority religious groups in contemporary Indonesia remains an uphill challenge for the country’s commitment to religious freedom. The role of the state is crucial in nurturing this relationship.
The ongoing obstruction of the establishment of the GKI Yasmin Church in Bogor, West Java, is a recent tangible example of the challenge.
Planned since 2001, GKI Yasmin obtained a building license from the local government in 2006. However, in 2008 the mayor of Bogor annulled the permit for unspecified reasons. …
Read more The Jakarta Post

Political, religious and security authorities coupled with mass organizations are the parties behind prolonged problems surrounding church building controversies, a research concluded.
A research by Paramadina Foundation and Jogjakarta-based Gadjah Mada University’s Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies reported that 12 of 13 churches in Jakarta and its greater area that the centers surveyed at random, faced problems during the construction process when dealing with these parties.
It discovered further that the inconsistency of political and religious authorities, a spiraling bureaucracy and the radicalism movement led to legal uncertainty on the church construction issue.
Nathanael G. Sumaktoyo, a researcher, told a discussion on the controversy of churches in Greater Jakarta on Tuesday that only one surveyed church, the St. Aloysius Gonzaga in East Jakarta, did not have a problem during its establishment, “because of its close relationship with the local residents who are mostly Muslims”.
The Catholic church was built in 1962 on land that is owned by the Army.
Nathanael said it showed that strong relations with local residents and other parties was one factor in solving the problem.
The study, conducted from March 2010 to March 2011, divided the churches into three different categories: Those that once encountered tension, churches that operated peacefully during their first years but later were confronted and those that faced prolonged problems.
“GKP Seroja church in Bekasi, for instance, faced a confrontation in 2006 from residents because it became the source of a traffic problem,” he said, adding that the problem was solved after it was moved to a different location with the support from the Bekasi deputy mayor.
Another church surveyed was the GKJ Nehemia church in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta, which was required to move several times and then had to wait for 13 years before a permit was granted.
The church that continues to encounter challenges is St. Yohanes Maria Vianney in Cilangkap, East Jakarta. Its permit was denied due to bureaucracy challenges in the local administration and was confronted by mass organizations around the church.
In Bogor, the administration revoked GKI Yasmin church’s building permit citing complaints from residents who claimed the church was a hub for proselytizing in Jakarta.
The Supreme Court overturned the administration’s request to shut down the church, but the congregation remains unable to enter its church.
Sidney Jones, senior advisor at the International Crisis Group, said the central government should play a greater role in religious issues.
“Religious issues are the state’s responsibility, so all problems should involve the government,” she said.
LINK:

The Indonesian team of the Pluralism Knowledge Programme recently discussed its concept of civic pluralism with experts from academia, civil society, government and media. The Jakarta Post published the following article.

The rise of religion in public space not a problem: Experts

The rise of religion in the public space across the country should not be seen as a threat as long as the government manages to prevent friction, experts say.
“All citizens must realize that the rise of religion in public spaces should not be seen as an effort to spread its normative teachings and doctrines,” Zainal Abidin Bagir, Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies director at the Gadjah Mada University, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Speaking at a seminar on pluralism and the politics of diversity in Jakarta, Zainal said the rise of religion was a natural outcome resulting from the great diversity of the nation and may contribute toward the establishment of civic pluralism.
University of Indonesia sociologist Thamrin Amal Tomagola said the rising religiosity among the people was inevitable in the Reform era after decades of what he said “forced harmony” during Soeharto’s repressive 32-year rule.
“The public was not allowed to debate the issues of ethnicity, religion, race and inter-group relations during the Soeharto years,” Thamrin said.
Apart from its label as one the most corrupt nations in Asia, Indonesia is ranked the most religious country in the world. A recent Reuters poll ranked Indonesia, before Brazil and Turkey, as the country with the highest number of people believing in God.
The country has also seen rising intolerance and even violence committed in the name of religion. This has sparked concern whether a religious revival is hampering the country’s unity and diversity.
Both Zainal and Thamrin said that friction might occur when the diverse identities of different religions meet in public spaces. Zainal cited demand for special treatment for certain groups based on their beliefs and demand for limitations to the so-called “deviant” minority groups as well as rivalries between religious symbols to secure positions in public offices as examples.
“As a democracy, we have to respect those demands. But we must also define clear boundaries in which those demands may still be accommodated so that it does not contradict the equal-opportunity principle,” he added.
Zainal said the public had plenty of room to accommodate religion. “However, we must establish an effective pluralism management to maintain civility.”
Good pluralism management, Zainal said, comprised three elements: Recognition, representation and redistribution.
Recognition deals with the extent the society, the state and the constitution recognize and respect diversity.
Representation deals with the accommodation of differing ideas — in the form of political parties, NGOs, state religious institutions and House of Representatives participation — in both formal and informal debates. “The issue here is how to find the right format of representation,” Zainal said. “Many Indonesian Muslims, for example, are of the opinion that the Indonesia Ulema Council does not accommodate their views and ideas.”
While redistribution deals with the capability of the government to spread the nation’s wealth of resources equally to all citizens regardless of religion and ethnicity, he said.
He called on the government to guarantee the availability of the room for religion in public spaces and recognize the diversity in its citizens.
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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. Kapal Perempuan, a non-profit organization, organized the event in cooperation with CRCS. This Conference held in Jakarta on April 27th, 2011.
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• Press Release of Conference

“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.
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• Press Release of This Discussion

Public Lecture of Robert W. Hefner: “Rethinking Democracy and Pluralism in Islam: New Light on an Old Debate”. As the third series of Public Lecture under Pluralism Knowledge Program activities, on 10 August 2010 CRCS invited Robert W. Hefner to give lecture on ““Rethinking Democracy and Pluralism in Islam: New Light on an Old Debate.” Bob Hefner is Professor of Anthropology and Associate Director of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs at Boston University.
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The second series of Public Lecture of Pluralism Knowledge Program activities was a lecture by Dr. Amina Wadud on “Gender and Pluralism” on August 3rd 2010. In this lecture, she problematized the term pluralism.
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• Abstract Of Dr. Amina Wadud’s Papers

On April 29th 2010, CRCS in collaboration with Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS) Yogyakarta, International Center for Islam and Pluralism (ICIP) and Switzerland Embassy invited Professor Hans Kung to give Lecture in CRCS on “Finding New Path to Dialogue”. This lecture is the first series of public lecture under Pluralism Knowledge Program activities in 2010. The Lecture was attended by more than 400 audience who enthusiatic to see the well know Kung. For this lecture CRCS produced a small book on Kung’s concept of dialogues and Muslim perspectives on his ideas of dialogue entitled “Jalan Dialog Hans Kung dan Perspektif Muslim ”, and a documentary of his lecture and visit to Yogyakarta entitled “Hans Kung, Indonesia, and Interfaith Dialogue”.
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Description:

International Summer School was held from the 12th of July to August 6 in 2010 and have be hosted by the Center for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It involves a 4 week full time program of lectures, excursions, seminars, literature study, discussion, guided individual – and small group work and assignments. Selected participants are required to prepare a pre-summer school assignment. The course has be completed with a group presentation and paper as well as a design for a workshop that participants are expected to conduct after they return home. Upon successful completion, participants will be offered a Kosmopolis/University for Humanistics Certificate in Human Development and Human Rights. Every summer students and activists from Indonesia, India, Uganda and the Netherlands discuss issues around tolerance and pluralism in the Pluralism Summer School. The 2009 Summer School has been organised by knowledge programme partner CRCS – Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies in Yogyakarta, Indonesia and Kosmopolis, University for Humanist Studies, the Netherlands.

Tabitha Naisiko, a book writer and the Ugandan participant in the International Summer School, opined that a marriage should be constituted by love and not by a government constitution. This doctor candidate of Ethics and Development Studies in Martyr University, Uganda, finds herself cannot make head or tail to the Regulation on Inter-Religious Marriage in Indonesia, a country she identifies as a multiculturalists one. The Regulation which came into force in 1974, most probably, has led the love among Indonesians into division.
Uganda, according to Tabitha who had written dozen books on ethic and development, is called as the heart of Africa. With a strong Catholicism and Protestantism presence, which is about 85% of the total population, religious adherents live harmoniously one to another.” Inter-religious marriage has never become a problem in Uganda?” says a young woman who got her master degree on Applied Ethics in Leuven, Belgium, comparing the marital issues in Indonesia with those in her country, Uganda. “Nonetheless, the ethnic groups are sometimes clash”, she added.
Coming to Yogyakarta to attend the International Summer School through the Cross-cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU) is one among wondeful things ever happened in her life. Tabitha asserts her aim of attending the program as “to be able to integrate the outlook I got here into my next reseach in getting a more mediated and dialetic approach to human development?” (Gie)

The Kosmospolis Institute of the University for Humanistic Studies in the Netherlands, in cooperation with Hivos and its partner for Pluralism Knowledge Program in India, Indonesia and Uganda will hold International Summer School on Human Development and Human Rights. The theme of this program is ‘Pluralism and Development’. After holding this program in Netherlands and India (Bangalore), in 2009 the summer school will be held in Yogyakarta, by the Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies (CRCS) UGM, on July 13, 2009 to August 7, 2009. Participants of this program consist of 4 people who come from Netherlands, India, and Uganda and 6 people come from Indonesia. For the applicants who passed selection, the committee will pay for transportation to Yogyakarta, accommodations, and hotel during four weeks. All of the programs will be delivered in English, including presentation and writing.
Deadline of registration is JANUARY 31, 2009.
To know more about the program, please click application form and call for application.

Janneke van den Brand, one of the Dutch participants in the International Summer School, portrays the meaning of pluralism through a painting. “Ik belangstellend voor afbeelding; ik verliefd en houden van schilderen,” she said, asserting how she is very fond of painting. Spending her spare time painting imaginary women as her image object, this student of Humanities Studies at Utrecht, the Netherland, asserted that she has been painting with various colors of paint so far. The paint she chose is Acrylic, for it appears cheerfully on the canvas. Unlike other palettes that tend to use only single color, Janneke often uses various colors on her painting. She believes that each color has its own meaning and it supports the existence of other color.
While showing some among hundreds of her painting collections on the computer, Janneke, 24, opined that various color can also represents various culture, human, and religion. As the color mixes beautifully one to another, so does the phenomenon of diversity within this world. “In painting, you see people in the same level and everybody is right,” said a young woman who once had an exhibition with some of her friends in the Netherlands.
Janneke also explains that the discourse on pluralism in the Netherlands is not as apparent as it is in Indonesia. The Dutch and other people who have stayed there for a long period of time, she said, are seeing pluralism as something hard to deal with. “It’s only because Muslim culture doesn’t fit with the Dutch culture; not to mention the major religion of Protestantism there.” To her, Indonesia is blessed by its phenomenon of diversity.
The best thing she can do for her country, said Janneke who is labeled “Democratic Princess” by her classmates at the International Summer School, is through art. And, she chose painting to express her emotions, messages, and hopes. She believes that delivering a message through art is very efficient in seeing that all people love art. She holds an immense wish that the major group of people in her country will soon be enlightened to see the existence of other people as a new color to complete the nuance of life.
However, she never thinks spending her entire life to be a professional painter. “I am looking forward to having a chance to endure an internship at the Kosmopolis Institute.” Being a pluralist-humanist is one among the aims she wants to pursue. The palette of Acrylic paints, canvases, and brushes, at all cost, will always follow her. (Gie)

The International Summer School has been running well since it opened on July 13, 2009. The school has been supporting the participants to develop critical thinking in dealing problems in the society. Through lectures, exposures, discussions and common activities, the participants are learning a great deal of things related to the issue of promoting pluralism, human development and human rights.
On the first week, the participants learned some issues, which are the main topics of the program, such as identity, recognition of the other, democracy, diversity, sustainable development and some other related issues. These were in the introduction section of the Summer School.
As one of the exercises in the introductory section, the participants learned and evaluated some prejudices that they think exist in their countries, and also prejudices from people from other countries to their country. Interestingly, the participants were open in explaining every prejudice they knew, and they discussed the prejudices to get some clarifications. It was like a dialogue that respects each other.
Besides the dialogue or sections in the class, during the first week, the participants visited some places in Yogyakarta. The scheduled places the participants visited were Ullen Sentalu (Museum of Javanese Art and Culture at Kaliurang) and the Merapi view at Kali Adem. At these places, the participants and some lecturers learned the history of Javanese Art & Culture and the history of Mt. Merapi. It made them become closer to Yogyakarta, and its phenomena. The scheduled activity not only made them closer to Javanese Arts & Cultures, but also it reduced prejudices which they discussed in class.
As for the non-scheduled places, the participants visited Malioboro and Kraton, including Alun-alun Kidul. The activity built intimacy among them. They were ecstatic when they were there.
After they visited the places, they then focused their attention in reading the articles given to them as the main sources for lectures and discussions in class. The participants were active in discussing some issues in the articles which were articulated by the lecturers. Mostly, the lectures and discussions were based on theoretical frameworks and field experiences they had, especially as practitioners in a civil society.
Principally, the activities during the first week, the participants became more open to talk to each other. They also developed deeper understanding of the main issues and purposes of the Summer School. Their encounter, as people from different places of the world, was really fundamental in building inclusive perspectives and values to live and work together with others. (JMI)

Dr. Henk Manschot, one of the coordinators of International Summer School on Human Development and Human Rights is worried to see the imbalance occurred between humanity and the earth. “Human being has taken in this earth more than the earth can provide; so, they are responsible for biodiversity extinct,” said the professor of humanities in Utrecht, the Netherlands, who have been involved in discourse of humanity and sustainable development throughout his academic career.
On the discussion that occurred at a quiet corner in WMM last week after he addressed a lecture of “Sustainable Development: Rethinking the Relationship between Ecology, Ethics and Pluralism”, he explicitly brought forward the gloomy fact of human population and consumption that rapidly eliminated the Earth’ ecology. “The total of humanity’s ecological footprints is estimated almost at 2.3 of planet Earth, we are rapidly growth from 1 billion in the 19th century to 6-7 billion now.” The quality of humanity, he asserted, is on its willingness to respectfully put the Earth at the centre of human life.
Started his ecological concern in 2004, Prof. Manschot who is also known as one of the key players in organizing the International Summer School proposed an idea of time diagnosis toward the humanity’s ecological footprint. The keenness of humanity should start to measure and diagnose how much the natural resources of biodiversity human had taken from the Earth. He opined that the answer of humanity toward this vexed question found in an effort to implement a clean technology, clear city-building, political will, and religious cosmology, from interpretation to action.
“Start to see water, trees, and a flock of Hummingbirds as not merely an instrument but a friend may be a very positive romanticism to me. Can I consider this as a new ethic?” said the Director of Kosmopolis Institute who just returned from a safari in Africa wilderness with his wife Agnes, with a slight smile. Imitating the spirited voice of US politician Al Gore who quoted a famous speech of Chief Seattle, leader of the Duwamish Indians, Prof. Manschot ended the chat that afternoon saying, “For the earth does not belong to man, it is man who belongs to the earth. Man does not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it.” (Gie)

The opening ceremony of the International Summer School started at 9:40 am at the 5th floor of Pascasarjana building, Gadjah Mada University.
The summer school is a joint initiative of the University for Humanistic and Hivos as partners of the Dutch Humanist Alliance together with the Center for Religious & Cross-Cultural Studies (CRCS) and the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society (CSCS) in Bangalore, India. It is also in cooperation with the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU) in Kampala, Uganda.
During the first day, the participants and lecturers were happy to meet each other doing some interesting activities. They enjoyed interpreting pictures related to Human Rights, Human Development and Pluralism as it is the main theme of the program.
There are 18 students participating in the said program who come from different backgrounds. There are four students from Holland, four from Uganda, four from India and six from Indonesia.
CRCS, as host, prepared all things in running the summer school which concludes on August 7, 2009. The lecturers and participants expressed their gratitude to CRCS for preparing and providing them all the needed materials for the said program. (JMI)

After a series of through selection, the committee of the International Summer School on Human Development and Human Right has chosen 6 applicants from Indonesia to participate this year on the subject of Pluralism and Development. This International Summer School will be held in Yogyakarta, by the Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies (CRCS) UGM, on July 13, 2009 to August 7, 2009.
The chosen participants are Ayuandini Sherria Puteri (Program Director of the Association for Critical Thinking), Dalil Saherman (staff at the National Commission on Violence against Women), Siti Habibah Jazila (staff at IHAP Institute for Women’s Right), Pusvyta Sari (staff at the Foundation for Islamic and Social Studies), Ivana Prazic (PhD student, ICRS Yogyakarta), and Jimmy Marcos Immanuel (MA Student, CRCS UGM).
The other participants are coming from the Netherland, India, and Uganda. This event has been holding by The Kosmopolis Institute of the University for Humanistic Studies in the Netherland, in cooperation with Hivos and its partner for Pluralism Knowledge Program in India, Indonesia and Uganda.
On Friday morning, 17 April 2009, all of the Indonesian participants had held a meeting at CRCS Meeting Room. The meeting was led by Dr. Zainal Abidin Bagir, the Indonesia Regional Coordinator of this International Summer School concurrently the Executive Director of CRCS. The aim of the meeting purposely was to endow the participants with updated issues with regard to pluralism, human development, and human right by getting acquainted with each other.
At the end of the meeting, Siti Habibah, one of the participants, asserted that, “Gathering, discussing and learning together with others from different areas and cultural backgrounds would contribute the strategies I have been constructing to promote pluralism in multicultural societies.” (Gie)