Abstract
Who has the authority to end the discrimination and violence religious minority groups continue to face despite protections promised in Indonesia’s constitution? This talk examines three recent cases—the Ahmadiyya in West Java, Shi’a in East Java, and two HKBP churches also in West Java—to show how the three kinds of authority (legal-rational, traditional, and charismatic) identified by Max Weber are all used to legitimate extremism and violence in the face of contradictory actions by the government, including religious leaders with institutional authority inside it. Unless the actors in the government recognize that they must use their authority responsibly, extremist religious leaders who seek to mobilize hate against others, especially minorities, will continue to be able to do so and Indonesian society will remain immature.
Speaker
Imanuel Geovasky is graduated from School of Public Policy and Social Research International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan. He got Japan ICU Foundation Scholarship (JICUF) (New York based) and United Board for Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA) (New York and Hongkong based) Faculty Development Scholarship for Master Degree in Peace Studies at International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan, from September 2013 – July 2015. His focus research on Religious-based violence and discrimation against minorities in Indonesia society, Human security and Peace building.

Abstract

The Indonesian Ahmadiyya community has been facing violent conflicts after the Reformasi era. This dissertation focuses on the narrative of Ahmadi women about their experiences in dealing with daily conflicts they face in relation to their faith. This paper focuses on the acts of the Ahmadi women organization called Lajnah Imaillah from 2000 to early 2015 by examining their defense mechanism and exercising agency in resisting and preventing conflicts. The study was conducted in four areas in Indonesia, Kuningan in West Java, Yogyakarta, Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara and Head Office of Lajnah Imaillah in Bogor. The informants were Ahmadi women from different socio economics status and positions in the organization. Using narrative inquiry, this research found out that in responding and resisting to violent conflicts, Lajnah Imaillah has been changing its way of resistance and its forms of defense mechanism. The conflicts that Ahmadi women face have encouraged them organizationally and individually to be more actively participate in wider society and build good relationships with the religious others outside of the community. Therefore this paper argues that non-violent defense mechanism promotes better relations and mutual understanding among conflicting parties in society.
Speaker
Nina Mariani Noor just earned her Ph.D from Inter Religious Studies, ICRS (Indonesian Consortium For Religious Studies) Universitas Gadjah Mada last January. Her concern is on conflict resolution, gender, and minority studies. Nina is Programme Executive Globethics.net Indonesia (www.globethics.net) . Globethics.net is the biggest, global online platform dedicated to promote inclusive, values-driven transformation for sustainable living, through access to knowledge, networking, collaborative research, training and events. She also teaches in Universitas Pembangunan Nasional (UPN) Yogyakarta this semester.