by Mathias Hariyadi

Some 92 laws and by-laws have been adopted across the country. Secular Indonesians turn against fundamentalists for trying to destroy “Pancasila, the secular principles that underlie the nation”.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Indonesian society and its civil expressions—parliamentary forums, NGOs and human rights groups—have come out against the Islamic Defender Front (Front Pembela Islam or FPI). The only organisation willing to defend the hard-line Islamist group is the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which does not believe that it should be banned.

In an interview, Agus Purnowo, a senior PKS leader, said, “The Front’s excessive violence stems from the state’s tolerance for practices like prostitution and pornography. If the law did its job, there would be no need for the Front”.

However, many Indonesians view the PKS itself an extremist party because one of its objectives is to introduce Sharia into the country. One of its top leaders is the current Minister for Information and Communication, Tifatul Sembiring.

The PKS is not alone in having this goal. In addition to the FPI, the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) and Jamaah Anshoruit Tauhid (JAT), both set up by controversial cleric Abu Bakar Baasyir, want the same thing.

Public opinion in Indonesia began turning against the FPI after some of its members were involved in a wave of violence in Banyuwangi Regency in East Java. Recently, three lawmakers from the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) were thrown out of a public meeting. FPI extremists claimed that the meeting had been organised by the Indonesian Communist Party, which was dissolved in 1965.

PDI-P Member of Parliament Eva Kusuma Sudari spoke in the house about what happened. “What concerns us the most is the use of violence by FPI members,” she said. “Police should take this into account because only this way we would be able to dissolve a violent and unlawful organisation,” whose actions “are contrary to Pancasila, the five principles of tolerance that are the basis of our nation.”

In her view, Sharia-inspired legislation oppresses religious minorities. “The government must act before it is too late. Violence [by the FPI] should be used to bring radical Islam before the courts.”

According to government sources, there are at least 92 Sharia-inspired laws and bylaws. For example, in Tangerang District, about 25 kilometres west of Jakarta, a bylaw bans women from going out after hours without their husbands or fathers. In Aceh and Sumatra, the Islamic dress code is now compulsory.

• indonesia
• sharia
• islamists
• violence
• resistance
• public
• opinion