Center for Religious and Cross-cultural StudiesGraduate School, Universitas Gadjah Mada

Gadjah Mada Graduate Building, III Floor, Jl. Teknika Utara, Pogung, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 55281: crcs@ugm.ac.id (62-274-544976), : icrs@ugm.ac.id (62-274-562570) CRCS ICRS

http://crcs.ugm.ac.id, http://icrs.ugm.ac.id

on Religious Life in IndonesiaVolume 3, May 2014 PDF Version

of this newsletter

is available at

www.icrs.ugm.ac.id

and www.crcs.ac.id

As Indonesia is seen by many observers to

be inching toward becoming an established

democracy, the 2014 general election in April can

be considered the last stage before the country can

proudly proclaim to be the only nation with a

dominant Muslim culture to make democracy

work. This encouraging prospect may be

hampered, however, by the continued prevalence

of identity politics. Although this trend may not

be reflected in the sphere of national politics

where nationalist parties have continued to

remain dominant over religious-based parties,

political outbidding based on religious and ethnic

sentiment is not uncommon in local elections.

This is significant, because local elections take

place more frequently than the five year national

election cycle, and regional elections more directly

effect local dynamics. The continued influence of

identity politics in local elections could hamper

the progress of democracy that requires civic

values to overcome communal values without subjugating identity-based freedom of expression.

To better deal with the ugly face of identity politics and its effect on democracy, the case of

anti-Shiite violence in Sampang provides a valuable lesson.

Why Sampang?

The recent anti-Shiite violence in Sampang, East Java, has been the subject of major interest

in the discussion of religious freedom in Indonesia. However, as the majority of attention garnered

by the case has been focused on the issues of religious and cultural intolerance, the obvious role of

local politics in the dynamics of the conflict has been overlooked. The conflict might have started

with religious and cultural tensions, but as it develeped, an important question emerged: why did

the conflict only target the Shiite community in one particular village on the island?

This question is interesting for two reasons. First, although traditionalist Muslim Sunnis are

the majority on Madura island, small Shiite communities or pesantren exist without issue in other

locations on the island. The traditionalist Muslims were not historically intolerant to Shiism. In fact,

the ritual of singing Barzanji poems that is common among traditionalist Muslims contains

adorations for Hassan and Hussain, two Muslim figures central in Shiite belief. There is a concern

among Sunnis regarding Shiite's rhetorical hostility to three of the four companions of the Prophet

Muhammad who are highly respected by Sunnis, but those practices only represent one segment of

the diverse Shiite communties. Violence against Shiite communities by traditionalist Muslims is

thus new.

Second, narratives that are deployed on the ground describe the animosity against Shiism as

a reaction towards something that is considered hostile and dangerous to Sunni teachings. These

narratives even go as far as connecting Shiism to the brutality of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, and

01

Local Elections and Intolerance: A Lesson from Sampang

M. Iqbal Ahnaf

Photo Courtesy Inside Indonesia

Advisors:

Dr. Syamsiyatun, Dr. Zainal Abidin Bagir

Editorial Commitee:

M. Iqbal Ahnaf (Editor in Chief), Leonard C. Epafras,

Kelli Swazey, Najiyah Martiyam, Hendrikus P. Kaunang

Editor:

Kelli Swazey

News Writers:

Zainal Abidin Bagir, Leonard C. Epafras, Kelli Swazey, Najiyah Martiyam,

Hendrikus P. Kaunang, Marthen Tahun, Reza Saputra, Hary Widyantoro,

Management:

Hendrikus P. Kaunang

Layout:

Wijaya Media

Editorial Team

associating the presence of Shiism in Indonesia with a Jewish anti-

Islamic conspiracy. Despite this generalized animosity toward Shiism,

only a few Shiite communities, including Sampang, suffered attacks.

What explains this rare incidence of violence?

Sampang Election, 2012

A closer look at the dynamics of local politics can help to explain

the localized nature of the violence in Sampang. Exploration of the role

of the district head (bupati) of Sampang, Noer Tjahja, cannot be neglected

in this case.Tjahja ruled the district from 2008-2012 and ran for re-

election in 2012, coinciding with the peak of the conflict. The involvment

of other prominent anti-Shiite leaders,such as the widely respected

cleric Ali Karrar, and Rois Hukama, a former Shiite and brother of the

persecuted Shiite leader (Tajul Muluk) who turned hateful toward his

brother and to Shiism, is also significant.

Unlike many other politicians in Madura who are also religious

leaders or at least have family linkages to religious elites, Noer Tjahja is

an experienced bureaucrat. In 2008, he won the election by taking a

religious cleric, Fadillah Budiono, as his running mate. His victory was

not by a landslide, however. One of the areas where he lost was the

village of Karanggayam. This is where the Shiite commnity lived before

they were attacked and expelled. During his bid for re-election, he

needed to win in Karanggayam. Expanding his electoral base by

targeting the area where he had previously failed to receive enough

votes was especially important because winning the 2012 re-election

would prove to be more difficult than in 2008. Many of his competitors in

the 2012 election were religious clerics, including his former running

m a t e F a d i l l a h

Budiono who was

running against

him for the district

h e a d p o s i t i o n .

Winning the hearts

and minds of the

t r a d i t i o n a l i s t

Muslim majority voters was also more challenging due to a rhetorical

blunder he made when he publicly stated that many traditionalist

Muslims considered him insulting. In short, he was left with no choice

but to seek ways to increase his popularity in religious terms.

This need coincided with the escalation of the anti-Shiite conflict

centered in Blu'uran, a sub-village of Karanggayam. This context should

help us to understand why Noer Tjahja became deeply involved in the

persecution of the Shiite communities in Blu'uran. His role in the

development of the conflict includes taking part in the coordination of

meetings between ulama and government agencies aimed at pressuring

Tajul Muluk and his followers to leave Shiism; change to issuing a

district regulation prohibiting the presence of Shiism in Sampang; and

intensifying government activities in the areas where the conflict took

place.

His most explicit support for the persecution of the Shiite

community is found in a speech in he gave in February of 2012 at a

religious ceremony commemorating the birth of Prophet Muhammad.

At the event, which took place not long before the election, Tjahja

condemned Tajul Muluk and his teaching and called for the expulsion of

him and those of his followers who refused to repent. He asked police

officers to arrest Shiite followers. At last he promised that if he was

reelected, he would expel the Shiites within three months.

A minute after the speech, Rois Hukama, the prominent anti-

Shiite activist who wore a turban put a hand on Noer Tjahja's shoulder to

call for voting for Noer Tjahja.

A combination of a number of different factors may have caused

the escalation of the conflict; but Noer Tjahja's political interests made

him not only partial to the anti-Shiite sentiments, but also led him to play

a significant role in an intolerant movement, this has created a political

opportunity structure allowing intolerance and violence.

East Java Election, 2013

By the time the Sampang election was finished, the Shiite

community had already been moved out of Sampang. They were sent to

temporary housing in Sidoarjo, in the suburbs of Surabaya. This so

called 'relocation' shifted the administration of the Shiite refugees from

the district to the provincial government. This allowed the provincial

government leaders Soekarwo and Saifullah Yusuf, who were also

running for reelction, to have more of a role in adresssing the case.

Based on information from a local informant who has connection

with Soekarwo-Saifullah's campaign, Sampang was a special region in

their reelection bid, much like that of Karanggayam was for Noer Tjahja.

Information provided by the source suggested that social elites in

Sampang played a role in demobilizing voters in the region who would

have voted for their competitors, Khofifah and Mudjiono. In return,

Soekarwo and Saifullah fulfilled the demand of elites in Sampang to

support the explusion of the Shiites residing there.

Religious leaders have been pressuring the governor to take part

in the eradication of the so-called 'deviant' sect of Shiism in Sampang

and East Java in general. The governor of East Java capitulated to this

pressure by issuing Gubenatorial Regulation No 55, 2012, on the

monitoring of deviant sects. Even though the regulation does not

specifically mention Shiism as a deviant sect, it is widely seen as proof of

the governor's support for the campaign. The governor's evident

support for anti-Shiite initiatives took other forms, such ashis facilitation

of the anti-Shiite ulama's campaign at the national level to prohibit

Shiism in Indonesia. Local government funding was also promised to

help facilitate the explusion of Shiites from their hometown in Sampang.

T h e r h e t o r i c o f

religious outbidding

used by the Soekarwo-

Saifullah campaign is

not as explicit as the

statements made by

N o e r T j a h j a . Ye t

sectarian rhetoric is

rarely made public. The Soekarwo-Saifullah campaign's use of religious

sentiment for electoral mobilization is reflected in their policies and

programs that favored one party in the conflict at the expense of the

persecution of another population on the grounds of religious identity.

Conclusion

Identity politics are not always bad for democracy, as

suggested by Amy Gutman in her book “Identity in Democracy” (2004).

For Gutman, identity politics in democracy can be bad, good and ugly.

They can be good when religious values or identity politics are used in

political campaigns to promote justice and equality. Religious based

civil society organizations in Indonesia like NU and Muhamadiyah have

been been on the front line of efforts to promote the values of moderation

and Pancasila as foundations for integrating a diverse nation. However,

religious outbidding that focuses on animosity toward other groups

based on their religious beliefs is certainly bad or harmful for democracy.

The Sampang case provides a lesson about religious outbidding's

harmful impact on democracy. This is not unique to the Sampang case.

Many local leaders resort to intolerant policies to gain popularity. The

impact of these practices in elections varies; what is certain is the role

they plave in polarizing societies around religious lines. No less

dangerously, identity politics are often used by bureucrats and

politicians to cover their corruption and failure in development

programs.

M. Iqbal Ahnaf is a faculty member at the Center for

Religious and Cross-cultural Studies (CRCS), Graduate

School, Gadjah Mada University. He teaches two courses:

"Violence and Peace in Religions" and "Religion, State and

Society"

02

A combination of a number of factors may have caused the escalation of the

conflict; but Noer Tjahja's political interests made him not only partial to the anti-

Shiite sentiment but also led him to play a significant role in an intolerant

movement and has created a political opportunity structure allowing intolerance

and violence.

03

Experiencing the sacred spaces of others was the main theme

of the Interfaith Youth Pilgrimage program (IYP) that ran from

November 10-20, 2013.The main objective of this program is to increase

the spirit of tolerance and appreciation between people of different

religious affiliations, especially among young religious adherents.

During the ten days of the program activities, all participants traveled to

various cities around Java, visiting Yogyakarta, Klaten, Solo, Salatiga,

and Magelang. They also visited religious places and universities to get

more information about inter-religious relationships in society.

Participants also had the opportunity to live with families from different

religious backgrounds, so Muslim participants stayed with Christian

families, and non-Muslim participants had a chance to stay at an Islamic

boarding school.

The Interfaith Youth Pilgrimage program was one of the initiatives

chosen to receive funding through the 2013 Alumni Engagement

Innovation Fund. The program had twenty-eight participants coming

from areas around the archipelago such as Sumatra, Kalimantan,

Sulawesi, Java, Bali, NTT-NTB and Ambon. There are several local

partners supporting the program, including the Indonesian Consortium

for Religious Studies (ICRS), CRCS UGM, Dian Interfidei, PERCIK, GKJ

Sidomukti, Edi Mancoro Islamic boarding school and Al Urwatul

Wutsqo Islamic boarding school.

Through their participation in this program, youth are expected to

build management skills for overcoming the kinds of conflicts that have

occurred over the last few years between different religious affiliations

in Indonesia. The IYP program facilitates opportunities for youth to

gather and share their creative ideas on the topic of inter-religious peace

in Indonesia. It is also hoped that after completing the program, they will

be able to provide recommendations to the government related to the

resolution of religious conflict in Indonesia. “Questioning other

religions and [their] differences is no longer relevant, for now what's

important is for us to create peace which will enable us to do good deeds

and to create a better and more humane world,” said Edward, a

participant from Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara.

Interestingly, during their stay at the Islamic boarding school,

students in the program were allowed to participate in the observation

of the Friday prayer. Bagyo, a participant from a Buddhist background

shared that “What is interesting about the IYP program is to be able to

live in a pesantren (Islamic boarding school) because I don't know much

about pesantren. I only know about them from hear say and from

coverage in the media reflecting the radical teachings disseminated

through the pesantren institutions. By participating in the IYP, I can

experience first-hand how life is in a pesantren. I can participate in the

rituals, and through participation in Friday prayer I can almost find the

intersection between Buddhism and Islam, especially in how silence and

tranquility is valued.”

The IYP program was a success overall, creating lasting memories

and impressions among the participants. Participants learned to share

their religious experiences with each other, and also tried to find the best

way to solve the many religious conflicts occurring around Indonesia.

Experiencing the Sacred Spaces of Others

Those who attended the program made a commitment to maintain and

spread the peace virus in Indonesian society. “I think the IYP is a very

useful program for supporting inter-religious harmony in Indonesia,

and I feel that this is a great opportunity for me to get to know the

diversity of Indonesia” explained Puji, participant from Bali, in her

interview with the IYP team. (Erich)

In his doctoral

open defense , the

I n t e r n a t i o n a l

Consortium of Religion

program's s tudent

S y a m s u M a d y a n

p r e s e n t e d h i s

dissertation entitled

W h e n I s l a m M e e t s

Medicine: the Interplay of

Power and Agency among Muslims Living with HIV & AIDS as Socially

Constructed Realities in Indonesia. Maydan's dissertation is focused on the

encounter between religion and science in the context of HIV & AIDS.

The research for this dissertation stemmed from Maydan's

experiences engaging in AIDS activism. In his dissertation, he observes

that there is a reciprocal interaction between religion and science in the

context of AIDS. “Religious interpretations about AIDS tend to be

affected by the explanations from medical world,” Madyan said. In

addition, he also found that scientific explanations of AIDS are affected

by the religious beliefs of medical practitioners.

In his presentation, Madyan described the many contradictions

and debates he found related to AIDS, both in the religious and medical

(scientific) domains. In religious domains, there is a widespread opinion

that AIDS is something pertaining to morality. Some people construct

their ideas about AIDS based on concepts from “liberation theology”

where the problem of AIDS is perceived as part of the failure to achieve

social justice in the world. Aside from religious arguments, tension also

stems from the medical perspective at institutional and individual

levels. “The explanation about AIDS in medical text books, for example,

is not always adopted by doctors or other medical practitioners,”

Madyan said.

The complexity of the encounter between science and religion in

the discussion of AIDS has resulted in the development of a new domain

of treatment known as “alternative medication for AIDS.” Madyan

explained that this new domain for treatment of the illness cannot be

categorized either as entirely religious or entirely scientific. “This new

domain has an epistemological basis that is autonomous and

independent, and it has a different method, as well as different

instruments of measurement in comparison to the scientific or religious

domains before. This domain, at a certain level, is positioned in

opposition to concepts of religion and science,”Madyan said. Therefore,

conflict and contradiction between the three domains cannot be avoided

to the certain level.

Throughout his dissertation Madyan tried to answer questions

about AIDS in Indonesia as part of a dynamic discourse of contention.

He also explored many discourses about AIDS in Indonesia which need

to be understood as part of the power mechanisms that engage many

actors at both the institutional and individual levels, as well as Muslim

leaders in Indonesia, medical authorities, and practitioners of

alternative medicine. “In this dissertation I try to locate Muslim people

with HIV/AIDS in Indonesia within the complexity of Indonesian

society. I also want to portray the diversity of Muslim people with

HIV/AIDS in Indonesia, seeing them as actors with the ability to be

involved in the various social roles through a continuously and close

relationship”. (Erich)

Dissertation Defense:

and Science in the Context of HIV/AIDS

The Interaction of Religion

In the first meeting of the Wednesday Forum for the Spring

Semester on February 12 , 2014, Leonard C. Epafras explained that

Jewish identity is always a blur, and that it is not easy to pin down an

identity with certainty. Epafras said that there are two ways to

discern an identity: the first is through a positive construction of

identity, and the other way is through a negative construction of

identity. Positive constructions of identity refer to the tangible and

immediately accessible aspects of identity, such as manner of

speaking, histories, and material culture. In contrast, negative

constructions of identity have limited correlation with tangible

things, and include abstractions, caricatures, stereotypes, and social

types. Positive and negative constructions of identity are

intertwined theoretical concepts.

The negative construction of identity is very prevalent in the

discussion of Jews in Indonesia, with

e x a m p l e s o f a n t i - S e m i t i s m ,

philosemitism, Islamophobia,

xenophobia, and allophilia. Epafras

explained that he does not only talk

about contemporary Jewish identity

in Indonesia, but that he explores the

dynamics of Jewish identity in

Nusantara. His discussion does not

explicate all faces of Jews in

Nusantara, but investigates the areas

where Jewish identity is contested,

developed, and changed. Referring

to Allon (2002), Leo denoted that

there are a number of categories of

Jewish identity. The first category is

belief, referring to the fact that

anyone can convert to Judaism. The

second category is culture, referring

to how participation in Jewish

culture is a means of identifying as a

Jew. The third category is refers to

Judaism as a personal preference,

meaning if someone thinks that he is

a Jew, he or she can be identified as

one. The fourth category is ethnicity,

meaning that someone's Jewish

identity is inherited. The fifth

category is maternal inheritance of

Jewish identity. Epafras added the category of constructivism,

which refers to when Jewish identity is constructed within certain

contexts.

Epafras explained that in the pre-colonial era, Jewish

identity was a complicated phenomenon. Jews either as Christians

or as Muslims compouned its identity categorization. During the

colonial period, Jews were very active in trading, traveling to places

like Yemen, Southeast Asia, and China. Epafras explained that Jews

and Arabs were intermingling in these areas of trade. Meanwhile, in

Malaka, Jews had been forced to convert to Christianity, an action

that Epafras attributes to a method of escaping from discrimination.

Although Jews were identified as Christians in public spaces, many

of them remained Jewish in private. They continued to express their

Jewishness by performing Judaic rites called Marranos.

04

Epafras recounted the story of Ya'aqov Safir Halevi, a rabbi

who collected the money for the Jews in Palestine, and journeyed to

Egypt, Yemen, India, and Australia from 1822-1855. As a rabbi, he

wanted to see how lively the Jewish community was in Batavia and

Java. Halevi described that the Jews there had forgotten their Judaic

tradition, especially the men who married local women,

complicating how their children were identified. As Epafras pointed

out, the dynamic of Jewish identity in the context Indonesian social

history was such that Jews could be Muslim, Christian, and local

people.

The appearance and disappearance of Jewish diaspora was

connected to the movement of people around the world during the

early period of globalization in the 19th century. Jewish groups

would disappear from one place, and then appear in another place,

demonstrating the dynamic nature

of these communities. For instance,

the Jews in Surabaya disappeared

after the destruction of their

synagogue, but then there is

evidence of their presence later in

Manado. Epafras noted that one of

the groups with the strongest

network was the Baghdadi Jews, and

h e p o i n t e d o u t t h a t t h e i r

relationships were restricted to other

Jews from Baghdad. This is

significant because it outlines how

difficult it is to categorize Jewish

identity, since many people cannot

differentiate between different

k i n d s o f J e w i s h i d e n t i t i e s .

Furthermore, in the colonial era,

while European Jews went to

internment camps, Asiatic Jews

escaped this fate due to their Asian

identity.

The discussion of Dr. Epafras's

research raised a number of

questions from the audience. For

instance , i f people ident i fy

themselves as Jews, will they be

received as Jews in Indonesia? His

response to this question was to

underline that we cannot see identity as fixed. From a rabbinical

perspective, people will be accepted as Jews if they are descendants

of Jews. However, in Israel, there is a traditional regulation that

states Jews must obey Jewish law. In 1948, a descendant of Jewish

parents would automatically be considered a Jew, but in 1956, this

regulation was revised so that only those who do not have a criminal

record would be recognized as Jewish. Epafras added that although

it is sometimes difficult to categorize who is a Jew, Jewish identity

has a solid basis. He noted that in Indonesia, there are “Judaized”

groups that are regarded as Jewish based on social perception. In

conclusion, he recapitulated that the Jews of Nusantara can be

identified both through their self-perception and in the context of

their position in society, as well as in relation to the wider public that

participates in the construction of their identity. (Leo)

Jewish Identity in the Historical Context Of Indonesia

th

05

It is difficult to separate Islam from politics. This is reflected in

the situation in some Muslim countries, such as Mali and Somalia

where violent struggles have shifted to periphery. In other regions,

revolutionary movements like the Arab Spring were hampered by

the politics of religion. On February 19, 2014, Dr. Andreas Radtke,

the political counsell or for the German Embassy in Jakarta,

discussed these issues of political Islam in global terms at the regular

Wednesday Forum lecture series hosted by CRCS and ICRS.

Dr. Radtke began the session with a number of questions

central to the issue of Islam and politics. First, he asked, what does

the call for an Islamic state really entail? Can the Salafi paradigm be

seen as more than a nostalgic illusion? What has become of the

traditional schools of law? What are the available alternatives that

make better use of established modes of “living Islam” compatible

with the modern form of the nation state? The idea of an Islamic

state is contested among Muslims. Radtke pointed out that the Arab

Spring was not originally motivated by the will to create an Islamic

State.

Discussing the situation in Indonesia, he addressed the case of

Aceh, a region that upholds Syariah law. “What does it mean if you

regulate what people can do and cannot do during Ramadan?” he

questioned. In his view, the idea of fasting comes from the al-Qur'an

and Sunnah, and refers to an act of the individual in relation to God.

Therefore, he asked whether, it would be better or worse for the state

to enforce the observation of this individual practice of worship.

Furthermore, Radtke explained that it is difficult to take an

example from history if we want to establish a so-called Islamic state.

Examining the development of Islamic rule throughout history

either under the Abbasid, Umayyad, or Fatimid Caliphas, we will

see that there was always a distinction between the realm of teaching

and passing on the body of syariah and what the state actually did.

However, he states that he does not see this paradigm among

reflected in the body of traditionalist Muslims in Indonesia who are

associated with the Nahdlatul Ulama organization. Referring to this

group as a kind of 'new' Islam, he stated that, “It is not a conservative

track in the sense that it does not conserve anything what is already

there. If you are a conservative Muslim in Indonesia, you will be

rooted to some traditional practices which are quite different from

that which I call the Salafi paradigm.”

Radtke argued that the attempt to establish Islamic state or

rule is making reference to the past that is more like an image of

political reality, a nostalgic image which in Christian terms is

analogous to an image of salvation history. “The moment when you

come into a political position to attempt the Islamic state is quite

difficult, because it is never meant to be implemented by a state” he

said. In his view, the issue with using established modes of Islam

compatible with the modern nation state is that Muslims practice

differently.

In response to a question raised by ICRS student Wakhit

Hasyim about the the definition of Salafism in the Indonesian

context and its relation to Wahabism, Dr. Radtke argued that the

term Salafi used to be understood by Indonesians as referring to salaf

as-Shalih. Wahabism, he added, is a part of established school of

Islamic law. Those practicing Wahabism have left Saudi Arabia

behind because in their view, the people running the religious

establishment there are not on the right path anymore. There are

other groups who hold similar radical views in terms of literalist

interpretations of the Qur'an who oppose them. “So I am unable to

use Wahabism in relation to the context of Indonesia,” he concluded.

Dr. Suhadi of CRCS asked whether is it possible for the Salafi

movement to be friendly towards democracy. Radtke explained

some have argued that the religious tradition of Islam has to be

accepted or rejected as a whole. “I have taken issue with that

sentence, because I do not know whether it is true or not. But there is

a lot of truth in it” he said. Then he explained furthermore that if we

read the Qur'an, hadith, or any other Islamic sources, we find that

Islam is a closed system that works very well. “In my view, it

includes legitimacy for violence and that is the question that the

Muslims community has to deal with,” he argued. Therefore, in his

opinion, radical groups are unable to be friends of democracy,

because the democratic system is based in non-violence.

Is it Necessary to Read Islam Politically?

No Date Presenter Institution Moderator Title Abstract Place

1. Feb 12, 2014 Leonard C.

Epafras, Ph.D

ICRS Reza Jews of Nusantara: Trajectories

of (received) Identity

in the course of

Indonesian History

SPs UGM 4th

floor, 406

2.

3. Feb 26, 2014 Syaifuddin Zuhri UIN SUKA Franciscus On Haul of Balinese Muslim

Saints: Notes from the Field

- SPs UGM 4th

floor, 406

4. March 5, 2014 Prof. Buckley

(Canada)

ICRS Uki - SPs UGM 4th

floor, 406

6. March 19, 2014 No Wedforum - SPs UGM 4th

floor, 406

Religion within the Public

Sphere in Multi-religious

Societies

5. March 12, 2014 Abdul Wahid Filsafat UGM Andri Handayani

Opium-related Problems

and the Limit of the

Colonial State

Authority, 1870-1930s

- SPs UGM 4th

floor, 406

7. March 26, 2014 Jaye Starr ICRS Cherry

Agusta

Islam in America - UKDW

8. April 2, 2014 Rachmi Diyah

Larasati

University of

Minnesota, Twin

Cities,

Minneapolis

Aprilin Ritual, Dancing “Ecofeminism”

and Genealogy of Post Colonial

Thought.

SPs UGM 4th

floor, 406

-

9. PEMILU Pemilu SPs UGM 4th

floor, 406

10. April 16, 2014 Dr. Mornie Joy University of

Calgary, Canada

Uyun Reflecting on Women‘s Rights

and Religion in Today's World

-

11. April 23, 2014 Yulianti Mbak Jim The History of Buddhism

in Indonesia

- SPs UGM 4th

floor, 406

12. April 30, 2014 Robert Daley The College of

Idaho

Lee (ICRS) Buddhist Fundamentalism

and Thailand’s Political

Crisis”

- SPs UGM 4th

floor, 406

13. May 7, 2013 Jazilus Sahok Pondok Pesantren

Sunan Pandanaran,

University of

Malaya, Malaysia.

Fazlul Traditionalism and modernism

????

- SPs UGM 4th

floor, 406

Schedule of Wednesday Forum session 13, February 12 – May 2, 2014.

06

CRCS Seminar Course: Pious Publics and Accidental Pilgrims

In the fall semester of 2013, CRCS introduced a new elective course

focusing on the intersection of tourism and religion by Dr. Kelly Swazey.

“Pious Publics and Accidental Pilgrims” is a seminar course that examines

seminal theories in the study of pilgrimage, a label that has historically

been used to describe travel to religious sites. However, contemporary

religious sites may host not only visitors seeking spiritual connection, but

also function as historical centers or tourist attractions that act as

multivalent symbols for competing narratives about history, identity, and

religious practice. Even the designation of what constitutes a religious

space is increasingly contested as spiritual activities take place side by side

with secular concerns, and places designated as religious are

simultaneously marketed as destinations for both religious and non-

religious visitors.

By viewing these sites as hubs where tourists, visitors, pilgrims and

locals interact, this class draws from the anthropological study of tourism

to examine and question whether the categorical division between

pilgrimage and tourism is useful in examining places where differences

between the two may be difficult to distinguish. Considering how the

desires of pilgrims and tourists overlap in efforts to escape to places outside

of the ordinary provides a useful means of moving beyond the

sacred/secular binary, and allows us to consider how both activities are part

of the modern movements of people and capital. The class also highlights

how discourses and practices surrounding these sites are deployed in the

construction and contestation of normative definitions of religion,

processes central to the theoretical question of how religion is defined in

contemporary world.

Throughout the course, students considered the economic, social,

theological and political orientations that constitute meanings ascribed to

religious sites, examining ethnographic studies drawn from around the

world. Concentrating on themes such as the commodification of spiritual

sites and practices, the influence of state management, the politics of

heritage, and competing claims of ownership over particular sites,

discussion considered how the places profiled are embedded in larger

national and international contexts, situating them in conversation with

theories of globalization, identity, and the public mobilization of religion.

In their final projects, students discovered a wealth of places where

they could investigate these issues in the field, demonstrating how

contemporary religious sites are increasingly in contact with, and affected

by, flows of tourism. We heard about how Muslims, Christians, and other

religious adherents are praying alongside each other at the nationalist site

of former president Gus Dur's tomb, in hopes he will answer their requests.

We learned about how ritual practice around the Yogyakarta Keraton has

been adapted to be more amenable to foreign and domestic tourists.

Students analyzed how social media is used to market sites to religious

audiences, or conversely, to treat religious sites as objects of history or

architecture, ignoring the active religious life attached to them. In one

project, we learned that in the economies that serve visitors to religious

sites, ordinary products are imbued with spiritual power, increasing their

economic value. Overall, examining the relationship between religion and

tourism proved a useful means for examining not only religious life in Asia,

but also for a critical examination of the category of religion itself.

Following the recently completed research on the growth of

Pentacostalism in Indonesia, CRCS took part in the conference on

Christianity and Freedom: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives held

at the Pontifical Urbaniana University, December 13-14, 2013 in

Rome, Italy. The conference was part of the Religious Freedom

Project (RFP) at Georgetown University's Berkley Center for

Religion, Peace, and World Affairs.. The conference was attended by

a group of forty leading international scholars.

The focal point of the conference was the contribution of

Christians and Christian ideas to political, civic, economic, and

religious freedom historically and contemporarily. The two-day

conference began with welcoming remarks by Thomas F. Farr,

Director of the Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for

Religion, Peace and World Affairs, Georgetown University. The

conference proceedings also included representatives of the Vatican,

as Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Vatican Secretariat of State,

was present at the conference venue to give his welcoming remarks,

and scholars received an invitation from the Vatican authority to

attend an audience with Pope Francis.

Discussion panels at the conference addressed issues such as

persecution, conversion, Christianity's relationship to freedom,

Christian vulnerability, Christian views on dignity, proselytism, and

democracy. The contemporary state of Christianity in Asia was

highlighted, with presentations on the situation in India, China,

Vietnam, and Indonesia. The Berkley Center of Georgetown

University in partnership with CRCS UGM addressed the

contemporary state of religious freedom in Indonesia, presenting

results from the research conducted by Dr. Zainal Abidin Bagir, Dr.

Robert Hefner and Marthen Tahun under the Religious Freedom

Project in Indonesia. The presentation was based on research in

Indonesia focusing on several aspects, including the comparison of

the situation of Indonesian Christians before and after the 1998

democratization and the main problems faced by Christians in

Indonesia today considering Christianity's relation with the state

and the Muslim majority. Given the fact that Indonesia is a pluralistic

society, the research also assesses religious freedom as a whole by

examining cases of other religious minority groups in Indonesia. All

of the panel is t ' s presentat ions can be accessed at

(Marthin)

http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/rfp/events/christianity-and-

freedom-historical-and-contemporary-perspectives

CRCS took part in the Conference on Christianity & Religious Freedom in Rome

The Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS) and the

Henry Luce Foundation are hosting a three-year collaborative

research project entitled “Religion, Public Policy, and Social

Transformation in Southeast Asia” in nine countries across

Southeast Asia, as well as in the United States. Several higher

education and research institutions are involved in this project.

The project will focus on three themes during the research

period. For the first year, the research theme is “Managing Religious

Diversity;” the second year will focus on “Religion, Identity and

Gender;” and the last year will address “Religion in the Public

Sphere.” Each institution will deal with these specific focuses in their

respective countries.

ICRS is undertaking research activities related to the first

research topic, “Managing Religious Diversity.” These activities

include two focus group discussions that were held in Makassar and

Yogyakarta in October of 2013, and one national workshop held in

Jakarta in January of 2014. All of the research activity for the first-

year cycle culminated in an International Conference that was held

in Yogyakarta on March 20, 2014. At the conference, researchers

from partner institutions and country representativesshared the

outcomesfrom their first year of research.

The one-day National Workshop was organized in

cooperation with the SugengSaryadi Syndicate (SSS). More than

thirty representatives of government institutions, NGOs, religious

organizations, and academic departments were in attendance.

Discussion focused on the topic of religion and public policy,

exploring governmental processes of assessment, and government

regulations pertaining to religious diversity, especially the intended

and unintended consequences of those regulations. Participants in

the workshop also addressed religion and social transformation,

theorizing about how the experience of inter-religious interaction in

Indonesia contributes to social change.

The workshop concluded with a talk show on the SSS Forum's

regular broadcast. The episode aired on the TVRI network on

February 17, 2014. The talk show was moderated by SoegengSarjadi

and also included Franz MagnisSuseno (Driyarkara School of

Philosophy), DickySofjan (ICRS), YudiLatif (Reform Institute), and

ZuhairiMisrawi (Moderate Muslim Society).

Indonesia is a pluralistic, multi-ethnic, multicultural, and

multi-religious nation, and this reality is reflected in the everyday

life of Indonesian society. Intensive encounters between different

cultural and religious groups allowpeople to transcend their

07

differences at times. However, these encounters are also

characterized by complicated modes of interaction that oscillate

between terse and smooth, discordant and harmonious, restive and

peaceful. The historical burden of colonialism, majority-minority

issues, and center-periphery relations are part of these complex

dynamics. In this regard, managing and governing diversity is a

challenging task. These social and political conditions have a

noticeable effect on the management of inter-religious relationships.

Theshift towards more intense politics of identity, and the politics of

sameness are apparent in increasing incidents of religious

intolerance. These incidents are symptoms of the complications of

managing diversity. The government, considered the most impartial

party within society, often fails to play the role of the arbiter between

diverse groups. However, other elements of also contribute to

thesedynamics. The workshop was meant to provide a space for

sharing information, opinions, analysis, social sentiments, and for

presenting a snapshot of the evolving state of inter-religious

relations in Indonesia. More information on the “Religion, Public

Policy and Social Transformation in Southeast Asia” project can be

accessed at:

National Workshop on Managing Diversity

From right to left: Zuhairi Misrawi, Dicky Sofjan, Soegeng Sarjadi, Franz Magnis Suseno,

and Yudi Latif.

Religious and Cross-cultural StudiesProgram Studi Agama dan Lintas Budaya

Graduate School, Universitas Gadjah MadaYogyakarta, Indonesia

MASTER’S (M.A.)MASTER’S (M.A.)PROGRAMPROGRAM

Linah Khairiyah Pary, M.A., M.Pd

Gedung Sekolah Pascasarjana, Lt. 3Jl. Teknika Utara, Pogung, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 55281Phone/Fax : +62 274 544976

Email : crcs@ugm.ac.id

For further information, please contact:For further information, please contact:

Program Studi Agama dan Lintas Budaya

www.crcs.ugm.ac.idCenter for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies

Graduate School, Universitas Gadjah Mada

Registration:

April 3, 2014 – June 24, 2014

Available Scholarships: BPPs, DIKTIs, Ford Foundation,

United Board, IIEF, LPDP, and many more.

Registration:

April 3, 2014 – June 24, 2014

INTERNATIONAL PH.D. PROGRAMConsortium of:

Contact Us:UGM Graduate School, 3 FloorJl. Teknika Utara, Pogung, YogyakartaIndonesia, 55281Phone: 085643306667 / 0274-562570Email: icrs@ugm.ac.id

www.icrs.ugm.ac.id

rd

http://sea-religion.org/

08

CRCS recently launched its new book entitled Agama di Indonesia dalam Angka: Dinamika Demografis

Berdasarkan Sensus Penduduk Tahun 2000 dan 2010 (Religion in Indonesia by Numbers: Demographic Dynamics

in the 2000 and 2010 censuses). The book, by Agus Indiyanto, marks the beginning of CRCS's new research

innitiative on religious demography in Indonesia. The book will be followed with extended and thematic

researches on the situation of religious demography in Indonesia. The book was launched in a public discussion

followed with a workshop jointly organized by CRCS and PUSAD; (Pusat Studi Agama dan Demokrasi/Center for

the Study of Religion and Democracy) of Paramadina University Jakarta. The launching and discussion for this

new publication was held at the Paramadina campus on February 5, 2014. Around one hundred people attended

the discussion by Ihsan Ali-Fauzi, researcher and chairperson of PUSAD, Evi Nurfidya Arifin, a statistician of

National University of Singapore; and Agus Indiyanto, the author. The morning's talk was moderated by Samsul

Ma'arif, and continued into the afternoon with a forum group discussion on the future of religious demography

research.

The book's author, Agus Indiyanto, stated that the book provides basic information about Indonesia's

religious composition and population growth rate in order to help readers understand the demographic characteristics of six Indonesian

provinces: Bali, DIY, Jawa Barat, Sulawesi Utara, Maluku and Nusa Tenggara Timur. Based on the data from the 2000 and 2010 censuses, it is

clear that even in provinces where a particular religious group is considered to be the majority, other religious groups are also growing

rapidly. Therefore, the panelists suggested that serious consideration of religious plurality should be part of the public policy making process.

They also agreed that people must be careful in their readings of religious demographic data, because the data can easily be manipulated to

serve political interests. Responding to the call for more collaborative research on religious demography in the future, Evi Nurfidya Arifin

commented that this publication provides a basic understanding of religious demography in Indonesia; therefore, future research could

expand the analysis to include variables such as migration, birth rate and mortality rate, economic status, and ethnicity, providing a more

comprehensive understanding about the country's religious demography.

It is commonly thought that democracy poses a challenge for managing religious

and cultural diversity. In an authoritarian state like Indonesia pre-1998, diversity is

managed by enforcing uniformity to an unacceptable level. Expressions of diversity are

strictly controlled. Management of diversity means reducing diversity. In contrast to the

post-Reformasi period in Indonesia, today universal human rights values are

normatively upheld, as the country has ratified a number of the basic tenets of the

universal human rights charter. Consequently, Indonesia is obliged to follow

international laws on human rights. This has not proved easy, however, as challenges

have emerged related to the processes of democratization and decentralization.

After fifteen years of decentralization (in the period continuing democratic

transition), civil society organizations have evolved, gaining greater influence in society.

Two books published by the Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies (CRCS) of

UGM's Graduate School address this development. Although their scope is still limited, these books serve as an instrument for evaluating and

improving advocacy activities in the promotion of diversity and religious freedom in Indonesia.

The first book addresses three topics. First, there is a brief history of diversity management in Indonesia (with a deeper discussion of

the period after the Reform era); second, key theories are proposed to analyze practices of diversity management; and finally, a presentation of

a broader picture of advocacy for diversity and religious freedom. In this book, Robert Hefner discusses the history of diversity management

in Indonesia, and proposes a perspective for understanding religious freedom issues beyond political secularism and liberalism. Evaluating

the focus on individual rights, Hefner proposes an argument for collective interest. This means religious freedom is seen as a requirement for

protecting and supporting different religious communities.

In Chapters Three and Four, Ihsan Ali-Fauzi makes several proposals. First, like Hefner, he discusses the view that democracy does

not necessarily require secularization. Democracy is considered to be compatible with religious aspirations in public life. Both Hefner and

Ihsan outline several important implications of this perspective for the practice of diversity management.

In Chapter Four, Ihsan elaborates how Indonesia is an arena for pluralism advocacy in the era of democratic transition. He identifies

different actors, allies, and critics of pluralism advocacy. This first book sets the historical and theoretical stage for the second book.

The second book in the series provides an in-depth reflection on the pluralism advocacy experience over the last few years, leading to a

discussion about the differences between power-based, rights-based and interest-based approaches in pluralism advocacy. This second book

closes by highlighting the various opinions of the writers. It also emphasizes several options available for developing pluralism and religious

freedom advocacy in Indonesia.

In addition to reflecting on the advocacy experience as a whole, the second book of the series also contains activists' reflections on their

personal advocacy experiences. These essays can be accessed at: http://crcs.ugm.ac.id/pluralism/pluralism-advocacy

CRCS Launches a new Book on Religious Demography in Indonesia

CRCS Book Series Sets a Framework for Reflection on Diversity Management and Religious Freedom Advocacy in Indonesia