Sunday, February 3, 2013

"PKS"

http://politik.kompasiana.com/2013/02/02/semakin-jelas-tujuan-pks-yang-sebenarnya-530266.html

Semakin Jelas Tujuan PKS yang Sebenarnya

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Tulisan pada capture di atas kurang jelas!? baiklah, ku menulis ulang TUJUAN DAN USAHA PKS menurut AD PKS
Pasal 5, Tujuan: Partai Keadilan Sejahtera adalah Partai Da’wah yang bertujuan mewujudkan masyarakat yang adil dan sejahtera yang diridlai Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala, dalam negara kesatuan Republik Indonesia yang berdasarkan Pancasila.
Pasal 6 Usaha: Untuk mencapai tujuan tersebut diusahakanlah hal-hal sebagai berikut :
  1. Membebaskan bangsa Indonesia dari segala bentuk kezaliman.

  2. Membina masyarakat Indonesia menjadi masyarakat Islami.

  3. Mempersiapkan bangsa Indonesia agar mampu menjawab berbagai problema dan tuntutan masa mendatang.

  4. Membangun sistem kehidupan bermasyarakat dan bernegara yang sesuai dengan nilai-nilai Islam.

  5. Membangun negara Indonesia baru yang adil, sejahtera dan berwibawa.

Untuk mencapai tujuan tersebut, PKS, semua jajaran partai dan kader berupaya untuk melakukan pembiayaan sendiri; sehingga menurut AD PKS Bab 11, pasal 24 Sumber Keuangan, Keuangan partai terdiri dari sumber-sumber berikut: 1. Iuran rutin anggota; 2. Sumbangan dan hibah pada anggota dan simpatisan; 3. Sumber-sumber lain yang halal dan tidak mengikat. Sedangkan menurut ART PKS, pasal 30, Sumber keuangan: Kekayaan Partai diperoleh dari 1. Iuran, Infaq wajib, dan shadaqah yang berasal dari anggota; 2. Infaq dan shadaqah yang berasal dari luar anggota; 3. Sumbangan dan bantuan tetap atau tidak tetap dari masyarakat atau orang-orang atau badan-badan yang menaruh minat pada aktifitas Partai yang bersifat sukarela dan tidak mengikat; 4. Waqaf, wasiat, dan hibah-hibah lainnya.
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Setelah tertangkap dan ditahannya Presiden PKS, membuat banyak orang, termasuk diriku, menelusuri ulang buku, catatan, arsip lama dan Dumay tentang partai tersebut. Dan ternyata, PKS sejak berdirinya sampai sekarang, menurutku, secara idiologi dan tujuan, PKS tak pernah berubah; walaupn sering diungkapkan bahwa mereka telah menjadi parpol terbuka.
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koleksi pkspiyungan.org/
Untuk segarkan ingatan, coba perhatikan kutipan dari Ilusi Negara Islam, mulai halaman 24 (catatan kaki 11) sampai halaman-halaman berikutnya,
” … karena kenyataanya PKS tidak hanya “menimbulkan masalah dan konflik dengansesama dan dalam tubuh umat Islam yang lain, termasuk dalam Muhamadiyah,” tapi menurut para ahli politik juga merupakanancaman yang lebih besar dibandingkan Jemaah Islamiyah, ter­hadap Pancasila, UUD 1945, dan NKRI. Menurut seorang ahlipolitik dan garis keras di Indonesia, Sadanand Dhume, “Hanya ada pemikiran kecil yang membedakan PKS dari JI. Seperti JI, manifesto pendirian PKS adalah untuk memperjuangkan Khilafah Islamiyah. Seperti JI, PKS menyimpan rahasia sebagai prinsip pengorganisasiannya, yang dilaksanakan dengan sistem sel sepertiIkhwinul Muslimin. Bedanya, JI bersifat re­wlusioner sementara PKS bersifat evolusioner. Dengan bom-bom buntih dirinya, JI menempatkan diri melawan pernerintah; … Sebaliknya, PKS menggunakan posisinya di parlemen dan jaringan kadernya yang terus menjalar untuk memperjuangkan tujuan yang sama selangkah demi selangkah dan suarademi suara. …. Akhirnya, bangsa Indonesia sendiri yang akan memutuskan apakah masa depannya akan sama dengan negara-negara Asia Tenggara yang lain, atau ikut gerakan yang berorientasi ke masa lalu dengan busanajubah fundamentalisme keagamaan.”
= = =
Sekarang, mungkin anda bisa menilai bahwa PKS yang lahir dari kandungan angin keterbukaan akibat Demokrasi di Indonesia tak berasas Pancasila dan UUD 1945; dan upaya atau usaha PKS pun sama sekali tidak bertujuan untuk membangun bangsa, negara, dan rakyat Indonesia sesuai dengan amanat yang ada pada Pembukaan UUD 1945.Dan secara tak langsung, PKS pun mengkesampingkan adanya rakyat yang berbeda agama di Nusantara, sehingga hanya membangun masyarakat yang Islami.
Jadi, tidak heran jika PKS bersemangat memperjuangkan Islam melalui gerakan politik, dan kemudian ada ketegangan dan jarak dengan umat beragama lainnya, bahkan dengan sesama umat Islam. Juga, sering terlihat dengan jelas bahwa PKS cenderung atau bahkan terang benderang intoleran terhadap perbedaan keislaman dengan golongan lain. [Sebagai catatan samping: karena rencana-rencana tersebutlah, maka jika PKS menjadi bagian dari Pemerintah, dan mendapat jatah kursi menteri, maka mereka sangat ngotot pada/di Kementerian Pertania dan Komunikasi dan Informasi. karena melalui jalur itu, PSKS bisa menempatkan kader-kadernya sebagai penyuluh pertanian danpenerangan-informasi sampai ke pelosok atau desa-desa terpencil di Indonesia, dengan biaya negara. Dan di tempat itu, mereka juga sebagai pengumpul massa, anggota, dan simpatisan PKS].

= = = =
= = = =
Agaknya, karena usaha dan tujuan tersebutlah, maka PKS (pengurus dan kader) harus berupaya mendatangkan dana. Dan jika memperhatikan AD/ART PKS maka sumber-sumber dana PKS sama dengan organisasi agama-keagamaan, bahkan PSK pun menerima shadaqah (yang umumnya hanya diberikan pada mereka yang kurang mampu, janda, dan anak yatim piatu yang miskin).
Jadi, jika ada politisi PKS yang terlibat kasus pelanggaran hukum dan bahkan ditahan KPK, maka wajarlah; itu adalah konsekuensi dari upaya (salah satu cara) mencari dana untuk kas dan kekayaan partai.

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https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=480194225351559&set=a.106911312679854.4809.106476596056659&type=1&theater

Zionisme Yahudi, Palestina, memang dagangan PKS




Lho, kenapa heran ketika Lutfi Hasan Ishaq jadi tersangka muncul kambing hitam konspirasi Zionis Yahudi. Itu memang merk PKS. Ciri khasnya. Selalu begitu. Coba simak doa’ orang-orang PKS, selalu ada Palestina. Kadang ditambah Afghanistan. Jarang yang tentang anak-anak Indonesia, termasuk misalnya yang sedang tertimpa musibah di berbagai daerah.

Saya sampai hafal betul, jika ada orang berdoa menyebut Palestina, hampir pasti itu orang PKS. Lalu, menjadikan kambing hitam Zionis Yahudi, juga orang PKS. Memang beberapa organisasi Islam, ada juga yang menyebut Zionis Yahudi. Tapi ada persambungan konteks. Memang ada kasus yang terkait langsung dengan Zionis Yahudi. Lah ini, soal korupsi impor daging sapi, kok nyambung ke Zionis Yahudi.

Coba amati lagi, aktivitas PKS. Mereka bereaksi cepat jika ada masalah Palestina. Sementara yang terkait persoalan masyarakat Indonesia, tindak kekerasan, kerusuhan misalnya, yang menimpa rakyat Indonesia, kurang dipedulikan. Atau, biasanya, baru bereaksi kalau dikritik habis. Ya sekedar merespons kritik.

Jujur saya sampai sekarang belum mendapat jawaban, mengapa PKS begitu cepat bereaksi terhadap peristiwa yang terkait Palestina, namun seperti tak peduli pada persoalan yang terjadi di Indonesia. Ada sih, selentingan yang mengatakan itu, tak lebih sebagai proyek proposal untuk mendapat bantuan dari luar. Saya belum yakin, karena sampai saat ini juga, belum memperoleh data akurat. Jadi masih tanda tanya, kok yang nun jauh di sana diperhatikan, sementara yang di depan mata, didiamkan atau kurang dipedulikan.

Soal sikap kritis juga, lebih banyak terekspresikan pada masalah di luar negeri. Sedang masalah di dalam negeri jarang sekali dikritisi secara tajam oleh PKS.

Yang terakhir, ini terkait internal umat Islam. Saya terus terang kecewa pada mengentalnya sikap eksklusif PKS. Saya heran, ketika hubungan NU-Muhammadiyah mencair komunitas PKS justru mengelompok ketat.Ini juga dikritik dalam desertasi salah seorang pendiri PKS yang mempertanyakan hubungan PKS yang mengaku partai dakwah dengan organisasi Islam seperti NU dan Muhammadiyah.

Begitu kencangnya sikap agresif pengelompokan komunitas PKS, sampai ada pernyataan begini: jika orang Muhammadiyah masuk ke masjid NU, paling yang hilang beduk. Tapi jika orang PKS masuk, Masjidnya hilang, dalam arti semua dikuasai dan dikangkangi orang PKS.

Satu hal saja yang saya himbau; persoalan bangsa ini, termasuk persoalan umat Islam, tidak bisa diselesaikan sendiri. Harus bersama-sama. Jadi tak usah mengembangkan dan mengentalkan ego kelompok. Mari bersatu.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Dissecting the PR Silence of Presidential Spokesman Julian Pasha

http://asmartrock.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/dissecting-the-pr-silence-of-presidential-spokesman-julian-pasha/

THE SOUND OF SILENCE
By N Mark Castro





OPTION I (ACTION)
The President’s Address via Presidential Spokesperson Julian Aldrin Pasha
Today, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) released its 665-page World Report 2013 citing the Republic of Indonesia’s failure to defend our minority groups. We are of the assumption that this has been made available to the rest of the world and that most of us have read the headline news in today’s newspapers.
The president has called on all Cabinet Ministers for an Extraordinary Meeting and will convene at 3PM this afternoon. The president wishes to convey that this isn’t a knee-jerk reaction but rather a verification between the data gathered Human Rights Watch (HRW), its source Setara Institute, and our own ministries and agencies. Further, the president plans to address this issue once and for all, to enhance current protocols, to assess current results, and create the necessary action plan in improving government efforts.
However, regardless of the findings that the meeting will yield, the president wishes to convey that this nation, our country, will always be committed to the spirit by which our forefathers have fought for our freedom … UNITY IN DIVERSITY (Bhinneka Tunggal Ika) and that all our laws, all our governing ministries and agencies, will act accordingly to ensure that our country’s motto is fully implemented.
The president will address the nation and the media after the Extraordinary Meeting this afternoon and will respond to the issue at hand.
Thank you.

OPTION II (PRESENTED ACTION)
Today, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) released its 665-page World Report 2013 citing the Republic of Indonesia’s failure to defend our minority groups. We are of the assumption that this has been made available to the rest of the world and that most of us have read the headline news in today’s newspapers.
I have yet to meet the president to discuss this issue but, from what I’ve heard in the Palace, all ministries and agencies have been admonished to verify the data gathered by Human Rights Watch (HRW), its source Setara Institute, and compare it with our own statistics. Whatever information is derived, I am certain that this will be addressed to enhance existing protocols, to assess current results, and create the necessary action plan in improving government efforts.
Insofar as I know, the president will always be committed to the spirit by which our forefathers have fought for our freedom … UNITY IN DIVERSITY (Bhinneka Tunggal Ika) and that all our laws, all our governing ministries and agencies, will act accordingly to ensure that our country’s motto is fully implemented.
We will get back to you as soon as I have convened with the president and, perhaps, address the media later on.
Thank you.

Any of the two options would have yielded effective results that would protect the president from:
1. Inaction
2. Indecisiveness
3. Weakness
An impression reinforced regularly by current news that mistake the president’s cautiousness for weakness. As such, it is imperative that the presidential spokesperson — usually a veteran spinmeister — would do well to protect his client and / or, in this case, his boss.
Instead, amidst the persistent calls of media for an official statement on the results of New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) release of its 665-page World Report 2013, citing the Republic of Indonesia’s failure to defend minority groups, at a time when the entire known world is waiting for an immediate statement to address the issue, as the entire country reflects upon the unity by which this nation is founded on, when minority groups seek guidance and assistance from the government, no, the president, the Presidential Spokesperson Julian Aldrin Pasha — nor his office — did what no one else thought he would.

“He did not return calls for comment”.




Monday, December 17, 2012

Setara Institute: Seiring dengan Demokrasi, Intoleransi Meningkat

http://jaringnews.com/keadilan/umum/30108/setara-institute-seiring-dengan-demokrasi-intoleransi-meningkat
Novel Martinus Sinaga

Konferensi pers Setara Institute di Hotel Atlet Century, Senayan, Jakarta, 17 Desember 2012. (Jaringnews/Novel Martinus)


Terdapat 264 peristiwa pelanggaran kebebasan/berkeyakinan serta 371 tindakan pelanggaran dalam perspektif HAM.
JAKARTA, Jaringnews.com - Setara Institute dalam laporan mengenai kondisi kebebasan beragama dan berkeyakinan di Indonesia tahun 2012 mengemukakan, praktik intoleransi, diskriminatif dan kekerasan masih terus terjadi. Bahkan, tahun ini terjadi peningkatan..

Dalam laporan per 15 Desember 2012 tersebut, Setara mencatat, terdapat 264 peristiwa pelanggaran kebebasan/berkeyakinan serta 371 tindakan pelanggaran dalam perspektif HAM yang terjadi dalam kurun waktu setahun terakhir.

"Peningkatan jumlah peristiwa dan tindakan intoleransi, diskriminasi, dan kekerasan terlihat meningkat dalam kurun waktu enam tahun terakhir. Terdapat peningkatan dalam jumlah peristiwa dan tindakan yang terjadi," ujar Wakil Ketua Setara Institute, Tigor Naipospos, dalam konferensi pers yang digelar Setara di Hotel Atlet Century, Jakarta, Senin (17/12).

Adapun temuan tahun 2012 tersebut mengalami peningkatan cukup signifikan. Tahun 2011, terjadi 144 peristiwa dan 299 tindakan intoleransi. Tahun 2010, ada 216 peristiwa dan 286 tindakan. Kemudian berturut-turut 200 peristiwa dan 291 tindakan di 2009, 265 peristiwa dan 367 tindakan di 2008, serta 135 peristiwa dan 185 tindakan.

Sekedar catatan, laporan pemantauan ini membagi empat kategori tindakan pelanggaran, subjek hukum dan pertanggungjawaban. Pertama, tindakan aktif negara (by cimission). Kedua, Tindakan pembiaran yang dilakukan oleh negara (by ommision). Ketiga, tindakan kriminal warga negara. Keempat, tindakan intoleransi yang dilakukan oleh masyarakat.

KPAI Desak Pemerintah Atasi Radikalisme Agama di Sekolah

http://www.voaindonesia.com/content/kpai-desak-pemerintah-atasi-radikalisme-agama-di-sekolah/1564744.html

Komisi Perlindungan Anak Indonesia (KPAI) mendesak pemerintah untuk menindak tegas sekolah yang mengajarkan fanatisme dan radikalisme agama.


JAKARTA — Ketua Komisi Perlindungan Anak Indonesia (KPAI) Badriyah Fayumi mengatakan sejumlah sekolah telah mengajarkan intoleransi dan mengarahkan siswa untuk memiliki fanatisme terhadap ajaran agama tertentu.

Kepada VOA Jumat (14/12), Badriyah mengatakan bahwa indoktrinasi semacam itu sudah berjalan melalui kegiatan yang sistematis di sejumlah lembaga pendidikan, dan akan berbahaya jika dibiarkan.

Anak, menurut Badriyah, sangat rawan menjadi korban indoktrinasi dan juga rentan untuk meneruskan tradisi intoleransi.  Ia menambahkan kurikulum pendidikan harus betul-betul memiliki muatan yang mengajarkan toleransi.

“Radikalisme di sekolah itu terjadi dari level yang paling dini sampai level perguruan tinggi, antara lain melalui proses indoktrinasi bahwa yang lain yang tidak sama seperti kita adalah musuh kita, boleh kita serang, boleh kita perangi,” ujar Badriyah.

“Bahkan kami mendapatkan pengaduan dari guru TK di Depok, yang kemudian ayahnya mengeluarkan anaknya dari TK tersebut, karena anaknya pulang mengatakan bahwa ‘Oh, itu berbeda agamanya dengan kita, berarti dia boleh dibunuh’.”

Badriyah mengatakan kasus indoktrinasi seperti itu juga dapat terjadi melalui kegiatan ekstrakurikuler keagamaan yang ada di sekolah.

Sebelumnya, hasil survei Lembaga Kajian Islam dan Perdamaian selama Oktober 2010 hingga Januari 2011 menunjukkan bahwa 49 persen siswa di Jabodetabek (Jakarta, Bogor, Tanggerang dan Bekasi) cenderung setuju menempuh aksi kekerasan untuk menyelesaikan masalah agama dan moral.

Survei ini dilakukan terhadap 1.000 siswa dari 100 sekolah menengah pertama dan atas di Jabodetabek.

Direktur Lembaga Kajian Islam dan Perdamaian Bambang Pranowo mengungkapkan paham radikal bisa masuk ke sekolah dengan berbagai cara, seperti kegiatan ekstrakurikuler.

“Ada kegiatan yang memanggil orang dari luar untuk memberikan materi, ceramah mengenai ideologi seperti NII (Negara Islam Indonesia) secara meyakinkan,” ujar Bambang.

Juru Bicara Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Ibnu Hamad mengatakan para kepala sekolah harus dapat mengontrol setiap kegiatan ekstrakurikuler yang diikuti siswa, apalagi kalau kegiatan tersebut memanggil pihak dari luar.

Khawatir dengan kondisi di sekolah tersebut, tokoh agama Romo Franz Magnis Suseno mengatakan pendidikan ke arah toleransi harus dimulai.

“Di situ ada dua poin yang penting. Yang pertama bahwa toleransi bukan berarti mengatakan semua keyakinan sama dan sebagainya. Dan yang kedua, belajar menerima bahwa orang dengan keyakinan yang berbeda. Nah yang dua hal itu yang harus diajarkan pada anak [sejak] kecil,” ujarnya.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

The Challenges of Homogeneity in Pluralistic Indonesia

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/talkback/the-challenges-of-homogeneity-in-pluralistic-indonesia/559939
December 06, 2012 | by Daniel Alan Bey

Dede, a member of the Baduy tribe, sits on a natural root bridge after a long barefoot trek in this November 2011 file photo. The Baduy, with their traditional faith Sunda Wiwitan, is among Indonesian traditional communities not allowed to put their non-mainstream beliefs on ID cards. (JG Photo/Emily Johnson)

Dede, a member of the Baduy tribe, sits on a natural root bridge after a long barefoot trek in this November 2011 file photo. The Baduy, with their traditional faith Sunda Wiwitan, is among Indonesian traditional communities not allowed to put their non-mainstream beliefs on ID cards. (JG Photo/Emily Johnson)

The Nation is a product of popular, unified consciousness – consciousness which is constructed through narrative – which in turn constructs ideology: National ideology. 

The Nation is not natural. It is not simply "there." It is an abstraction transformed into an object which appears natural. Indeed, to quote the historian Benedict Anderson, the nation is an imagined community of people, imagined through national myth, historical narrative and ideology.

The Nation is perhaps best understood through the concept of "the people," a generalized consolidation of the multiple wills inherent within The Nation, or as Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri have defined these multiple wills, "the multitude." 

Indeed, for Hardt and Negri, the concept of "the people" is very different to that of "the multitude." While the former appears as a single will and is realized through homogeneity, best reflected in the acceptance of national sovereignty, the latter is, to quote Hardt and Negri, a "multiplicity… which is not homogeneous or identical with itself and bears an indistinct, inclusive relation to those outside of it." 

This situation is paradoxical and conflicting: On the one hand, "the people" is realized through the crystallization of a single will, while the various wills and actions of "the multitude" directly contradict this generalization.

It is for this reason that every nation must make the multitude into a people. When Sukarno first delivered his Pancasila speech on June 1, 1945, he was acutely aware of the enormous challenges and difficulties the new Indonesian state would face – challenges which still exist today. 

With the fervor of revolution over, the temporary, unified will of the people gave way to the numerous wills of the multitude, and Sukarno – not to mention the other leaders of the new states, such as India's Nehru and Ghana's Nkrumah – was soon confronted with the specific demands of countless tribes and ethnicities. 

These demands, through their plurality and multiplicity, conflicted and continue to conflict with the homogeneity required for the proper functioning of the nation-state, which must repress the multitude and transform it into a single, unified will, the will of the people.

This conflict manifests itself in different ways. First of all, the will of the people is achieved only after a long and difficult struggle, the chief weapons wielded by the state being ideology, which constructs and disciplines the individual, as well as violence, which is used to quell any form of dissent deemed as potentially counter-productive to the process of nation-building. 

The clearest example of this in regards to Indonesia, and the clearest example of the conflicting wills of the multitude, can be found in the histories of East Timor, Aceh and West Papua, all of which rejected national sovereignty and were met with brutal state-violence and force. It would be a mistake to question whether this force was or was not necessary, because without force and violence, the nation-state could not exist. The multitude must be coerced into becoming the people; for this reason, the nation-state is born through violence while its very existence is the continued exercise of such violence.

The recent "National Congress of Faiths to One and Only One God" last month gave around 300 indigenous groups the opportunity to voice their concerns. First and foremost among these concerns was the Indonesian state's failure to recognize their respective traditional religions. This is a perfect example of the multitude's plurality, while it presents the Indonesian state with an uncomfortable reality: The reality that the state has been somewhat ineffective in coercing the multitude into the people. 

Although Sukarno had a deep appreciation for the rich cultural diversity of Indonesia, such appreciation was also balanced with pragmatism. If Indonesia was to become a nation, the people would have to identify first and foremost with the nation, while local beliefs and traditions were promoted only within the dialectic of state nationalism. 

Perhaps that is why Sukarno limited the number of official state religions in Indonesia to just six, a number easier to unite and mold into "the people" than the potentially thousands of traditional beliefs held by Indonesia's diverse population (although, has proven, this unification is still very difficult).
            
Multiplicity, difference and diversity will always stand in opposition to homogeneity, and so the voices of the multitude – represented in Indonesia through the recent "Congress of Faiths" –  will continue to question the state, and in the process, bring the state into question. 

The recent concerns voiced by the indigenous peoples of Indonesia are not concerns unique to Indonesia, however; they are reflective of much of the post-colonial world, where boundaries were constructed in order to resist colonialism and imperialism. These boundaries, however, which manifest themselves in both physical as well as non-physical forms, are largely artificial and often fail to represent an essential or generalized people. It is this conflict which lies at the heart of the post-colonial state: a conflict which, inevitably, leads to crisis.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Why this man could be good news for 200m Muslims – and everyone else too

http://en.avaaz.org/791/jokowi-jakarta-mayor-indonesia-dirty-politics-prabowo?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social_media&utm_content=_left&utm_campaign=indonesia?v=191337120921
by Avaaz Team - posted 21 September 2012 13:11

Governor-elect Joko Widodo gives his remarks in a press conference in Jakarta on 20 September


In the world's fourth most populous country, something is stirring. An up-and-coming "outsider" has been electedgovernor of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta.
It's too early to tell whether Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, can deliver on his promises. But the fact that his message – of clean politics and religious tolerance – has chimed with so many voters tells us something important. Indonesia's citizens are not only fed up with corruption; they're fed up with the communal hatreds that their leaders have tried to fuel to divide them.
It turns out that in this giant city, as in many places across the world, there's more that brings people together than forces them apart.

Bursting at the seams

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, is a young and troubled democracy. Freed from Dutch colonial rule in 1949, the newly independent country experimented with democratic freedoms but moved quickly to authoritarianism under the successive regimes of Sukarno and Suharto. The latter resigned in 1998 following widespread rioting, protests and violence.
Suharto's exit was a vital step forward, but the transition to democracy has not been easy. The military still holds a troubling degree of power; religious and ethnic violence continues to be a problem in a country with over 300 ethnic groups; and corruption and a tired, inflexible bureaucracy is a major brake on Indonesia’s economy – a huge source of frustration for ordinary citizens.
Things in Jakarta are particularly fraught. With 26 million people in the metropolitan area and more than 10 million in the city itself, Jakarta is bursting at the seams. Its streets are gridlocked, public transport is virtually nonexistent, floods regularly wreak havoc and access to clean water is scarce.

Jokowi – the capital's saviour?

Into the picture comes Jokowi, until recently a relatively unknown mayor and businessman from the Central Javan city of Surakarta. In this small city, Jokowi established a reputation as a clean, down-to-earth problem solver.
Campaigning on the slogan, "Beauty without corruption", Jokowi gradually built a national profile by successfully bringing divided Muslim and Christian communities together, improving conditions for the poor, and strengthening the business, cultural and natural environment of Surakarta.
Now he's determined to bring this well-crafted brand to Jakarta. After securing 43% in the first round of voting in July, he beat the incumbent, Fauzi Bowo, in a second run-off vote this week.

Unity in diversity

Michael Buehler, an expert on Indonesia at Northern Illinois University, says the result largely reflects frustration with Fauzi, who is supported by most of the political establishment. Fauzi has failed to address the city’s huge challenges since he was elected in 2007, and is seen as arrogant and out of touch.
But Jokowi's victory offers a fresh reason for hope. In a country with a long and brutal history of ethnic and religious conflict, he has gone against the grain. After fostering religious harmony in his home city, Jokowichose a Chinese Christian as his running mate for the Jakarta campaign.
His opponents have made dirty and desperate attempts to undermine his growing support by stoking tensions, chiefly directed against the Christian population. But despite surveys showing that the smear campaigns have hurt Jokowi at the edges, most Jakarta residents simply don't care.
This is an incredibly encouraging sign. It shows that enough people have seen through these cheap tricks and have little time for extremism. It underlines what people all over the world really want: clean government, a better standard of living and, quite simply, tolerance and respect between citizens.

A dangerous alliance?

It's not all good news. Jokowi faces huge challenges in delivering on his promises, not least thanks to the entrenched and corrupt bureaucracy he will inherit. More worryingly, he has the backing of a controversial figure: the former general, Prabowo Subianto, whose forces were accused of human rights abuses before the overthrow of Suharto in 1998. Prabowo is now a leading candidate for the 2014 presidential election, and Jokowi is being talked up as his potential running mate.
Many fear a Prabowo victory would signal a return to the bad old authoritarian days. Choosing Jokowi as his running mate would help Prabowo refresh his image as an outsider – despite his firm place within the establishment. While Jokowi would likely go into such a relationship with an agenda for change, there is a risk that he could be co-opted and sidelined. This could pose a great danger to Indonesian democracy.
Those concerns not withstanding, this week's news should still be celebrated. It shows something the Avaaz community has discovered time and again: that the vast majority of people across the world do not support extremism, that most people do not hate – and that whatever a handful of opportunist demagogues would have us think, the world most people want is is a place of peace, honesty and tolerance.
Learn more: Read this excellent briefing by the Global Mail for more on Jokowi's rise and his concerning ties to Prabowo, and learn how the media has spun a fiction about "Muslim Rage" that urgently needs correcting.
Sources: Jakarta Post, Avaaz, Demographia World Urban Areas, Jakarta Globe, Financial Times, Global Mail

Friday, September 21, 2012

Pembatasan agama di dunia meningkat

http://www.bbc.co.uk/indonesia/majalah/2012/09/120921_religionpractise.shtml
21 September 2012 - 18:20 WIB

Masjid di Istambul


Penduduk di Indonesia, Burma dan Vietnam termasuk yang mengalami pembatasan paling besar terkait kebebasan beragama, menurut sebuah penelitian.
Pembatasan kebebasan beragama ini dilakukan baik oleh pemerintah ataupun masyarakat, seperti terungkap oleh survei Pew Forum, badan penelitian sosial yang berkantor di Washington.
Selain Indonesia dan dua negara tersebut, negara lain yang dikategorikan paling membatasi kebebasan beragama adalah Mesir, Rusia, Bangladesh, Nigeria, India, serta Pakistan.
Secara keseluruhan, Pew Forum mengatakan tiga perempat penduduk dunia tinggal di negara-negara yang membatasi kebebasan beragama.
Pembatasan dalam beragama yang diacu organisasi ini mengacu dari larangan menara masjid di Swiss sampai pada serangan sejumlah kelompok Islam terhadap gereja-gereja.
Pemeluk Kristiani dan Islam merupakan yang paling banyak mengalami tekanan, menurut Pew Forum.
"Pembatasan agama meningkat dan menyebar di dunia antara pertengahan tahun 2009 dan pertengahan 2010," menurut survei 86 halaman itu.

Tiga perempat penduduk dunia

"Karena sebagian dari negara yang melakukan pembatasan paling ketat memiliki penduduk paling padat, tiga perempat penduduk dunia yang berjumlah tujuh miliar tinggal di negara-negara dengan pembatasan yang dilakukan oleh pemerintah atau masyarakat yang memusuhi, naik 70% dibandingkan tahun sebelumnya," lapor survei Pew Forum.
Survei juga menunjukkan bahkan di negara-negara yang dianggap toleran seperti Amerika Serikat dan Swiss, tekanan terhadap penganut agama tertentu juga semakin besar.
Posisi Amerika Serikat naik dari rendah ke moderat dalam periode survei karena adanya sejumlah tahanan yang tidak diizinkan menjalankan ibadah, pembatasan izin tempat ibadah, dan meningkatnya serangan terkait agama.
Serangan terkait agama di Amerika ini termasuk tewasnya 13 orang di Fort Hood, Texas, tahun ini dan gagalnya upaya pemboman Times Square, New York tahun 2010.
Penelitian itu juga menyebutkan pemeluk Kristen mengalami tekanan di 111 negara di seluruh dunia pada tahun 2010, umat Islam di 90 negara, dan Yahudi di 68 negara.
Tekanan terhadap umat Hindu terjadi di 16 negara dan pemeluk Buddha di 15 negara.