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Survey
shows significant support for radical Islam in Indonesia
A survey showed Friday that many Indonesians support the
implementation of strict Islamic law, with nearly 60 percent
saying they want adulterers to be whipped and 40 percent
backing cutting off a thief's hand.
The survey, conducted by the U.S.-funded Freedom Institute,
also found 16 percent of people polled refused to condemn
terror attacks by the al-Qaida linked regional terror group
Jemaah Islamiyah if they were committed to fight Muslim
oppression. Still, 59 percent condemned the attacks, while
25 percent said they had no opinion.
The findings will likely rekindle concerns that radical
Islam is gaining a foothold in the world's most populous
Muslim nation, which has long embraced a moderate form of
the religion.
"It is a worrying phenomenon," said Ulil Abdala,
the institute's head. "There is a strong indication
that radical Islam is gaining ground. It's definitely something
that moderate Indonesian Muslims must take note."
He added many uneducated Indonesians may not have access
to information about the terror attacks that have hit the
country in recent years or their only sources of information
are militant Islamic groups.
Since 2002, Indonesia has suffered three major bombings
blamed on Jemaah Islamiyah that have killed 224 people.
The survey, which was carried out for the first time earlier
this month, showed many Indonesians support the establishment
of laws based on the Muslim holy book Quran.
Fifty-nine percent of people polled backed whipping adulterers
and 40 percent said thieves should have their hands hacked
off. Meanwhile, 39 percent said they support polygamy for
men and 40 percent oppose a women becoming president.
Many Indonesian Muslims also expressed intolerant attitudes
toward Christians, with 50 percent saying they oppose churches
in Muslim-majority areas, the survey said.
A Catholic school near Jakarta was closed for three weeks
in October when a Muslim group built the two-meter-high
(seven-foot-high) wall in front of its gates. The group
accused the school of aggressive proselytizing.
However, 82 percent of Indonesians oppose a hardline militant
group, the Islamic Defenders Front, which is notorious for
raiding Western cafes and bars during the holy month of
Ramadan.
The Freedom Institute surveyed 1,200 people in all 32 provinces,
and the poll had a margin of error of 3 percent.
More than 85 percent of the country's 210 million people
are Muslims, while Christians are 8 percent, Hindus 2 percent
and Buddhists less than 1 percent. M (AP/IM)
Catholics told to take action, not just pray
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta
Post, Jakarta
Acknowledging that the Catholic church has not done enough
to fight the moral decay gripping the nation, the Bishops
Council of Indonesia (KWI) offered on Thursday a plan to
help fight corruption, environmental degradation and violence.
Summing up its 11-day plenary meeting here, bishops from
across the country called on Catholics to become involved
in the movement to rebuild the country into a better home
for the Indonesian people.
"The church has to make friends with victims of violence,
the oppressed and those people who have been evicted from
their homes. We cannot just pray for them, but must advocate
for them and struggle for justice for them," a statement
from the KWI said.
The bishops also called on Catholics to help people at the
grassroots level become self-reliant, and to work with people
of other faiths to monitor the performance of the executive
and legislative branches of government.
In the education sector, the bishops urged Catholics to
push for alternative educational programs designed to help
educate the nation.
The religious leaders also suggested the church initiate
an economic resilience movement, including introducing credit
unions for the poor.
Thirty-nine archbishops and bishops from across the country
attended the annual meeting. The attendees raised their
concerns about a culture that endorses survival of the fittest,
that has raised money to the level of a new god and that
believes the end always justifies the means.
"We talked about social justice for all Indonesian
people and we hope the new administration will make this
come true," KWI chairman Julius Kardinal Darmaatmadja
said during a press conference.
The bishops concluded that corruption, environmental destruction
and violence remained the major challenges facing the nation.
They said the "Catholic church is eager to help address
these problems" despite its minority status in the
predominantly Muslim country.
Julius said the KWI had been concerned about the country's
apparent moral decline since 1997. Over the ensuing years
the country has seen unchecked corruption, sectarian conflicts
and the destruction of natural resources on a massive level.
"Corruption has become common among bureaucrats and
worse, moral watchdogs have become involved. Transparency
International ranked our country among the top five most
corrupt countries in the world," Julius read the KWI
statement.
Julius joined other religious leaders last year in the nation-wide
campaign against corruption.
"Rampant deforestation causes Rp 83 billion in state
losses every day, and violence has become widespread as
the security forces have been turned into political tools
that threaten the people. This militaristic and repressive
style has also been adopted by civilians," Julius said.
M (TS/JP/IM)
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