The Jakarta Globe:
Religious minorities are still at risk in Indonesia, facing restrictions from the government as well as social hostilities including threats and intimidation by individuals and members of the community, according to a recent international survey.
Islamic studies experts met on Friday for the 2012 Annual International Conference on Islamic Studies, and the Pew Research Center’s September report, “Rising Tide of Restrictions on Religion,” was a major topic of concern for conference participants.
If the country is to be governed by democratic values, authorities must enforce the law fairly. Those who carry out violence, no matter what the motive, must be punished in accordance with the law.
“Indonesia along with Israel, Turkey, Pakistan, Algeria, Russia, India and Singapore are still categorized as countries with high GRI and SHI,” said AICIS steering committee member Prof. Amin Abdullah, referring to the government restrictions index and social restrictions index, two measures used in the report to rank religious freedom, or the lack thereof, in countries throughout the world.
The report covers the period from 2006-10, and showed an increase in religious restrictions in 66 percent of the 197 countries covered.