The Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI, Indonesia acronym) seminar, held Oct. 3-6 in Cisarua, a resort 70 kilometers south of Jakarta, drew 90 religious leaders, academics, theology students and social workers.
According to PGI chairman Reverend Andreas Yewangoe, some district heads and governors are enthusiastic about implementing Shari'a in order to strengthen their political standing. Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, but is not an Islamic state.
Reverend Yewangoe noted that the implementation of Shari'a could divide the nation, as the country was founded on the national ideology of Pancasila, not on an Islamic ideology. Pancasila (five principles) comprises the five tenets of belief in one Supreme God, just and civilized humanity, the unity of Indonesia, democracy led by the wisdom of deliberations among representatives and social justice for all people.
"It is the common task of Churches and PGI to take a position on all bylaws by continuously lobbying with various parties to reach a common understanding on the integrity of the state and the unity of the nation," the Protestant leader said. "We must consistently maintain the unity of law for the whole territory of Indonesia."
Rumadi, a Muslim seminar speaker, wondered why any region would have to have laws inspired by Shari'a or based on any particular religion.
"Regional law applies to all of the people (in the region), not to a certain group of people only," stressed Rumadi, a scholar with Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Muslim organization, which has around 40 million members.
Rumadi attributed the adoption of Shari'a in Aceh province and the introduction of Shari'a-based laws in a number of districts and provinces to a wrong understanding of Shari'a among Muslims in those places. They are of the opinion that Shari'a cannot be enforced without state support, he suggested, adding that "such a concept belittles the meaning of religion."
The Muslim scholar explained: "The state as an institution is too little for the greatness of religion to rely on. The perfection of Islam is not determined by the support of the state." Maria Farida Indrati, a Catholic, was another speaker. "Since all things related to religion are under the authority of the central government, it is improper that a regional government makes a regulation concerning the implementation of Shari'a," she said in her presentation.
"Thus, the central government must strive immediately to annul these laws," added the lecturer of the Faculty of Law at state-run University of Indonesia in Jakarta.
During the seminar, some participants spoke about their local situations.
Sudarto, a Muslim and rights activist from West Sumatra province, said most people there do not respond positively to Shari'a-based bylaws.
Some parents, irked by the additional clothing expenses they now have to incur, have complained about the regulation requiring their daughters to wear jilbab (a loose garment that covers the whole body except for the palms and face) to school.
People have also complained about the obligation to read the Qur'an, "because this requires 300,000 rupiah (US$33) to get a certificate" showing one is competent to read the Qur'an. According to the bylaws, anyone who is found to have falsified this certificate is fined 5 million rupiah.
Reverend Marko Mahim of the Ecumenical Christian Church of Banjarmasin, told participants that implementation of Shari'a-inspired bylaws has had an adverse impact on non-Muslims in South Kalimantan, especially on his congregation.
"With the bylaws, our Church members see Islam as a coercive, terrifying,
unfriendly religi
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