Blog 1: Shi'a and Sunni in Indonesia

In Indonesia, the religious strife that has been ongoing since the beginning of January has only worsened in the past ten days. Shi’a Muslims, who are one of numerous religious minorities in the country, are facing particularly strong persecution and the only recourse being given to them is conversion to Sunni Islam, which is the majority faith of Indonesia. Other smaller groups, such as Christians and Ahmadiyya (which is another school of Islam), were once protected by soldiers and the powers of the government, but in early December they lost all of their humanitarian aid and on January 1^st that military presence was removed.

A small number of Shi’a have been living in a makeshift refugee camp of sorts in a sports complex in squalid conditions after they were attacked by a mob in August of this past year. This is in no way a permanent solution, however, and groups like Amnesty International are extremely interested in the return of the Shi’a to their homes as well as stronger measures against discrimination against not only them but also the other religions that exist in Indonesia that “still face harassment, intimidation and attacks,” the perpetrators of which more often than not never answer for their crimes.

Indonesia is in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by not doing more to protect its various communities of the faithful and turning a blind eye to assaults on the freedom to practice any religion. The fact that this has been going on since at least 2006 to some Ahmadiyya (in which no one was brought to trial for the destruction of a village) shows the comfort with which the Sunni majority controls Indonesia. Shi’a and Christians (as well as other sects of Islam to a lesser extent, like the Ahmadiyya) are most often the minority faiths or denominations in Muslim-majority countries, and the past decade especially has been marked by strife between Shi’a and Sunni. However, this is the first I have heard of Sunnis in authority requiring that Shi’a convert in order to garner basic protection under the law. It is very unlikely that they will capitulate to those demands and it remains to be seen what the government will do should there be any international pressure, if that ever occurs with any real force, and if the Shi’a refuse those demands.

Indonesia: Religious freedom under attack as Shi'a villagers face eviction

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/indonesia-religious-freedom-under-attack-shia-villagers-face-eviction-2013-01-15

Maureen Fischer

01/24/13 at 10:16 PM