ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the ideological competition over the content of the Bill. It identifies problems with the protection of freedom of religion in the Inter-Religious Harmony Bill and responses from civil society. It describes the obstacles that exist to bringing the Bill into line with democracy to guarantee religious freedom and the absence of discrimination against citizens. Although intolerance and violence continues to rise in Indonesia, there has yet to be a serious response from either the government or the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR). A Law on inter-religious harmony and protection for freedom of religion to regulate the state-citizen relations on religious matters has not yet been passed in Indonesia. If the governments that succeed the Yudhoyono government ever come to consider how they might better guarantee Indonesia's plurality and multiculturalism, they will need to reconsider Yudhoyono's policy of giving sole legitimacy to Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI's) interpretation of Islam.