ABSTRACT
Scholars often argue that the practices of Indonesian bureaucracy are very much shaped by the cultural values that the people of this country hold dear. In contrast, this chapter argues that such practices are, rather, influenced by the historical and political context. The historical context refers to the Ministry of Religious Affairs’ policy, issued in 1952, that recognized some major religions (Islam, Protestant, Catholic, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism) as the state’s acknowledged faiths, but disregarded minor faiths. This policy was later strengthened by the stipulation of the 1965 Blasphemy Law. This law then became the basis for the bureaucracy sustaining discrimination practices against those smaller faiths, including in post-New Order Indonesia. The political context refers to the democratic system of the post-New Order era, especially in the era of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, which paved the way for vigilante groups to wage heresy campaigns against Ahmadiyah and Shi’a communities. These vigilante groups had been dormant during the authoritarian regime of Soeharto, since state apparatus during that time did not hesitate to crack down on those who were accused of disrupting the existing social order. The collapse of the Soeharto regime gave scope for the vigilante groups to exert social pressure against the communities of minority faiths such as Ahmadiyah and Shi’a.
