This op-ed was originally published by The Globe Post on February 8, 2019.

By Gayle Manchin and Nadine Maenza

Recently, Grace Natalie, head and founder of the young and progressive Indonesian Solidarity Party, gave a speech at a party gathering in which she criticized laws prohibiting “immoral acts” like gambling and drinking.

Reasonable people can and do disagree as to how much governments should regulate these activities. However, because many of these “morality laws” are based on Sharia, some local Muslim groups filed a formal complaint with the police, claiming Natalie had insulted the Quran. If Indonesian police decide to formally charge her with blasphemy, she could face up to five years in prison.

Two years ago, Meiliana, an ethnic Chinese Buddhist woman from North Sumatra, remarked to an acquaintance about the volume of a loudspeaker on a nearby mosque. This comment sparked a riot that destroyed at least 14 Buddhist temples and, as of August, landed her in prison for 18 months for blasphemy.

After she was convicted, the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs issued guidelines on the use of mosque loudspeakers, suggesting her comments were not unreasonable or insulting.

Interreligious Tensions

Indonesia’s Criminal Code prohibits expression or acts “at enmity with, abusing, or staining a religion adhered to in Indonesia.” While intended to prevent conflict, this provision has, in practice, exacerbated interreligious tensions. Instead of encouraging Indonesians of all faiths to respect each other, the code has given license to hardliners to attack people from other religious traditions for innocuous or offhand comments.

Even more troubling, hardline opportunists increasingly wield the blasphemy law against political opponents. In December 2016, a coalition of groups staged massive protests against Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian of Chinese descent, after he allegedly said that the Quran misled Muslims by forbidding them from voting for a Christian. In April 2017, Ahok lost his bid for reelection, and a month later he was sentenced to two years imprisonment for blasphemy.

Fortunately, the government reduced his sentence and released Ahok from prison on January 24.

Human Cost of Blasphemy Law

Indonesia’s reforms since 1998 have earned it widespread praise as a successful Muslim democracy, including from Vice President Mike Pence. Unfortunately, democracy also brought pressure on the government to accommodate hardliners who want to intimidate religious minorities.

The current president, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, has tried to resist, but 23 people have been sentenced in blasphemy cases since he took office in 2014, according to Human Rights Watch.

And just eight weeks ago, the Jakarta Prosecutor’s Office released a mobile phone app that allows users to report instances of religious heresy.

In October, a delegation from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), on which we serve as Commissioners, visited Indonesia. We learned about the human cost of Indonesia’s blasphemy law when we met with a local activist who was helping Meiliana and others accused under the law.

Tolerance

Although we were dismayed to hear about the persecutions, we were heartened to encounter many Indonesians who were genuinely committed to religious pluralism. They not only tolerated other religions but took pride in providing moral and even financial support to them.

After a group of suicide bombers attacked three churches in Surabaya in May, Muslims from a neighboring community offered their condolences and helped clean the debris. Nahdlatul Ulama – with an estimated 40 million members one of the world’s largest Muslim organizations – has criticized Meiliana’s conviction, stating outright that her remarks did not constitute blasphemy.

In USCIRF’s 2018 Annual Report, we placed Indonesia on our Tier 2 (countries that meet at least one of three criteria of systematic, egregious, or ongoing violations) for tolerating or engaging in serious violations of religious freedom, including blasphemy law enforcement. Last year, we issued a report analyzing blasphemy laws around the world and found Indonesia’s vaguely worded and imposed penalties harsher than average for such laws.

Defining Blasphemy

Indonesia has the right and indeed the duty under domestic and international law to prevent religious conflict. Balancing freedom of speech and religious tolerance is difficult for many countries, including the United States.

Yet, we came away from our visit convinced that Indonesia’s current blasphemy law, especially as applied, does more harm than good. We hope Vice President Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo use the good relationships they have built with Indonesian political and religious leaders to call for the repeal of the blasphemy law.

At the very least, the Indonesian government should amend the law to more precisely define blasphemy, to reduce the penalties, and to ensure that people like Natalie Grace and Meiliana are not severely punished for offhand comments.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 7, 2019
 

USCIRF Welcomes Appointment of Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism
 

WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today welcomed the appointment of Elan Carr to serve as the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, a position that has been vacant since 2017. In its 2017 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that this position be filled.

“With anti-Semitism on the rise, especially in Europe, it is more important than ever that this special envoy position be filled and properly staffed,” said USCIRF Chair Tenzin Dorjee. “We wish Mr. Carr well in this vital position and look forward to working with him to fight the scourge of anti-Semitism around the world.”
 

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze and report on threats to religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 7, 2019

USCIRF Condemns Russian Conviction of Danish Prisoner of Conscience Dennis Christensen

Proof of Putin Escalating Persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses, says Vice Chair Kristina Arriaga

WASHINGTON, DC – Kristina Arriaga, Vice Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), today condemned the decision by a Russian court to convict and sentence Dennis Christensen, a Jehovah’s Witness, to six years imprisonment on charges of “organizing the activity of an extremist organization.

“Dennis Christensen’s conviction represents the continued deterioration of religious freedom in Putin’s Russia,” said Arriaga, who advocates on behalf of Mr. Christensen as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. “Evidently, it’s not enough for the state to brand peaceful groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses ‘extremist’; it must also imprison their members. Russia must enter the 21st century and respect religious freedom as a fundamental human right.”

In June 2016, following a trend of repression of religious minority communities throughout Russia, a regional court in Oryol, where Mr. Christensen resides, branded the local Jehovah’s Witnesses branch an “extremist” group. On May 25, 2017, state security forces disrupted a Jehovah’s Witness prayer service, detaining some 70-80 people for several hours and arresting Mr. Christensen, alongside 15 Russian citizens. Mr. Christensen had appeared in court more than 50 times before being convicted on February 6. He has already spent more than 622 days in Detention Facility No. 1 in the Oryol Region.

In 2018, USCIRF again recommended that Russia be designated a “country of particular concern” (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act. In November 2018, the U.S. State Department placed Russia on a Special Watch list for “engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.”

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze and report on threats to religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.