JAKARTA: Religious tolerance has had a bleak year in Indonesia, according to a new study by a think-tank linked to the country's largest Islamic organisation Nahdlatul Ulama.

In its report on the state of religious pluralism released last week, the Wahid Institute said that 234 violations of religious freedom occurred in the first 11 months of this year, a 19 per cent increase from last year.

Civilian groups the main culprits BETWEEN January and last month, there were 234 cases of violation of religious freedom compared with 197 last year. Three in five cases were by civilian groups, such as the radical Islamic Defenders Front. The bulk of remaining cases were by the state, such as the police, the courts and local administrators. ... more

Figures from earlier years were unavailable because the four-year-old institute did not carry out detailed studies before last year. The institute was set up to promote moderate Islam and named after former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid.

This year's figures included violent attacks in the name of religion, conflicts over places of worship, and religion-inspired regulations that suppressed freedom of expression.

Almost 90 per cent of Indonesia's population of 236 million are Muslims, with Christians, Buddhists and Hindus legally allowed to practise their faith.

But while analysts note that tensions between those of different faiths do exist, they say recent violations of religious freedom have been worsened by political jostling.

Ahead of next year's polls, politicians have been loath to come down too hard on religious groups, even those which may use violence. The politicians do not want to alienate the growing pool of religious conservatives, the analysts say.

This is especially so in the case of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, as the success of his coalition will probably depend again on the support of some Islamic parties, they say.

This led Wahid Institute researcher Rumadi to warn: 'We must stay alert that religious issues may be used as a tool for political bargaining.'

The Wahid Institute report pointed to two major events that highlighted the worsening state of religious pluralism.

First of all was the passing of the recent anti- pornography law, which critics say will threaten art and traditional culture - from temple statues in Bali to penis sheaths on tribesmen in Papua province.

The hereditary sultan of Yogyakarta yesterday said he opposed the new law. Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, a candidate for the presidential elections, said the law was 'the most terrible thing in the process of building our nation'.

Senior political analyst Arbi Sanit said the law was a sign of the government catering to religious fundamentalists.

Mr Arbi, who teaches at the University of Indonesia, said the Islamic radical parties initiated the move. 'They were trying to court Muslim support... but the government didn't dare object to this as they didn't want to look bad.'

Second, said the Wahid Institute, was the government's weak effort to handle the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which has had a history of terrorising society in the name of religion.

In June, FPI radicals attacked some 200 Christians, moderate Muslims and members of the minority Ahmadiyah sect who were rallying to promote religious tolerance.

Days later, the government issued a decree ordering the long-persecuted Ahmadiyah sect to stop spreading its faith, but did not ban the FPI.

University of Indonesia senior political science lecturer Maswadi Rauf said the government was 'trapped in the middle, between two different ideologies'.

Terrorism specialist Sidney Jones said 'poorly managed communal tensions', which can tear apart Indonesia's social fabric, are now the country's biggest threat.

'Unless Jakarta takes a tougher stance against vigilantes and in favour of religious freedom and minority rights, internal security problems are likely to increase,' Ms Jones wrote in an article for the Jakarta Post earlier this year.

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