SETARA Institute Press Release, 10 August 2024
Over the past three and a half years, Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas has repeatedly stated his commitment to simplifying the process for obtaining permits to establish houses of worship. Under the proposed Presidential Regulation on Religious Harmony (Raperpres PKUB), the Minister has removed the recommendation from the Religious Harmony Forum (FKUB) as a requirement for obtaining a house of worship permit, leaving only one required recommendation—from the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) through its Regional Offices. This differs from the currently applicable Joint Ministerial Regulation of the Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister of Religious Affairs No. 9 and No. 8 of 2006 (PBM 2006), under which recommendations from both the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the FKUB are required.
The proposal has received support from the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs and the Minister of Home Affairs. However, it has been opposed by Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, who argued that the FKUB recommendation should be retained because it represents the approval of religious leaders.
In response to this issue, SETARA Institute issues the following statements:
First, SETARA Institute welcomes the progressive step of removing the FKUB recommendation requirement. This measure is more compatible with Indonesia’s pluralistic society, which consists of diverse religious and belief identities. In several of its annual Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) reports, SETARA Institute has consistently encouraged the government to simplify the licensing process for houses of worship. Furthermore, the government should take additional progressive steps to eliminate other discriminatory provisions contained in the 2006 Joint Ministerial Regulation.
It should be emphasized that obstacles to establishing houses of worship extend beyond the FKUB recommendation requirement. One of the most restrictive provisions affecting minority groups is the administrative requirement to obtain support from 90 congregation members and 60 local residents outside the congregation. This 90/60 formula clearly hinders the constitutional right to worship, which Article 29 paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution guarantees to every person and every resident.
Second, SETARA Institute believes that once the FKUB recommendation requirement is removed, FKUB should be able to optimize its institutional role in promoting and maintaining religious harmony. FKUB should play a more active role in expanding education and tolerance campaigns, creating more opportunities for interfaith engagement, and preventing as well as resolving conflicts that threaten religious harmony, including mediating disputes involving the rejection of religious worship or the construction of houses of worship. These responsibilities should be explicitly incorporated into the proposed Presidential Regulation on Religious Harmony.
Third, in practice, within Indonesia’s complex diversity and social heterogeneity, FKUB has not performed optimally in preventing and addressing violations of Freedom of Religion or Belief, particularly cases involving interference with houses of worship across various regions. According to SETARA Institute’s 2023 FoRB Report, 65 houses of worship experienced various forms of interference, including rejection of construction applications, restrictions on construction, prohibition of construction, and the sealing of worship facilities. This represents an increase compared to 2022, when 50 houses of worship experienced similar disruptions.
Looking over a longer period since SETARA Institute first began monitoring FoRB in 2007, there have been 636 incidents involving interference with religious worship and houses of worship between 2007 and 2023. These incidents include the dissolution and obstruction of worship services, rejection of houses of worship, intimidation, vandalism, arson, and other forms of interference. Almost all of these violations have affected minority groups in both interreligious and intrareligious contexts.
Therefore, FKUB requires institutional transformation, including:
a) shifting its membership principle from proportional representation to inclusivity;
b) implementing a more open and accountable recruitment process by involving relevant civil society organizations at the local level;
c) expanding the participation of women religious leaders through affirmative measures, such as establishing a minimum of 30 percent female religious leader representation within FKUB; and
d) introducing other progressive institutional reforms.
Fourth, there is an urgent need to accelerate the adoption of a more progressive Presidential Regulation on Religious Harmony, incorporating more comprehensive provisions that better guarantee every citizen’s right to Freedom of Religion or Belief. The government’s commitment to simplifying the establishment of houses of worship for minority communities and reviewing the 2006 Joint Ministerial Regulation should be implemented without further delay through regulations that better reflect Indonesia’s diverse religious identities. To date, there has been little encouraging progress in fulfilling this commitment.
Fifth, regarding the Vice President’s public opposition to easing the requirements for establishing houses of worship, SETARA Institute believes that his statement appears to favor the aspirations of the majority and is not fully consistent with Indonesia’s pluralistic character. If understood as a personal opinion—particularly given his previous role as Chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI)—such a position may be understandable. However, if the statement was made in his official capacity as Vice President, it suggests that perspectives on pluralism within the government remain inconsistent and reflects serious institutional fragmentation, which has significantly contributed to the stagnation of Freedom of Religion or Belief in Indonesia over the past two decades.
Media Contacts:
Azeem Marhendra Amedi, Researcher, SETARA Institute
Sayyidatul Insiyah, Researcher, SETARA Institute
Halili Hasan, Executive Director, SETARA Institute