Reorganization of the Ministry of Religion for an Inclusive KUA

To realize an inclusive KUA, the five Directorate Generals of Religious Guidance need to be merged and the nomenclature of the Directorate General of Islamic Education changed.

KOMPAS/HERYUNANTO

Illustration

At the end of February 2024, Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas put forward an idea that essentially intends to transform the Office of Religious Affairs (KUA) into a place of religious service for all believers. Many have criticized the idea, but there are also many who support the progressive idea.

The daily Kompas for two days in a row even published two opinions confirming this idea. On March 15 2024 Fathorrahman Ghufron's work was published entitled ”Towards KUA Inclusiveness” and on March 16 2024 an article was published entitled ”KUA Inclusion” by Akh Muzakki,

Both articles agree that "renewal of work in the Ministry of Religion" is urgently needed for the "interests of reforming the administrative services of religious bureaucracy" for all religious communities.

The two authors emphasize the importance of inclusive religious services at the Office of Religious Affairs (KUA). Unfortunately, both of them neglect the exclusive impression that occurs in KUA's religious services, which has developed over a long period and has created complex problems that require various academic approaches to be addressed, should the service format be changed.

The author identifies at least two main problems in realizing this inclusive KUA discourse, namely institutional and regulatory.

Also read: KUA Services Designed for All Religions

KUA Institution

Regulation of the Minister of Religion Number 34 of 2016 concerning the Organization and Work Procedures of the Subdistrict Religious Affairs Office explains that subdistrict KUA is the technical implementation unit (UPT) of the Ministry of Religion which is organizationally under and responsible to the Directorate General of Islamic Community Guidance (Ditjen Bimas).

Based on that position, the sub-district's KUA is responsible for providing services and guidance for citizens who embrace Islam. The regulation explains at least nine services that are all specifically intended for Muslims.

It then becomes a question, if the service format is changed to be inclusive without changing the applicable legal regulations, what types of services can be provided by the district KUA? And who will provide the services?

The issue of what and who should be clearly stated is important because it is closely related to the basic rights of every citizen in receiving religious services that are in accordance with their beliefs. It would not be fair, for example, to burden Islamic religious officials and educators who are responsible in the sub-district Religious Affairs Office (KUA) with religious service duties that do not align with their beliefs. The same goes for non-Muslim service recipients.

The exclusive impression in religious services at the sub-district KUA can be traced from the history of the institution's establishment. The origin of the current sub-district KUA is the establishment of the regional level Office of Islamic Religious Affairs (in Java and Madura) (Shumuka) in April 1946 as an expansion of the establishment of the central Office of Islamic Religious Affairs (Shumubu) following the arrival of Japanese colonialism in 1942.

At the outset, Shumubu was led by Japanese military officials, while Shumuka was led by influential local ulama. The establishment of this institution was part of Nippon's Islamic Grass Root Policy to embrace the Indonesian Muslim community at that time in order to support Japanese colonialism (Benda, 1980; Umam, 2014, Rizal, 2014).

The departure of Japanese colonialism did not change the structure of religious services in Indonesia and positioned Shumuka (later changed to sub-district KUA) as a religious services office specifically for Muslim citizens. Its position was strengthened by the promulgation of various regulations, especially marriage registration, which is the main task of the sub-district KUA.

The sub-district KUA is the only government agency whose assets can be obtained through the waqf scheme.

The exclusivism of services in the district KUA (Marriage Registration Office) for Muslims ultimately creates a unique dynamic relationship between citizens and service institutions. Many Muslims consider KUA as one of the religious institutions, such as a mosque. Therefore, they are not hesitant to contribute their wealth for the benefit of the district KUA.

In the author's opinion, the sub-district KUA is the only government agency whose assets can be obtained through a waqf scheme. According to 2022 data, there are 5,913 KUAs with various land and building ownership statuses, namely owned by the Ministry of Religion, owned by local governments, owned by palaces, granted, waqf, rented, and rights to use. Among the thousands, there are 1,110 KUAs built on land with waqf status (Directorate General of Islamic Guidance, 2022).

This condition of course raises the issue of fiqhiyah (Islamic law) which must also be considered if the format of sub-district KUA services is to be changed to be more inclusive. This is because waqf property (mauquf) can only be used in accordance with the mandate of the waqf giver (waqif) to the waqf asset manager (nazhir).

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

The headman shows the husband and wife's marriage book to the couple who are getting married at KUA Cakung, East Jakarta, Tuesday (22/2/2022).

Regulation of civil registration services

The long institutional history of the KUA sub-district has also had an impact on the institution's role in providing marriage registration services. In terms of regulation, there is a division of authority for marriage registration services between citizens who are Muslims and those who are not. The regulation that divides the authority for marriage registration services must be recognized as a legacy of Dutch colonialism, which initially aimed to be a tool for controlling power by dividing communities.

During Dutch colonialism there were regulations referred to as Huwelijksordonnantie S 1929 No 348 juncto S 1931 No 467 and Vorstenlandsche Huwelijkorddonnantie S 1933 No 98 issued by the government colonial for the marriage of local residents who were Muslim. After independence, this regulation was replaced by Law Number 22 of 1946 concerning Registration of Marriages, Talaq and Reconciliation for Muslim residents living in Java and Madura, whose application was expanded nationally through the enactment of Law Number 32 of 1954 (Usman, et al, 2020 ; Hisyam, 2001, 2005).

The division of authority in recording marriages has been regulated in Law No. 1/1974 concerning Marriage, which was partially amended through Law No. 16/2019 concerning Amendments to Law No. 1/1974 concerning Marriage. Article 2, paragraphs (1) and (2) of the Marriage Law states that marriage is valid if conducted in accordance with the law of each person's religion and belief, and that each marriage must be recorded based on the prevailing laws and regulations.

Also read: Those Who Remarry for State Recognition

For Indonesian Muslims, there is a Compilation of Islamic Law which regulates the procedures for carrying out marriage registration. In Article 5 of the Compilation of Islamic Law, book one, it is stated that in order to ensure order, marriages in Islamic communities "must" be recorded. Registration is carried out by Marriage Registrar Employees (P2N) as regulated in Law No. 22/1946 juncto UU No. 32/1954.

The Marriage Registrar (often referred to as the marriage official) is a government employee who works in the sub-district Religious Affairs Office. Article 6 Paragraph 1 of the compilation further emphasizes that every marriage "must" be conducted in the presence of and under the supervision of the marriage registrar. The word "must" here in the Islamic law sense means "mandatory". Therefore, marriages conducted outside the supervision of the marriage registrar "do not have legal validity".

An important point that can be underlined from various regulations on marriage registration services is that there are differences in the procedures for conducting marriages between citizens who are Muslim and citizens who practice other religions. These differences ultimately affect how the state provides services to its citizens.

If the sub-district KUA were to be made a center for marriage registration services and services for all religious communities, it would violate many marriage registration regulations.

Despite the impression of discrimination, if we refer to the birth of various regulations, it must be acknowledged that the differences also fall within the framework of the state recognizing and guaranteeing diversity in the manner of implementing marriage according to the religious teachings believed by each citizen.

If the District KUA wants to be made the center of marriage registration and services for all religious communities, it will collide with many marriage registration regulations, as explained earlier. And this will have an impact on the available service implementation resources that are not yet available.

The important question in this regard is who will provide marriage registration services and religious services to citizens who practice religions other than Islam? Due to the institutional structure and existing service regulations that require the sub-district Office of Religious Affairs to provide Islamic religious services, all available resources currently consist of Muslim employees.

KOMPAS/FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO

The rings used in the wedding ceremony of bride and groom candidates Tunggul Pujangkoro and Novi Rahmawati Ningsih at the Office of Religious Affairs (KUA) in Banguntapan sub-district, Bantul, DI Yogyakarta, on Friday (8/5/2020).

Reorganization with an inclusive vision

To realize the idea of ​​an inclusive KUA, as intended by the Minister of Religion, the author proposes to carry out an institutional reorganization of the Ministry of Religion first. Taking into account the vision of religious moderation which is being intensively campaigned for and the bureaucratic reform which this agency continues to pursue, the reorganization in question is the amalgamation of the five Directorates General (DG) of Religious Guidance (Islamic, Christian, Catholic, Hinduism, and Buddhism) into one Directorate General of Religion and Belief Guidance, and changing the nomenclature of the Directorate General (Ditjen) of Islamic Education to become the Directorate General of Religion and Religious Education.

The merger of five directorates of religious affairs is of course aimed at addressing institutional problems that have made sub-district offices of religious affairs function as sub-units and be under the responsibility of certain directorates. In addition, the addition of the word "belief" is in recognition of the existence of believers of faiths other than the six officially recognized religions, who are also entitled to receive equal services from the state based on their beliefs.

Meanwhile, the change in nomenclature from the Directorate General of Islamic Education to the Directorate General of Religious and Faith Education is aimed at accommodating the merger of five Directorates General for Religious Affairs. Until now, religious and faith education services for Muslims, ranging from early childhood education to higher education, have been managed by one directorate general.

Also read: Indonesian Marriage Trends and the Second Demographic Transition

Meanwhile, the provision of religious education services for citizens of other religions is managed by each Directorate General of Religious Affairs for their respective religion. With this change in nomenclature, all education services, from early childhood education to higher education, for any religious community will fall under one directorate general.

The reorganization of the Ministry of Religious Affairs can provide a strong foundation for changing the format of religious services at the sub-district level. This reorganization is also one way for the state to free itself from the shadow of dichotomization, between Islam and non-Islam, in religious services inherited from colonialism, which could possibly be one of the causes of various problems in interfaith harmony.

The author hopes that, starting from the good intentions of changing the format of religious services in sub-district KUA, the reorganization of the Ministry of Religion will change religious services in Indonesia to be more modern and, of course, inclusive for all citizens. Wallahu a'lam.

Muhammad Agus Noorbani, Researcher at the Research Center for Society and Culture at the National Research and Innovation Agency