God in the Political Hustle and Bustle
The relationship between religion and the state in Indonesia is unique. It is unlike secular Western societies or sultanate countries in the Middle East. The birth of the state is owed to the religious movements and struggle, especially Islam, which means religion and the state are inseparable, even though they can be differentiated.
Pancasila is the ideology that links the two. If closely analyzed, in its five principles there are elements of theocracy, liberalism and socialism. All of the three are synthesized as a state ideology, a historical-political experiment that is Indonesia\'s contribution to state theory.
Divinity and Devoutness
Countries and their citizens care and believe in the existence of God. The practice of devoutness is performed in private and communal areas, which are protected and facilitated by the state.
This is why Indonesia has a Religious Affairs Ministry, which fosters religious education and life. At least Rp 60 trillion from the State Budget (APBN) is channeled through the Religious Affairs Ministry, a fairly large amount. Not to mention the amount spent on religious activities by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and other departments. This fact counters accusations that the state and government are anti-Islam.
Lately, people have questioned why the government only recognizes six religions, as the definition of religion is actually quite inclusive, and is not limited to six religions, all of which are foreign religions. The concept of God, the prophet, the scriptures and the rules of worship cannot be monopolized by the religious communities that happen to be recognized by the government. Even the concept of divinity and belief is different in every religion. Therefore, the definition and determination of a religion is a political product, which has implications for the state budget.
Blasphemy
In addition to the definition of religion, issues regarding blasphemy, insults and abuse against religion have also been questioned lately. It is not easy to say that someone is desecrating a religion because there is no unanimous agreement on who has the authority to speak in the name of religion.
Every religion has a plurality of schools and religious leaders whose levels of knowledge and perspectives are different. The problem becomes increasingly difficult when the final explanation must come from God, who is believed to be the creator of religions revealed to humans through His prophets. So, asking for clarification and confirmation from God is impossible, let alone from His prophets.
Then, does this mean we can humiliate and play with religion? When religious values are elaborated and used to form laws and social ethics, legal action is easier to take against violations. Therefore, even though religion is believed to come from God, its implementation requires state instruments.
The simplest example is the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which has a function that is very religious because all religions are opposed to corruption. People who commit corruption insult religion, violate state regulations, damage social ethics and trouble the people. Raising the value of a religion requires an attitude of empathy toward its followers. The perpetrators of blasphemy usually have no empathy, so they say and do things that hurt the feelings of religious followers. Therefore, insulting and blaspheming against a religion concerns the ethics of relations among followers of the religion, not between humans and God. In this light, when friends of different religions celebrate their religious holidays, this is about respecting social brotherhood, not theological territory. Whether or not humans abuse or praise religion, their actions will not affect the greatness of God.
The joint declaration between Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar in Abu Dhabi last month was correct in stating that God does not need to be defended. What is desired is that with religion one can defend the fate of humans who are oppressed and alleviate their suffering. This contains God\'s message that religion is the source of mercy for the universe. Religion is the driver of peace and the pillar of civilization, not a movement full of intimidation and fear.
Politics in the name of God
Taking into consideration that the religious spirit of the Indonesian people is so high, while politicians are working hard to win votes for the general election, religion is seen as an instrument that can be manipulated for political gains. When understanding among the citizenry is low, people find it easier to decide their political affiliation on the basis of ethnic and religious similarities.
However, because the majority of Indonesia\'s population is Muslim, other incentives are needed to attract them. These other incentives include, among other things, money, common organizations and ideological/utopian slogans to trigger emotion and militancy among groups. Ideology without the emotional bond of its supporters will die slowly, so every political struggle for power must "create" a common enemy to tie its sympathizers together. A militant and radical attitude will rise if religion and God are used as the final point of departure and destination (alpha-omega) because religion offers eschatological safety in the form of heaven after death.
The concept of defeat does not exist in the struggle of religious ideology. There is only victory, if not in this world, then in the hereafter.
Claims that political activities are in the name of God cannot be verified as God is unreachable, the number of religions is numerous and within the internal community of a religion there are many figures and schools of thought that are not always in line. It frequently happens that someone commits a criminal act that is horizontal and according to the religious law is clearly a sin, and then that person resolves it by apologizing to God through ritual actions. The prayer and worship are good, but do not resolve the crime.
It is feared that this kind of religious attitude might contribute to weakening social ethics in a society that has high religious enthusiasm, so that corruption will grow in line with lively religious rituals. Here, God is positioned to ease the burden of his soul with his abundance of forgiveness. This does not happen in secular society. Criminal acts must be solved by positive law in this world, without the need to wait for the afterlife. Possibly, this mindset is behind the fact that secular countries have lower levels of corruption than countries with high religious enthusiasm. In the lead up to the presidential election, God
and religion have been widely involved. It is not only competition between political parties that heats up the temperature of politics, but also competition among institutions and religious preachers, who speak on religious issues and throw out slogans. God has even been invited to join one coalition, and a remark was made that God\'s party was competing against the Satanic party. This presidential election is like a jihad war that will determine the fate of Islam in the future.
There is also a coalition of political parties and mass organizations that hold grand prayers with the purpose of asking God for victory. In fact, the two competing parties claim their religion and God are the same. Maybe only in Indonesia such a phenomenon could occur, creating stories for future generations. (Komaruddin Hidayat, Lecturer, School of Psychology, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University)