BYBEN HO
The decree empowers the government to disband without trial any group
that challenges Pancasila a set of founding national principles that include
national unity, social justice and democracy alongside belief in God, and
enshrines religious diversity in an officially secular system of government.
It is believed that Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), a group that campaigns for
the country to adopt Syariah law and become a caliphate, is among the
targets of the decree after the government announced in May that it planned
to ban the group.
It is also likely that some groups most likely including HTI will take to
the streets to protest, said Mr Loveard, who is also an author of books about
Indonesian politics.
It needs to be noted that HTI itself has always been extremely disciplined
and well-behaved in its public outings, a factor that will inevitably be used by
Mahendra as a good reason why it should not be banned, he added.
Indonesia expert Shinta Eka Puspasari says that any Islamist pushback
against the new ruling is unlikely to be violent, at least in the short term.
I dont foresee any fierce backlash from radical groups notorious for
vigilantism such as the FPI (Islamic Defenders Front) at the moment,
particularly due to the absence of FPI leader Rizieq Shihab, the analyst at
Concord Consulting told TODAY.
Ms Puspasari, cautioned, however, that Islamist groups could use the new
decree to reaffirm the message of the protests last year against former
Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama that Muslims are being
marginalised in the country.
HTI, along with other Islamist groups such as the FPI, were behind the
protests against Purnama last year, who was then accused of blasphemy. He
was convicted in May and sentenced to two years imprisonment.
Over the last few months, hardline Islamist groups have set up posters
around Jakarta that say the Widodo regime is criminalising religious
scholars.
The government should bear in mind that radical Islam now has had the
momentum to grow after the fall of (former Indonesian president) Suharto
largely because Suharto tried to silence it for much of his tenure, so much so
it developed a persecution complex, Mr Nugroho told TODAY.