Islam and the Near East in the Far East, Pages 32-33

“Progressive Muslim Movement” Launched in ASEAN Countries

By John Gee

A young girl looks up at balloons floating above Indonesian Muslim women praying on the first day of the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha in Jakarta, Nov. 27, 2009. (AFP Photo/Adek Berry)

A PREDOMINANTLY Muslim group of human rights activists from across Southeast Asia has issued a statement strongly opposing the curtailment of women’s rights in the name of religion. Meeting in Jakarta on Oct. 16 and 17, the 30 activists described themselves as coming from “a mix of civil society organizations, religious institutions and academic institutions” in five ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) states with significant Muslim populations. More than 230 million Muslims live in ASEAN countries, making up 41 percent of their total population.

The activists met “to examine how certain interpretations of shariah laws are affecting the rights of women in Muslim contexts in the region and undermining secularism and democratic institutions and processes in countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, the Mindanao region in the Philippines and Thailand.”

Their statement, issued in the name of the ASEAN Progressive Muslim Movement (APMM), says:

“The Meeting is deeply concerned that certain interpretations of shariah laws are impeding Muslim women’s full participation in development processes in ASEAN, as well as limiting their own development as equal citizens. While fundamental tenets of Islam are compatible with human rights principles, some gender-discriminative interpretations of shariah laws are not aligned with human rights objectives and with fundamental tenets of Islam that emphasize women’s right to practice their religion as equal believers, as well as their rights of access to education, employment, entrepreneurship and political participation.

“The expanding codification and formalization of certain interpretations of shariah laws are increasingly extending beyond the domain of personal laws to criminal laws. In some cases, punishments are occurring even though they contravene the constitution and national laws of the countries concerned. Women run the risk of being disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of such punishments, as compared to men. If such codes are left unchecked, these interpretations of shariah laws may increase in scope and become new norms for all Muslim women in Southeast Asian countries to abide by.”

These comments underline the participants’ concern about recent developments in some states where governments have made concessions to conservative religious groupings. In Indonesia, for example, the central government in 2001 authorized the full application of syariah (the local spelling of shariah) law in Aceh. This was supposedly in deference to popular opinion there, but was mainly aimed at winning support away from the Free Aceh Movement, GAM (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka-Indonesian), which did not call for the extension of syariah law. Irwandi Yusuf, ex-GAM activist and current governor, said that he wanted to withdraw the new measures, but faced strong opposition from powerful religious figures. Among the measures taken when the law was first introduced was the enforcement of strict terms on women’s clothing. A religious police force was created, although strongly conservative Aceh had never felt the need for one before. In September 2009, Aceh’s parliament voted for a syariah law to allow Muslims found guilty of adultery to be stoned to death.

Aceh remains an anomaly in Indonesia, which is still officially a secular state, but one in which conservative religious groups are increasingly flexing their muscles.

The APMM statement protested against attempts to intimidate and silence women who spoke up for their rights and for human rights. It called on ASEAN states “to be mindful in ensuring that violations of human rights are not excused by reference to cultural or traditional practices.”

It said:

“The Meeting encourages ASEAN member states to draw upon the body of work developed by progressive Islamic scholars that demonstrates the compatibility of the fundamental tenets of Islam with human rights principles, as well as the ongoing historical tradition of ijtihad (the exertion of mental energy in the exhaustive search for a just legal opinion).”

In February 2009, an international Muslim movement called Musawah (equality) was launched at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Its goal is to promote equality and justice in the family. The moving force behind it was Sisters In Islam, which campaigns for equal status for Muslim women in Malaysia. Conservative religious leaders condemned the new initiative as “liberal.”

Case Against Indonesian Anti-Corruption Team Collapses

Top officials of Indonesia’s anti-corruption agency spent much of the latter half of 2009 battling criminal charges brought against them after they had upset some very powerful people. The case against them collapsed in November, causing red faces in the government and police.

Corruption is a serious problem in Indonesia. Ill-paid citizens complain about officials who want illicit payments in order to process bureaucratic paperwork for them. The police force is commonly regarded as among the country’s most corrupt institutions. The poor are skeptical about their ability to achieve justice in courts where money talks.

Combatting corruption was one of the declared goals of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono when he first ran for office, and he was credited with making some steps in that direction. In June 2009, Aulia Pohan, the father of the president’s daughter-in-law and deputy governor of the central bank, was given a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence on corruption charges. At the time, this was seen as an affirmation of Yudhoyono’s commitment to root out corruption, but only a week later he said of the Anti-Corruption Commission (KPK):

“I must caution the KPK....Power must not go unchecked. The KPK has become incredibly powerful. It seems to be accountable only to God.”

The president’s comment came at a time when the KPK was under verbal attack from members of Parliament and the judiciary and the police were taking action against three KPK officials. Chairman Antasari Azhar was alleged to have ordered the murder of a businessman who had used his girlfriend to trap him in a compromising situation so that he could be blackmailed. Commissioners Bibit Rianto and Chandra Hamzah were arrested and accused of paying bribes to the former forestry minister and abusing their power. The initial moves against them were based on statements reportedly made by Antasari Azhar during police interrogation.

Public opinion rallied around the KPK officials, who were viewed as being targetted for their anti-corruption work. On Nov. 11 Williardi Wizar, former police commissioner-general, contradicted an earlier statement when he told a Jakarta court that two senior police officers had forced him to make a false statement accusing Antasari of ordering the murder. Twelve days later, President Yudhoyono recommended that the prosecution of the commissioners charged with bribery be dropped.

The case harmed the president’s standing. Campaigners against corruption believed that he should have backed the KPK officials strongly instead of standing aside in the face of a determined campaign to discredit them and dilute the commission’s powers.

John Gee is a free-lance journalist based in Southeast Asia, and the author of Unequal Conflict: The Palestinians and Israel.