On Tuesday, December 6, a hardline Islamic organization called Pembela Ahlus Sunnah (PAS) in Bandung forced the closure of a Christian Revival Service (KKR) that was being carried out at Sasana Budaya Ganesha, a venue owned by Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB). Videos of the incident quickly went viral on social media leading to the hashtag #BandungIntoleran trending high on Twitter soon after.
PAS denied that the closure was an act of religious intolerance, arguing that it was merely a permit issue and that the congregation did not have the right to use the facilities at that time (which was incorrcect, the event’s organizers did in fact already have permission from the police).
Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil apologized for the incident soon after and promised to investigate it. He came through on his word on Friday when he announced through social media the results of his discussion with several government agencies and related parties about the incident, including the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the police and the Bandung State attorney.
Ridwan’s post begins by clarifying that religious worship services do not in fact require formal permission from state agencies (the police simply have to be notified), and worship services are allowed in public buildings (one of PAS’s objections to the Christmas service was that it was taking place at ITB).
The rest of Ridwan’s points makes it clear that PAS acted in violation of Indonesia’s Criminal Code by demonstrating against and restricting a legally permitted religious service. It also outlines the group’s punishment: PAS must provide an official letter of apology to KKR or have their organization’s activities banned from Bandung.
The mayor’s message was widely praised by citizens happy to see an act of religious intolerance firmly and directly denounced by the government.
But Ridwan’s message was not appreciated by PAS, who have refused to apologize for the incident and argue that they did nothing wrong.
“We will not apologize to KKR. We do not feel any errors were made. Indeed, we say the KKR committee is the one that must clarify themselves to us and the local government,” said PAS chairman Muhammad Roin on Sunday as quoted by Merdeka.
Roin argued that his organization never actually forced the event’s closure but merely advised the congregation that they were not permitted to hold an evening worship session there and that they should move to an appropriate place such as a church.
But, as previously mentioned, KKR had already informed the police about the service and there was no need for them to have a permit to begin with. Also, it should be clear to anybody who has watched videos of the incident whether PAS was advising or intimidating KKR to end the service.
Now the question is whether Ridwan and his administration will stay true to their word and ban all PAS activities from Bandung. It might do little, considering PAS might merely reform again under a different name, but at least it would send a strong signal that Bandung is indeed tolerant.
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