A village in Tangerang Regency, just outside of Jakarta, has been accused of religious intolerance after a photo of a circular going around the village containing strict regulations on the religious practices of non-Muslims went viral.
The circular was issued to residents of Rajeg Village’s RW 6 neighborhood. In it, neighborhood chiefs signed off on regulations limiting the religious freedoms of non-Muslim residents, only allowing them to hold religious activities as long as no guests from outside the village are invited, no loudspeakers are used, and no religious figures are invited.
The circular also prohibited houses from being turned into places of worship (which would be a fair rule, if not for the fact that the circular is specifically targeted towards non-Muslims) and that it is expected that the deceased be buried within 24 hours of their passing, in accordance with Islamic custom.
After the circular went viral and was, justifiably, condemned by many, Rajeg Village Chief Yanto Firmansyah — who signed off on the circular — said he has rescinded the discriminatory set of regulations after reviewing it with local police and the regional government.
“The circular was just a miscommunication. In the field there’s actually nothing wrong (between residents),” Yanto said, as quoted by Detik today.
Yanto did not elaborate on how “miscommunication” played a part in the creation of a disgustingly discriminative circular.
“There will be a circular about the annulment of those rules,” he said.
There are no reports yet of Yanto, or anyone else involved in the circular’s creation, receiving any kind of sanctions for trying to pass the bigoted regulations, which means he could very well hide behind his ridiculous excuse while this controversy passes.
