Religious Tolerance in Indonesia Questioned

The Price of Preaching

Not only is this a war between the Muslims and the Christians, it is also between the Muslims and Muslims. This happening in a country which is populated with 220 million Muslims. This however is a contradictory towards US President Barack Obama visit to Indonesia last November, in which he praised Indonesia's "spirit of religious tolerance" as an "example to the world".

This all started through the works of a preacher. 58-year-old Antonius Richmond Bawengan was found guilty of distributing books and leaflets that “spread hatred about Islam.” He was sentenced to five years for blasphemy but Islamic hard-liners however thought it was too lenient and wanted the death penalty. The conclusion ironically was a riot. "The mob shouted that he should receive the death sentence or be handed over to the public," Central Java province police spokesman Djihartono told AFP. The incident came two days after Muslim villagers in western Java killed three members of a minority Islamic sect due to different beliefs in Islam.

Witnesses said at least nine people were injured and rushed to the hospital while the police led away some protesters for questioning. The mob set two churches on fire and threw rocks at a third and a school building. They also torched a police truck, three cars and six motorcycles. Calm was only restored about four hours later. "Indonesia is a tolerant country that should be more intolerant of extremist groups. It's time the Indonesian government brings them to account for the violence and hatred they spread," said Leonard Leo, chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.