INDONESIA
Individual Views of Commissioner Johnnie Moore
I commend the efforts by President Jokowi to promote peaceful
coexistence in Indonesian society and to preserve Indonesia’s historic
(and threatened) wasatiyyah Islam. Our report refers to the Jokowi
administration “favoring their preferred view of Islam.” There are
many issues in Indonesia worthy of concern, but this is not one of
them. I am glad that Jokowi is combating extremism by favoring
a tolerant, Indonesian Islam and not allowing extremists to hijack
the religious culture of the world’s most populated Muslim country.
Religious freedom and human rights must never be used as a shield
for extremists, whether it’s via Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
(IRGC)-affiliated Shi’a extremists who threaten Bahrain or Lebanon or
al-Qaeda-affiliated Sunni extremists who target Egypt or Indonesia.
Religion certainly plays an outsized role in Indonesian society, but as
long as it does, then the government should absolutely continue to
empower and favor moderates. Thankfully, Indonesia has plenty of
them as it has long been home to many of the world’s most admirable
and credible Islamic scholars and leaders.
72
USCIRF | ANNUAL REPORT 2021
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents