Rediscovering Pancasila: Religion in Indonesia’s Public Square
Nate Jones Tuesday, 1 March 2005
It was the 10th of April 2000—the height of the jihad in Indonesia. One thousand white-robed men, brandishing scimitars and signboards, surrounded national legislative offices in the nation's capital. Laskar Jihad commander Jafar Umar Thalib led this band of holy warriors up to the third floor, where he invaded the office of Speaker of the House Akbar Tandjung and demanded, and got, a meeting.
What was all the fuss about? Commander Thalib insisted that Speaker Tandjung impeach President Wahid, a Muslim cleric, because Mr. Wahid had stated that the Indonesian government's special treatment of Muslims had angered Christians and contributed to the current war. In order to justify his belief in jihad, Mr. Thalib wanted to portray Christians as entirely culpable in a war against innocent Muslims.
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