Pluralism, Pancasila, and Pornography
Kari Milligan Friday, 15 September 2006
Missing its emblematic nude centerfold, the premier Indonesian edition of Playboy Magazine was launched this spring. With her semi-clothed appearance, nurse and aspiring actress Kartika Gunawan joined the ranks of notable first-issue pictorials such as Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe. Unlike Ms. Monroe, however, Ms. Gunawan was arrested in June on indecency charges.
The arrest and ensuing pornography investigation are part of a larger debate in Indonesia over the principles that will clothe the fledgling democracy. What happens in Indonesia is significant for at least two reasons. First, Indonesia boasts more Muslims than any other country in the world. Second, Indonesia has long been touted as a citadel of moderate Islam. The nation is poised to act as an example for countries facing growing Islamist tensions at home or abroad.
After his office was stoned by the radical Islamic Defenders Front on April 12, 2006, Ponti Carlos, the Columbia University-educated founder of Playboy Indonesia, informed reporters that the current debate is "not about freedom of the press ... [but] about the freedom of pornography." However, the experience of democracies around the world, including the United States, has demonstrated that 'pornoksi' (actions deemed indecent) are often at the core of free expression discussions. The real debate in Indonesia is one faced by all pluralist democracies: how closely should public morality and standards of conduct follow religious standards?
The relationship between state and religion in Indonesia is complex. Though the state does not promote an official religion, belief in God is enshrined in the Constitution. Neither secular nor Islamic, the state is founded on Pancasila (belief in one God, humanitarianism, national unity, representative democracy, and social justice). Earlier in his presidency, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was somewhat leery of advocating Pancasila as a remedy for radical Islamization, wanting to avoid residual animosity toward the Suharto era when Pancasila was used as a tool for enforcing conformity and questioning free expression. Under Suharto, Indonesia's national motto, "Bhineka Tunggal Eka," ("Unity in Diversity") was heavy on coerced unity and light on diversity. However, on January 6, 2006, Yudhoyono endorsed the concept, calling for Indonesians to "end the debate on alternatives to Pancasila as [their] ideology."
The debut of Playboy Magazine in April 2006 occurred shortly after the proposal of a controversial anti-pornography bill in February 2006, backed by Islamic politicians, religious leaders, and radical activists. Members of this coalition support the legislation insofar as they are concerned that Western sexual mores are supplanting traditional Islamic codes of conduct. The bill lumps pornography, eroticism, and indecency together, criminalizing an array of activities including kissing in public, many traditional forms of Indonesia dress and dance, and sport shorts for women in most locations.
Ethnic groups seeking to preserve age-old customs, women's groups concerned with discrimination, and artists desiring free expression have joined forces with Indonesia's 40-million strong Nahdulataul Ulama (NU) party in opposition to the bill. Though the NU was the first political party to incorporate Islam into its political platform after the fall of Suharto, it remains solidly opposed to the establishment of Indonesia as a religious country. The legislation, under review by a team of experts at Parliament's request, is unlikely to pass in its current form because it is at odds with what the majority of Indonesians think. However, its failure is unlikely to prevent Islamist groups from exerting intense social pressure.
The current pornography dialogue is emblematic of a growing concern that public morality in Indonesia is being dictated by Islamic standards. The first two public comments made by Abu Bakar Bashir, a prominent Islamic cleric linked to the 2002 Bali bombings, after his release from prison June 19, 2006, were that the U.S. is a terrorist state for waging war in Afghanistan and Iraq and that devout Muslims should struggle to implement sharia. Bashir's statements are important insofar as he wields undeniable influence over Muslims as a "spiritual leader" for the militant Jemaah Islamiyah, an organization responsible for bombings in Bali, Jakarta, Manila, and Zamboanga. Islamist politicians, worried that conservative mores are changing, have imposed sharia-based bylaws in nearly 24 districts.
Political liberals appear to be pushing back. In mid-June, 56 legislators signed a petition denouncing sharia-based regulations. Parliament also gave the government the power to disband groups deemed threatening to the public order, altering a 1985 freedom of assembly law.
All of this pushing and shoving between religious leaders and political liberals has confused observers. Recent events may be best understood in the context of an 8-year internal struggle for the soul of Islam in Indonesia. Indonesia is a former Dutch colony that was occupied by Japan during World War II. The country was ruled successively from 1945 to 1998 by Sukarno, father of Indonesia's independence, and Suharto, a repressive military dictator. In 1998, a coalition of religious radicals and political liberals revolted. These unusual bedfellows united against Suharto's authoritarian regime and birthed a viable democracy with remarkable speed. Today, they continually feud over whose principles will be dominant.
The pornography debate is forcing Indonesian politicians to determine how closely, if at all, public policy should follow religious law and values. Drawing these lines is difficult in any society, but particularly so in Indonesia, where people revere social harmony, remain scared by the legacy of Suharto's repressive regime, and lack democratic experience. Even if Indonesia does manage to craft sound policy on paper, it remains questionable whether the current Yudhoyono government has the power to enforce it.
Despite these challenges it is important that Indonesians find a workable accommodation between conservative Islamic groups and other sectors of society over issues like pornography and public decency. Frequent mishandling of these debates could undo years of promising evolution toward a stable democracy and spark internal bloodbaths in the Maluku and Sulawesi Islands. Moreover, this kind of conflict has the potential to inspire the Muslim minority in Thailand and destabilize fragile situations in Timor-Leste, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Globally, Indonesia's radicalization would further polarize the Muslim and Western worlds.
Clothing is often said to make an individual. In Ms. Gunawan's case, it might make a nation.