Indonesian Court Hears Interfaith Marriage Petition

Fighting for Recognition: Plaintiffs argue interpretation of 1974 Marriage Law is inconsistent with Constitution and Pancasila

Jakarta Globe, Kennial Caroline Laia & Yustinus Paat, Sep 05, 2014

If plaintiffs prevail at the Supreme Court, couples of different religions may soon find it
easier to have their marriages legally recognized in Indonesia. (JG Photo/Fajrin Raharjo)

Jakarta. Five people filed a petition for a judicial review at the Constitutional Court on Thursday that, if successful, would legalize interfaith marriage in Indonesia.

The petitioners argue that the 1974 Law on Marriage, which requires all marriages in Indonesia to be conducted in accordance with the respective religious beliefs of the bride and groom, violates the Constitution and principles of Pancasila.

“We feel that our constitutional right can potentially be harmed by Article 2(1) of the law, which states that a marriage is only legitimate if it is conducted according to one’s religion and belief,” Anbar Jayadi, one of the plaintiffs, said on Thursday after a preliminary hearing.

Anbar argues that the clause has been interpreted by officials to mean that all marriages inconsistent with the parties’ stated religious affiliations — as interpreted according to the officiants’ understanding of that religion’s tenets — are illegitimate and unlawful.

“The clause has therefore created legal uncertainty for those who want to get married in Indonesia because implementation of religious law is highly dependent on the interpretations of different individuals or institutions,” Anbar said.

The plaintiffs’ petition may be helped by a 1989 Supreme Court decision, Andy Vony v. The State , which found the 1974 Marriage Law does not apply to interfaith marriages.

The case involved the a Muslim woman and Protestant man. The Supreme Court held that “the Marriage Law did not regulate marriages between partners of different religions” since the 1974 law only repealed colonial laws to the extent they were inconsistent. Because the woman sought to register her marriage at the Civil Registry Office, the court allowed it to be formalized as a non-Muslim marriage.

However, the 1989 Supreme Court decision failed to clear the way for interfaith marriages, as many attest.

“The experience of having an interfaith marriage in Indonesia is really infuriating and bothersome. Why? Well, I am a Catholic and my husband is Muslim. We couldn’t register our marriage in the Religious Affairs Office (KUA) because they oblige everyone who wants to register to be a Muslim — which is not fair,” Antonia Timmerman said.

Antonia is a reporter for Investor Daily, which is affiliated with the Jakarta Globe.

“We couldn’t register our marriage in the KUA, so we went to the Civil Registration office, which was also difficult. They asked for a ‘Certificate of Baptism for the non-Catholic or non-Christian’ [presuming conversion],” she said. “So, my husband signed a letter that stated he was in the process of studying my religion even though he did not intent to convert.”

A woman who asked to be identified only by her initials, A.D., shares a similar experience.

“My husband and I agreed to pretend that I would convert to his religion solely for the purpose of getting a marriage certificate. But in fact, I’m still practicing my own religion,” she said. “I believe it’s a country’s duty to issue regulations protecting its citizens, but as an individual I also have the right to choose to keep my religion. Therefore I lied,” she said.

University of Indonesia sociologist Johannes Frederik Warouw said that the regulation of marriage in Indonesia is premised on its citizens’ protection.

“The regulation is created to ‘protect’ society in terms of living their lives peacefully, without having difficulties that stem from interfaith marriage,” he told the Globe on Friday.

“Problems that could come from interfaith marriage are marriage certificate and recognition of children from the marriage, especially when it comes to social institutions. Many will question it,” he said. “However, the regulation becomes quite discriminative, as we know that there are also many people who marry people from other religions. People should start to look things differently and critically. However, we also couldn’t blame people for being not open-minded about it.”

Legal expert Frans Winarta said the 1974 Marriage Law is inconsistent with the state ideology, Pancasila.

“At one time, a marriage was considered already legal by only registering it to the Civil Registration Office. But now with the unclear and burdensome law it’s become so complicated. The law forces people to look for loopholes, marrying overseas and returning home to register their marriage. So, what’s the use of the law?” he said.

“The law is clearly discriminative and irrelevant with our nation’s current condition. It should be eliminated because it doesn’t reflect Pancasila,” he said.

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