guardian.co.uk,
Kate Hodal in Padang, Thursday 3 May
2012
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| Activists say Alex Aan’s is the first case in which an atheist in Indonesia is being tried in relation to 'pancasila', which requires belief in one god. Photograph: Kate Hodal |
When Alex
Aan picked up a copy of Karen Armstrong's Holy War from his local library in
west Sumatra in 2005, he had little inkling of his own religious battle to
come. But after posting "God doesn't exist" on Facebook, the
soft-spoken civil servant, 30, faces up to 11 years in jail for what is
considered blasphemy in Indonesia.
His case
has stoked a debate in the world's most populous Muslim nation, whose 240
million citizens are technically guaranteed freedom of religion but protected
by law only if they believe in one of six credos: Islam, Catholicism,
Protestantism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Hinduism. Those who question any of
those face five years in prison for "insulting a major religion",
plus an additional six years if they use the internet to spread such
"blasphemy" to others.
Activists
say Aan's is the first case in which an atheist is being tried in relation to
the first pillar of Indonesia's state philosophy – pancasila, which requires
belief in one god. From the medium-security rural prison where he has been held
for the past two months, Aan has little hope for the future. He has been beaten
by angry mobs, rejected by his community and endured public calls for his
beheading. For now he is lying low in his cramped cell, awaiting an imminent
verdict and has told none of his fellow inmates about his supposed crime.
"The
truth is way too dangerous," says Aan quietly, his hands clasped together
over his prison-issue blue jeans and button-down shirt. "I'm really
worried about my future. And I'm only just now starting to think about how I'm
going to deal with it."
Authorities
moved Aan from his local prison in west Sumatra's capital, Padang, after he was
badly beaten by a group of inmates who knew his case. To see their client for
15 minutes, Aan's lawyers must drive for four hours along a treacherous
mountain road that bisects the dwindling Sumatran rainforest and crisscrosses
valleys until it ends in a cul-de-sac at the prison's gates.
Aan's
counsel, a ragtag team of young smokers in T-shirts and sandals, don't expect
justice. "What Alex has 'done' is exercise freedom of expression,"
says Taufik Fajrin, one of the five lawyers defending him pro bono. "We'll
try our best to get him freed but just hope he'll get a minimum sentence.
Promoting human rights here is hard because you face fanatics and hardline
culturalists. Even we, as his lawyers, are worried that hardliners will come to
our office or homes and throw stones at us. It's a challenge."
While his
lawyers estimate there may be up to 2,000 atheists in Indonesia, "there's
no real way of knowing", Fajrin says. The repercussions are too dangerous.
According
to Andreas Harsono, a local human rights activist, Aan's case is just one of a
growing number of examples of religious intolerance across Indonesia, ranging
from harassment to mob and arson attacks against groups such as the Baha'i,
Shia and Ahmadiyah Muslims – sometimes ending in death.
Last year,
the local Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace recorded 244 acts of
violence against religious minorities – nearly double the 2007 figure.
Activists
argue that the country is increasingly influenced politically and financially
by conservative Wahhabi clerics from the Middle East, particularly Saudi
Arabia, who help to incite intolerance in Indonesia. But the country's
discriminatory laws – ranging from vaguely worded decrees against proselytising
to requirements to state one's religion on one's national identity card – as
well as the increasing number of Muslim hardliners who have taken laws into
their own hands, are also to blame, Harsono says.
"Victims
keep getting longer prison terms and perpetrators less, while the human rights
we set in place 10 years ago are now becoming unravelled," he says.
"We're seeing a motion to ban mini-skirts in government buildings whereas
[before] it was OK. Beauty queen contests were OK'd in the 1970s but have now
been banned in some provinces, while Valentine's Day celebrations were given
the green light 30 years ago but this year were banned in Aceh.
"The
situation is getting crazy," Harsono continues. "We used to discuss
these issues. Now there is no discussion. The discourse today is 'This is
un-Islamic and immoral'."
Indonesia's
Christians have suffered most, perhaps. The Indonesian Communion of Churches
says about 80 churches have been closed per year since President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono took power in 2004, and an additional 1,000 congregations have been
facing harassment.
For many of
those who consider themselves Islamic culture defenders, such as the Padang
clan chief, Zainuddin Datuk Rajo Lenggang, religious minorities like Aan pose a
serious threat to Indonesia's national identity – and atheists are particularly
risky.
"If
you are not a religious person, you might be dangerous to others, behaving
without control and doing anything you like," Lenggang says.
"Religion brings order. You cannot be an individualist."
Although
Aan has issued a public apology for his Facebook message and has since
converted to Islam, the hardline Islamic Society Forum has called for the use
of the death penalty in his case, and Lenggang says it is too late to be
forgiven by his community: "Once you doubt the existence of Allah, you are
kafir – you are no longer accepted. In the old days, he may be beaten until he
died. But that could still happen today. This is about faith and people can be
very strict."
Aan's
parents paint a portrait of a devout and intelligent son who was always interested
in logic, justice and truth, and also seemingly went to great pains to keep up
appearances. "My son is not an atheist," says his mother, Nuraina,
through tears. "Since his childhood, he has always been diligent, always
praying in the mosque, five times a day."
Aan, who
has the support of the US-based Atheist Alliance International and Council of
ex-Muslims of Britain, says he knew from an early age that he was an atheist,
but recognised that he would have to hide it from others. "From 11, I
thought 'If God exists, why is there suffering? Why is there war, poverty,
hell?' Because, to me, God would not create this hell. My family would ask me
my thoughts but I knew my answers would cause problems, so I kept quiet."
He looks
out the window to where a group of inmates are celebrating their Sunday by
performing karoake to drum'n'bass in the dusty prison yard, most of them
smoking, all of them barefoot. "I only want to see a better world and help
create a better world," he says. "If I cannot ... then I would
prefer to die."
"Perceptions of God" – June 6, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Quantum Teaching, The Fear of God, Near-death Experience, God Becomes Mythology, Worship, Mastery, Intelligent Design, Benevolent Creator,Global Unity.... etc.) (Text version)
“.. For centuries you haven't been able to think past that box of what God must be like. So you create a Human-like God with wars in heaven, angel strife, things that would explain the devil, fallen angels, pearly gates, lists of dos and don'ts, and many rules still based on cultures that are centuries old. You create golden streets and even sexual pleasures as rewards for men (of course) - all Human perspective, pasted upon God. I want to tell you that it's a lot different than that. I want to remind you that there are those who have seen it! Why don't you ask somebody who has had what you would call a near-death experience? …. “
"The Humanization of God" – Jul 16, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Benevolent Design, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Guides and Angels, Communication with God, Wars in Heaven ?, The Love of God, (Old) Souls, Global Unity,.... etc.)
“… Do angels exist? Absolutely, but not as you think or have been taught. Are there helpers? Absolutely, but again, not like you think. When angels visited Humans in ancient days and the events were written about by those who were there to witness the experience, I can guarantee it was a lot different than they could express on paper. When an angel appears before a Human, it looks like a swirling ball of energy, sometimes even fire that is not hot and does not consume anything. Angels are not in Human form and never have been. They are multidimensional beings, not in 3D. Yet you want to put skin and wings on them and give them a name! Why? It makes you feel better about them. We understand that…”
“… Do angels exist? Absolutely, but not as you think or have been taught. Are there helpers? Absolutely, but again, not like you think. When angels visited Humans in ancient days and the events were written about by those who were there to witness the experience, I can guarantee it was a lot different than they could express on paper. When an angel appears before a Human, it looks like a swirling ball of energy, sometimes even fire that is not hot and does not consume anything. Angels are not in Human form and never have been. They are multidimensional beings, not in 3D. Yet you want to put skin and wings on them and give them a name! Why? It makes you feel better about them. We understand that…”
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