Baháʼí Faith in Indonesia

According to the Association of Religion Data Archives in 2015, accurate figures for the number of adherents to the Baháʼí Faith in Indonesia are not available.[1] Baháʼís in Indonesia are subject to a measure of government discrimination.[2]

History

The Baháʼí Faith's presence in Indonesia can be traced to the late 19th century, when two Baháʼís visited what is now Indonesia, as well as several other Southeast Asian countries.[3] The Mentawai Islands were one of the first areas outside the Middle East and the Western world where significant numbers of conversions to the religion took place, beginning in 1957.[4] In 2014, the Baháʼí International Community (BIC) established a regional office in Jakarta.[3]

The activities of the Baháʼí Faith were banned in Indonesia in 1972.[4] The religion was then legalized in 2000 by President Abdurrahman Wahid.[5][6]

Nevertheless, the Indonesian Baháʼí community continues to face discrimination. Social acceptance appears to have been greater during the Dutch colonial period than in the New Order period and the subsequent Reform period.[7] In 2002, the Indonesian Ulema Council issued a fatwa declaring it forbidden for Baháʼís to be buried in public places.[7] A 2011 research paper reported various forms of discrimination against the small Baháʼí community in the town of Canga'an, Banyuwangi, East Java.[8] Furthermore, the USCIRF stated in a 2016 report:[2]

Indonesia's Baha'i community still experiences government discrimination because of their faith. Despite Religious Affairs Minister Lukman's 2014 statement that the Baha'i faith should be recognized as a religion protected by the constitution, the government has not changed official policy. Baha'i followers are not able to obtain state recognition of civil marriages, have limited educational opportunities, and must state a faith other than their own on their ID cards. Only recently have some Baha'is been allowed to leave blank the religion field on their ID cards. Although some schools now allow Baha'is to provide their own religious education, Baha'i instruction is not part of the official curriculum on religion set by the national standards board, and some Baha'i students instead are forced to study Protestantism or Catholicism.

Statistics

The religion had 22,115 adherents in Indonesia in 2005, according to an estimate by the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA).[9] In 2010 the same source reported a slightly higher estimate of 22,815 Baháʼís in Indonesia.[10] These two estimates were based on information from the World Christian Encyclopedia.[9][10] In its 2015 profile of the country, the ARDA noted that while the Indonesian Baháʼí community claimed a membership in the thousands, no reliable figures were available.[1]

gollark: There's this nice one I use for wallpapers: https://github.com/TomSmeets/FractalArt/
gollark: Calling NFTs a form of art themselves, and not the artistic thing they happen to be tied to, seems like calling the fiat currency you might buy artwork with also art.
gollark: Anyway, while it does seem like a cool generative art-type thing (the viewer runs very slowly on my phone so it's hard to tell) I don't think the NFT bit is intrinsic to it at all, or relevant to it except as a somewhat weird way to have it pay for itself.
gollark: 5 million LoC implies you wrote 120000 a day, which seems implausible. And/or would suggest you did waaaaay too much work.
gollark: Technically, proof of stake is a thing. Though it has its own horrible problems.

See also

References
  1. "Indonesia". Association of Religion Data Archives. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  2. "USCIRF Annual Report 2016 - Tier 2 countries - Indonesia". Refworld. United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  3. "Exploring religion's contribution to peace in Southeast Asia". Baháʼí World News Service. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  4. Smith, Peter; Momen, Moojan (1989). "The Baha'i faith 1957–1988: A survey of contemporary developments". Religion. 19 (1): 63–91. doi:10.1016/0048-721X(89)90077-8.
  5. "Indonesian government recognizes Baha'i faith as a religion". Ecumenical News. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  6. Lesley, Alison (4 August 2014). "Indonesia to Officially Recognize Baha'i in Increasing Tolerance". World Religion News. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  7. Nurish, Amanah (8 August 2014). "Welcoming Baha'i: New official religion in Indonesia". Jakarta Post. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  8. Nurish, Amanah (16 June 2011). "Baha'i: a Narrative of Minority Religion in Indonesia". Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies: Graduate School, Universitas Gadjah Mada. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  9. "Most Baha'i Nations (2005)". Association for Religion Data Archives. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  10. "Most Baha'i Nations (2010)". Association for Religion Data Archives. Retrieved 12 February 2019.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.