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Sectarian Violence in Indonesia

Saturday, 18 August, 2009, 17:10 GMT 18:10 UK

In the news in Indonesia, a minority Islamic sect has been subjected to a series of attacks by the majority and is itself preparing for war. Sectarian violence and/or sectarian strife is violence inspired by sectarianism, that is, between different sects of one particular mode of thought/ideology or within a nation/community, with the division not necessarily based upon religion. Religious segregation often plays a role in sectarian violence. Sectarian violence differs from the concept of race riot. It may involve the dynamics of social polarization, the balkanization of a geographic area along the lines of self identifying groups, and protracted social conflict. The sectarian conflagration witnessed in the Islamic world today confirms the fact that there is nothing worse than the clash of civilizations, save for the clash between Islamic sects.

Sectarian Unrest is Spreading

These clashes receded partially, and wise people from both the Islamic and Christian Western civilizations were successful in containing it, especially after the successful visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Turkey recently, where he offered prayers while facing towards the Ka’aba in Makkah, side by side with Muslim worshipers. However, the sectarian unrest is spreading through a wide landmass stretching from Indonesia in the east to Algeria in the west, passing through Pakistan, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Sudan, Iraq and the holiest land in Islam as well. The clashes between various Islamic sects are deadlier, bloodier and more dangerous than the clash of civilizations. And despite the existence of one God, one Prophet and one Quran, we find Muslims divided into various sects, groups and movements. Their animosities and division have increased with the blatant use of arms and ammunition.

The Clash of Civilizations

The clash of civilizations was a mere notion, a theory that was open for debate and academic discussions. The clash of Islamic sects, on the other hand, is more than a clash of words; it is a real clash and not a theoretical one, which can be dismissed easily. As Robert Kennedy once said: “When you teach a man to hate and fear his brother, when you teach that he is a lesser man because of his color or his beliefs or the policies he pursues, when you teach that those who differ from you threaten your freedom or your job or your family, then you also learn to confront others not as fellow citizens but as enemies, to be met not with cooperation but with conquest; to be subjugated and mastered. We learn, at the last, to look at our brothers as aliens, men with whom we share a city, but not a community; men bound to us in common dwelling, but not in common effort.

We learn to share only a common fear, only a common desire to retreat from each other, only a common impulse to meet disagreement with force. For all this, there are no final answers.” This is Indonesia’s  challenge, for an Islamic community to come to terms with its Islamic sectarian differences that lead to violence.

September 10, 2010 - Posted by blakeramirez | Society | Indonesia, Islamic community, Islamic sectarian, Ka’aba in Makkah, sectarian violence