Reclaiming Minority s Freedom of Religion or Belief in Indonesia: Evaluating State Response to the Ahmadiyya Conflict in Lombok, Indonesia

Abstract

This study reveals a horizontal conflict in Indonesian society involving violation of the rights of a religious minority group and studies the state s response to the conflict. The case to be analyzed in this study is the conflict between Nahdlatul Wathan and Ahmadiyya in Lombok, Indonesia. The Indonesian government undertook to resolve the conflict by establishing a Joint Ministerial Decree that prohibits the Ahmadis to believe in a new prophet and prohibits them to manifest their belief. Although freedom to manifest religion might be limited under certain clauses provided in article 18 (3) of the ICCPR, this study finds that the Joint Ministerial Decree does not satisfy most of criteria of the limitation clauses. Moreover, the decree also violates freedom of religion provided for by article 18 of the ICCPR (freedom of the internal forum that may not be derogated from under any circumstances) as well as the rights of persons belonging to a minority to practice their own religion under article 27 of the ICCPR. This study furthermore proposes alternative mechanisms for resolving the conflict as well as reclaiming the Ahmadis rights, using both a legal and a non-legal approach.