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JAKARTA - The harmonious relations developed before and during the invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies seem destined to be short-lived for Muslims and Christians in Indonesia, the world's biggest predominantly Muslim country.
A controversial national education-system bill, which the House of Representatives (DPR) plans to endorse on May 20, has once again put Muslims and Christians on a collision course, raising fears of renewed bloody religious conflicts that could lead to territorial disunity.
The bill requires both state and private schools to teach religion to their students. It also states that religious lessons have to be taught by teachers of the same religion as the students. If enacted, the bill basically will oblige Christian schools to hire Muslim religious teachers if they accept Muslim students or Muslim schools to provide Christian religious teachers if they have Christian students in their classes.
Although the bill recommends no punishment for non-complying schools, Christian schools and experts have strongly opposed the bill. Christian schools, which in Indonesia are known for their high standard of education and strong discipline, attract thousands of Muslim children every year. And in some places, including the capital Jakarta and other big cities across the archipelago, Christian schools - both Catholic and Protestant - have more Muslim students than Christians. These Muslim students usually come from well-to-do families in which one or both parents went to Christian schools for their primary or secondary education.
Under the pretext of carrying out a religious mission, Christian schools require all students - be they Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, or Christians - to attend religious classes, which means Catholicism for Catholic schools and Protestantism for Protestant schools. Usually, these schools require the parents of non-Christian children to sign a letter of consent - stating that they have no objections to their children attending Christian classes - when they enroll. Failing or refusing to sign the letter means their children cannot study in Christian schools.
Such a policy, however, is not a monopoly of Christian schools. Muslim schools also require Christian students to take Islamic classes, including the recital of the Koran. Non-Muslim parents are asked to sign a letter of consent if they enroll their children at Muslim schools. The chance of Christians enrolling at Muslim schools, however, is very slim, as most Muslim schools are not up to the standard of most Christian schools.
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