Christianity, Islam, and Nationalism in Indonesia
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Christianity, Islam, and Nationalism in Indonesia As the largest Muslim country in the world, Indonesia is marked by an extraordinary diversity of languages, traditions, cultures, and religions. Christianity, Islam, and Nationalism in Indonesia focuses on Dani Christians of West Papua, providing a social and ethnographic history of the most important indigenous population in the troubled province. It presents a captivating overview of the Dani conversion to Christianity, examining the social, religious, and political uses to which they have put their new religion. Farhadian provides the first major study of a highland Papuan group in an urban context, which distinguishes it from the typical highland Melanesian ethnography. Incorporating cultural and structural approaches, the book affords a fascinating look into the complex relationship among Christianity, Islam, nation making, and indigenous traditions. Based on research over many years, Christianity, Islam, and Nationalism in Indonesia offers an abundance of new material on religious and political events in West Papua. The book underlines the heart of Christian–Muslim rivalries, illuminating the fate of religion in late-modern times. Charles E. Farhadian is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California. Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series 1 Land Tenure, Conservation and Development in Southeast Asia Peter Eaton 2 The Politics of Indonesia–Malaysia Relations One kin, two nations Joseph Chinyong Liow 3 Governance and Civil Society in Myanmar Education, health and environment Helen James 4 Regionalism in Post-Suharto Indonesia Edited by Maribeth Erb, Priyambudi Sulistiyanto, and Carole Faucher 5 Living with Transition in Laos Market integration in Southeast Asia Jonathan Rigg 6 Christianity, Islam, and Nationalism in Indonesia Charles E. Farhadian 7 Violent Conflicts in Indonesia Analysis, representation, resolution Edited by Charles A. Coppel 8 Revolution, Reform and Regionalism in Southeast Asia Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam Ronald Bruce St John Christianity, Islam, and Nationalism in Indonesia Charles E. Farhadian fl Routledge I~ Taylor & Francis Group LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 2005 by Routledge Published 2017 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright © 2005 Charles E. Farhadian Typeset in Times New Roman by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd, Chennai, India The Open Access version of this book, available at www.tandfebooks.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercail-No Derivatives 4.0 license. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Christianity, Islam, and nationalism in Indonesia / [edited by] Charles E. Farhadian. p. cm. – (Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series; 6) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Christianity – Indonesia. 2. Islam – Indonesia. 3. Religion and politics. 4. Nationalism – Indonesia. 5. Nationalism – Religious aspects. I. Farhadian, Charles E., 1964– II. Series. BR1220.C47 2005 305.8'99120951–dc22 2004030017 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library All photography reproduced with the kind permission of either Stephan Babuljak (www.bbjphoto.com) or Charles E. Farhadian a. in-text photos are from either Babuljak or Farhadian (see specific plates) b. cover image is by Stephan Babuljak ISBN 978-0–415–35961–0 (hbk) To the memory of my father, Edward Charles Farhadian Contents List of plates ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xv List of abbreviations xix Map of West Papua xxi 1 Conflicting visions and constructing identities: beyond splendid isolation 1 2 The Western mission enterprise and the New Order’s New Society: instilling the visions 13 3 Jayapura and transformations of the New Society: down from the mountain 49 4 Secularizing society: the struggle of Christianity in West Papua 72 5 The vision of the church: the New Jerusalem 106 6 The desecularization of Dani religiosity and identity: “all in the making” 149 7 Conclusion: beyond mission Christianity 179 Appendices 189 Glossary 193 Notes 195 Bibliography 204 Index 229 Plates 2.1 Baliem Valley 43 2.2 Western Dani highland complex 43 2.3 Pasar Nyak, Wamena 44 2.4 Dani women in front of garbage dump 44 2.5 Dani Bible students 45 2.6 Western Dani youth 45 2.7 Western Dani Bible village 45 2.8 Dani burning movement monument 46 2.9 Dani church 46 2.10 Wamena storefront 47 2.11 Grand Valley Dani men breaking rocks 47 2.12 Highland mosque sign, Walesi 48 2.13 Highland mosque and village, Walesi 48 5.1 Transmigration shantytown, Jayapura 144 5.2 Movie theater, Jayapura 144 5.3 Taxi stand, Jayapura 145 5.4 Dani boy 145 5.5 Papuan batik store, Jayapura 146 5.6 Weary transmigrant 146 5.7 Urban Dani youth 147 5.8 Dani woman reading the Bible 147 5.9 Multiethnic church Sunday school class 147 5.10 Indonesian soldier 148 5.11 Post-New Order newspapers 148 Preface My fieldwork in West Papua was from June 1998 to the last day of April 1999. Since 1983, I have visited West Papua on numerous occasions engaged as a person of faith and intellectual conviction. Prior to my departure for field research in 1998, I wondered what historical moment would conclude my analysis. As I waited for my visa to be processed, increased economic and social instabilities caused partly by a surmounting debt crisis and the unmasking of President Suharto’s patronage system throughout the archipelago eventuated in Suharto’s abdication of the presidency after thirty-two years in power on May 21, 1998, and with him the demise of the New Order regime. The Southeast Asian economic crisis beginning in late 1997 combined with the political uncertainty following President Suharto’s resignation to considerably increase social tensions and scapegoating. It appeared the nation might come unglued. The crisis, though partly economic, was essentially one of socio-political unrest that threatened to tear apart the entire country. Indonesia was searching for a new mechanism for change. As the world witnessed the truly historical events of social unrest the New Order regime suddenly collapsed and the nation entered into a period commonly referred to as Reformasi. In July of 1998 government officials admitted that 50 percent of the population – some 100 million people – would be living in poverty by the end of the year. Resentment arose from Muslims and Christians alike. Economic stability, a hallmark of New Order strategies, had masked rampant corruption at the highest levels of government, giving way to the depreciation of the Indonesian currency, the rupiah. For US$1 the exchange rates were as follows: on July 26, 1996, Rp2,338; on October 3, 1997, Rp3,420; on December 24, 1997, Rp6,200; on January 20, 1998, Rp12,000; and on October 13, 1999, it was Rp8,125; and on November 29, 2004, Rp8,995. Entering the island of West Papua, I was fully aware of the unique historical period in which Indonesia was struggling to define itself – now with greater urgency. The events prior to and subsequent to the fall of President Suharto’s rule, unlike the disruptions on the “peripheral” islands, exploded from the center, Jakarta, where students and later the general public demonstrated for a legitimate, transparent governmental regime. The New Order’s economic success, which was largely dependent on foreign loans, had accrued a foreign debt of US$130 billion xii Preface by the end of Suharto’s rule. Students demonstrated for clean politics, democracy, and moral renewal. Among intellectual elites, debate over the role of religion in civil society continued to be fiery. President Suharto was well known for his ability to create and maintain conflicts among Indonesians, and he used this skill for his own purposes. Tension between the Muslims and the Christians increased as Muslims suspected Christians of “Christianization,” while the Christians accused Muslims of attempt- ing to create an Islamic State. The military complex played a unifying role in all levels of society and government; and continues today as a significant force in the political arena of power struggles among the Indonesian elite. Yet movements for political independence threaten to Balkanize the archipelago. Whereas the collapse of the New Order regime has led many Indonesians to have unrealistic expectations of change, I did notice a social and political open- ing in West Papua in the wake of Suharto’s demise. In 1983, during my first visit to West Papua, the government’s strong hand was apparent in virtually all sectors of daily life, such as in its censorship of print and film media (e.g. blackening out of what was deemed sensitive or inappropriate material in international news magazines). Displaying the Papuan flag (i.e. Morning Star), a symbol of Papuan independence, was recognized as a capital offence. And security measures required surat jalans (travel papers) for travel to nearby locales. During the initial days of Reformasi, censorship, the public display of Papuan symbols, and the requirement for travel papers became more liberalized, permit- ting the public sphere to be a place where human actors have been able to begin to assert their views. I was surprised on several occasions to see young Papuans walking on main streets in the largest towns of West Papua wearing T-shirts on which large Papuan flags were printed. This cultural confidence symbolized that a slight lacuna had begun to open throughout the social and political system. Erupting from the fine fissure of an otherwise tightly sealed political structure was the public insertion of the notion of “Papuanness,” with its conspicuous self- assurance. On the other hand, the force of the military was still readily felt as family members report continued incidents of extra-judicial killings, intimida- tion, and torture of those suspected of being a threat to government efforts at national integration.