asianlayleaders.com – The right to make choices and embrace religion is a non-derogable right. This is regulated in the Siracusa Principles concerning the limitation and reduction of Human Rights in the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights. Indonesia itself has adopted this regulation into The 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, precisely in Article 28 paragraph 1, which clearly mentions that the right to religion cannot be reduced under any circumstances, the same is true with the right to life, the right not to be tortured, the right to freedom of thought and conscience, the right not to be enslaved, the right to be recognized as a person before the law, and the right not to be prosecuted on the basis of retroactive law.
In line with the above principles, in the teachings of Islam itself, freedom of religion and tolerance of fellow religious communities are highly respected. An example is the hadith which mentions the prohibition against fighting or killing Mu’ahad (people outside the Islamic religion who are bound by an agreement) so he will not smell the smell of heaven, even though in fact the smell of heaven can be felt from a distance of forty years of travel. The details are as follows:
حَدَّثَنَا قَيْسُ بْنُ حَفْصٍ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو حَدَّثَنَا مُجَاهِدٌ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ مَنْ قَتَلَ مُعَاهَدًا لَمْ يَرِحْ رَائِحَةَ الْجَنَّةِ وَإِنَّ رِيحَهَا تُوجَدُ مِنْ مَسِيرَةِ أَرْبَعِينَ عَامًا
(H.R Al-Bukhari No. 2930)
Mu’ahad himself at that time could be interpreted as those who were non-Muslims but lived and lived in the same area under the reign of Rasulullah S.A.W. Simply put, if in Indonesia you are a non-Muslim but are fellow Indonesian citizens who both uphold the noble values of the nation, such as the ideological foundation of Pancasila and submit to the constitutional foundations of the 1945 Constitution, they must be protected according to the hadiths and it is not true that they are cornered or even fought.
Examples of other references in the Quran regarding religious tolerance are listed in Q.S Al-Kafirun: 1-6 which contains your religion for you, and for me my religion. So clearly there is no prohibition in Islam for living side by side with non-Muslims, on the contrary, Islam also teaches mutual help and love for neighbors. This direction is contained in the hadith which contains instructions for believers to love their neighbors as they love themselves (HR Muslim and Abu Ya’la). And there are many more verses in the Al-Quran as well as the hadith history of Rasulullah S.A.W which regulates this principle.
However, as we know the issue of freedom of religion & belief (KBB) in Indonesia is a complex problem, it takes a serious struggle for KBB activists to realize ideal social coexistence. It is also common to find intolerant groups acting on behalf of community organizations (Ormas) with religious inspiration, often carrying out vigilante actions against minority religious groups or other marginalized groups. This is a joint task for people and/or groups who still believe that justice & peace in society can be realized. Therefore, to achieve this ideal goal, we must continue to spread positive values of the importance of tolerance between religions. In Islam, the Al-Quran as a way of life clearly regulates the importance of religious tolerance. There should be no doubt for Muslims to live peacefully side by side with non-Muslims.
By: Nabli Ali Ahmad