BNPT's Proposal To Monitor Houses Of Worship Can Cause Conflict

Illustration of houses of worship (ANTARA)

Chairman of PP Muhammadiyah Haedar Nashir gave a response regarding the statement by the Head of the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) Komjen Pol Rycko Amelza Dahniel who proposed a mechanism for controlling houses of worship as an effort to prevent radicalism.

According to Haedar, the supervision of houses of worship carried out by the community when facilitated by the government will actually cause new problems. The proposed house of worship to be supervised will open up potential intergroup conflicts in the community.

Supervision by the community is actually when it is endorsed by the country it will become a new problem. Later it will open up potential conflicts between groups, between communities. Indeed, the community already has self-mechanism, social mechanism for mutual control of each other. That's a natural thing," said Haedar, Thursday, September 7.

Haedar said that when the community is given facilities by the state to oversee houses of worship, it will have the potential to cause horizontal conflicts.

"When it is endorsed by the state to oversee mosques, supervise churches, and so on, it will have the potential to cause horizontal conflicts," he continued.

Haedar advised the government, in this case BNPT, to be wiser regarding this issue. Especially now that it is approaching the political year. The community needs a conducive atmosphere.

"So this is where the importance of wisdom, intelligence and broader responsibilities from both BNPT and government agencies, especially the 2024 General Election which requires a conducive atmosphere," said Haedar.

Previously, the Head of BNPT, Komjen Pol Rycko Amelza Dahniel, explained his views regarding the proposed mechanism for controlling houses of worship as an effort to prevent radicalism.

Rycko explained that the control mechanism in places of worship was proposed by emphasizing the importance of involving the local community in supervision. For example, mosque administrators and local religious leaders can play a role by reporting any potentially radical activities or teachings.