East Java Is In The First Order Of The Province Of The Langgar Of Religious Freedom Throughout 2022, Vice President: Must Be Verified

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin at the Vice President's Palace, Jakarta. (doc. BPMI Setwapres)

LOMBOK - Vice President (Vice President) Ma'ruf Amin said reports regarding the order of provinces in Indonesia that violate religious freedom or belief throughout 2022 need to be verified.

"It must be verified first, is it true? Because the problem of building places of worship has rules agreed upon by religious assemblies, which are outlined in the Joint Regulation of the Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister of Religion. There are rules," said the Vice President in Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, Friday, February 10, confiscated by Antara.

At the end of January 2023, the Setara Institute released a report on the Conditions of Religious Freedom / Belief (KBB) in 2022.

East Java Province is in the first position as the area with the most violations. The Setara Institute recorded 34 KBB violations in East Java Province.

Incidents of violations in East Java are dominated by the rejection of lectures as many as eight events, rejection of the establishment of six places of worship, discriminatory policy as many as four events, and reporting of religious blasphemy three events.

"If those who comply with the rules then there is a ban, I don't think that's true. If they meet the requirements, they must be allowed, any religion must be allowed the same," said the Vice President.

However, if it does not meet the requirements, said the Vice President, the construction of houses of worship cannot be done either.

"Therefore, what is the reason for the report? Is it fulfilled or not fulfilled so it needs to be studied, in my opinion it needs explanation," he added.

The vice president also emphasized that there is no prohibition on the establishment of houses of worship.

"So, if there is a ban that is not fulfilled, it means that the area is not right because there are rules. However, if he does not meet the requirements, then force it, it means that the force is not correct, it means it must be verified," said the vice president.

Setara Institute researchers say East Java is ranked first in the province with the most violations of religious freedom, at least influenced by two factors.

The first factor is the still strong stigma against religious traditions or ancestral cultural groups which caused several groups to reject the religious or cultural traditions of the ancestors, such as rejection and destruction of offerings andACTS of worship.

The second factor is the strong Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) organization in East Java.

The rejection of the establishment of places of worship is one of the most common violations of KBB in East Java.

Meanwhile, the province with the most KBB violations was followed by West Java Province with 25 events, DKI Jakarta with 24 events, Banten 11 events, Central Java 11 events, North Sumatra 10 events, Nanggroe Aceh Darusalam 7 events, West Kalimantan 7 events, and West Nusa Tenggara 6 events.

In general, the Setara Institute recorded 175 incidents with 333 KBB violations in Indonesia in 2022. This figure has increased slightly compared to last year's findings, namely 171 events with 318 actions.