LEGAL FRAMEWORK

The constitution provides right to practice the religion of one’s choice and specifies that freedom of religion is a human right that may not be limited. The constitution states, “The nation is based upon belief in one supreme God,” but it provides all persons the right to worship according to their own religion or belief, stating that the right to have a religion is a human right that shall not be discriminated against.

The constitution states citizens must accept restrictions established by law to protect the rights of others and to satisfy “just demands based upon considerations of morality, religious values, security, and public order in a democratic society.” The law restricts citizens from exercising these rights in a way that infringes on the rights of others, oversteps common moral standards and religious values, or jeopardizes security or public order.

MORA extends official recognition and support to groups in six faiths: Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism. The Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) is a quasi-governmental organization of Muslim clerics whose stated responsibility is maintaining religious harmony and supporting national development. While the constitution does not cite any specific branch of Islam as official, MUI comprises only Sunni Muslim groups, including Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah. MUI does not accept Shia or Ahmadiyya members.

The law prohibits “deviant interpretations” of religious teachings and any blasphemous organization. The law further prohibits deliberate public statements or activities that insult or defame any of the six officially recognized religions or have the intent of preventing an individual from adhering to an official religion. The blasphemy articles in the criminal code also stipulate that in any case of defamation of the six officially recognized religions, MOHA, MORA, and the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) must first warn the individual in question before bringing a defamation charge. These articles forbid the dissemination of information designed to spread hatred or dissension among individuals or certain community groups based on ethnicity, religion, or race. Individuals may be subject to prosecution for blasphemous, atheistic, or heretical statements under either the provisions or the law against defamation and may face a maximum prison sentence of five years. The Electronic Information and Transaction (ITE) law forbids the electronic dissemination of the same types of information, with violations carrying a maximum six-year prison sentence.

The government defines a religion as having a prophet, holy book, and deity as well as international recognition. The government deems the six officially recognized religions to meet these requirements.

Religious organizations that do not represent one of the six recognized religions must register with the government. They are required to obtain a legal charter and approval from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (MLHR) as well as a legal charter as a civil society organization (CSO) from MOHA. Both MOHA and MLHR consult with MORA before granting legal status to religious organizations. The law requires all CSOs to uphold the national ideology of Pancasila, which encompasses the principles of belief in one God, justice, unity, democracy, and social justice. MORA’s approval is announced publicly through a state publication. Violations of the law may result in a loss of legal status, dissolution of the organization, and arrest of members under the blasphemy articles of the criminal code or other applicable laws. Indigenous religious groups must register with the Ministry of Education and Culture as aliran kepercayaan to obtain official, legal status.

A 2008 joint ministerial decree by MORA, MOHA, and AGO bans both proselytizing by the Ahmadi Muslim community and vigilantism against the group. Violations of the ban on proselytizing by Ahmadis carry a maximum five-year prison sentence on charges of blasphemy. According to the criminal code, vigilantism carries a maximum four-and-one-half-year prison sentence. If persons proactively ask for information from Ahmadi Muslims about their faith, Ahmadis are permitted to speak freely about their beliefs without violating the ban on proselytizing.

Another joint ministerial decree by MORA, MOHA, and AGO bans the Fajar Nusantara Movement, known as Gafatar, from proselytizing, spreading its teachings publicly, or conducting any other activities deemed to spread deviant interpretations of Islam. Violators of the ban may be charged with blasphemy and may receive a maximum five-year prison sentence.

The MUI has issued fatwas that ban proselytizing by what it calls deviant groups, such as Inkar al-Sunnah, Ahmadiyya, Islam Jama’ah, the Lia Eden Community, and al-Qiyadah al-Islamiyah. The MUI has issued fatwas and guidance cautioning against the spread of Shia teachings, including a 2013 guidebook called “Recognizing and Being Aware of Shia Deviations.”

The government requires all officially registered religious groups to comply with directives from MORA and other ministries on issues such as the construction of houses of worship, receipt of foreign aid by domestic religious institutions, and propagation of religion.

A 2006 joint ministerial decree issued by MORA and MOHA states that religious groups may not hold services in private residences, and those seeking to build a house of worship must obtain the signatures of at least 90 members of the group and 60 persons of other religious groups in the community stating they support the construction. Local governments are responsible for implementing the decree. The decree also requires approval from the local interfaith council, called the religious harmony forum (FKUB), before construction can proceed. Government-established FKUBs exist at the provincial and district/city level and are comprised of religious leaders from the six official groups. They are responsible for mediating interreligious conflicts.

The law requires religious instruction in public schools. Students have the right to request religious instruction in any one of the six official religions, but teachers are not always available to teach the requested religion classes. Under the law, students may not opt out of religious education requirements.

Sharia is in force in Aceh and enforced by Islamic courts. Under the terms of a 2005 peace agreement that ended a separatist conflict and the Special Autonomy Law, Aceh Province has unique authority to implement sharia regulations. The law also extends the jurisdiction of religious courts to economic transactions and criminal cases in the province. The Aceh government states that sharia only applies to Muslim residents of Aceh, although nonresident Muslims and adherents to other faiths may accept sharia in lieu of trial and punishment under the criminal code.

Aceh is the only province that implements sharia. The Aceh parliament adopted the Aceh Islamic Criminal Code in 2014; it went into effect in 2015. These laws provide for up to 100 lashes (caning) as punishment. Offenses include same-sex relations, sexual relations outside marriage, selling and consuming alcohol, gambling, being alone with someone of the opposite sex who is not a marriage partner or relative, sexual abuse, rape, and accusing a person of adultery without providing four witnesses.

Under a governor’s decree, women may not work in or visit restaurants unaccompanied by their spouse or a male relative after 9 p.m. A Banda Aceh mayoral decree forbids women from working in coffee shops, internet cafes, or sports venues after 11 p.m. or visiting such places after 10 p.m. if unaccompanied by an appropriate male relative. These decrees, however, do not have the force of law. Sharia regulations in Aceh require Muslim women to wear a hijab and prohibit them from wearing tight clothes in public. Regulations allow local officials to “remind” Muslim women of these regulations but not to detain them for violating the regulations. One district in Aceh prohibits women from sitting astride motorcycles when riding as passengers with a non-relative male. The maximum penalties for violations of sharia regulations include imprisonment and caning. There are regulations intended to limit the amount of force authorities may exert during a caning.

Many local governments outside of Aceh have enacted regulations based on religious considerations. Many of these regulations relate to matters such as religious education and only apply to a specific religious group. Some religiously inspired local regulations in effect apply to all citizens. For instance, some local regulations require restaurants to close during Ramadan fasting hours, ban alcohol, or mandate the collection of zakat (Islamic alms). Other local regulations forbid or limit the religious activities of religious minorities, especially Shia and Ahmadi Muslims.

Provincial and district governments have the legal authority to require the wearing of hijabs as part of the school uniform. To force compliance, some schools make wearing a hijab a mandatory component of religious studies classes, which students must pass to move to the next grade.

The law contains provisions that district courts sometimes use as justification for denying requests for interfaith marriages, despite a 1986 Supreme Court decision allowing them. A 2005 MUI fatwa declares interfaith marriage haram (forbidden), and a Supreme Court circular letter advises district courts to stop approving interfaith marriages, although the letter is not legally binding. If interfaith couples do receive permission from a district court to wed, the law requires parties to perform the marriage ceremony according to the rituals and teachings of the religions of both the bride and groom.

The law requires the leader of an aliran kepercayaan group to demonstrate group members live in at least three regencies, which are administrative designations one level below a province, before the leader may officiate at a wedding. This constraint effectively bars members of some smaller groups without such geographic presence from having their marriage ceremony officiated by a member of their faith, although groups may aid each other and facilitate marriage ceremonies by an officiant from a group with similar faith traditions and rituals.

The law requires that an adopted child must be of the same religion as the adoptive parents. In the case of a child of unknown parentage, the government generally will consider the child’s religion as that of the religious majority in the location where the child was found. Both adoptive parents must state their belief in God and appear at the court hearing. In general, interfaith couples are barred from adoption as one of them does not share the same faith as the child.

A joint ministerial decree by MORA and MOHA requires domestic religious organizations to obtain approval from MORA to receive funding from overseas donors. The decree also prohibits dissemination of religious literature and pamphlets to members of other religious groups as well as all forms of proselytizing, including door-to-door proselytizing.

Foreign religious workers must obtain religious worker visas, and foreign religious organizations must obtain permission from MORA to provide any type of assistance (in-kind, personnel, or financial) to local religious groups.

The country is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

GOVERNMENT PRACTICES

Government practices varied throughout the country. In Aceh, Muslims were sentenced to public caning for violating laws against extramarital sex, alcohol consumption, and gambling. Many districts reported disputes over new houses of worship, which local governments often addressed by relocating construction to more accepting neighborhoods. To address interreligious conflict, the government usually sought solutions that appeased the majority and reduced the likelihood of violence. Interfaith marriage became more difficult in July with the issuance of a Supreme Court circular letter requesting that district courts stop approving requests from interfaith couples to marry. Blasphemy laws continued to be enforced, most often against individuals who uploaded controversial content online.

Abuses Involving Violence, Detention, or Mass Resettlement

In Aceh, authorities continued to carry out public canings for sharia violations such as consuming or selling alcohol, gambling, and extramarital sex. Authorities conducted canings in public venues despite the governor’s 2018 order to conduct them only in prison facilities. Media outlets broadcast recordings of the punishments, and observers frequently photographed or recorded the canings. Government and sharia officials stated non-Muslim residents of Aceh could choose punishment under either sharia or civil court procedures, but Muslim residents of Aceh must receive punishment under sharia. NGOs reported that victims of sexual violence and rape were sometimes punished for adultery if the perpetrator stated the encounter was consensual.

In August, authorities caned seven young men and women in Banda Aceh for consuming alcohol; each received between 12 and 37 lashes. In September, eight individuals convicted of adultery each received 100 canings, administered publicly in the courtyard of the Alfalah Kota Sigli Mosque. Two others were caned for gambling and received 20 and 25 lashes respectively. Another individual, convicted of adultery, was scheduled to receive 100 lashes the same day, but her punishment was postponed because she had just given birth.

In May, 11 years after an anti-Shia mob forced 338 Shia Muslims from their homes in Sunni-majority Sampang, East Java, approximately 265 individuals were allowed to return to their hometown, but only following their conversion from Shia to Sunni Islam in 2020. This was the second repatriation wave following the return of 53 Shia believers to Sampang in April 2022 after their conversion to Sunni Islam. Although their homes had been destroyed by an anti-Shia mob, local officials publicly committed to supporting the families’ reintegration and safety, but only as long as they did not return to Shia Islam. Four families who had not converted to Sunni Islam remained exiled in Sidoarjo, East Java.

Media reports indicated authorities took steps to protect the sanctity of sacred and religious places, as required under law. There were multiple instances of authorities deporting tourists from Bali for disrespecting the sanctity of Hindu temples. In May, immigration authorities detained three Russian tourists for dancing and posing in the courtyard of Pengubengan Temple while dressed inappropriately. The tourists later apologized in a ceremony led by temple officials. Authorities deported two of the detainees on May 12 and permitted the third to remain in Bali.

Abuses Limiting Religious Belief and Expression

In July, the Supreme Court issued a circular letter advising district courts to stop approving interfaith marriages, contradicting a 1986 Supreme Court ruling legalizing interfaith marriage when interfaith couples obtain a court order. Since 1986, district courts have interpreted the ruling unevenly, and interfaith couples faced numerous obstacles in obtaining district court approval and in finding a religious institution to facilitate a wedding ceremony. According to some religious leaders, the July circular letter further confused and limited legal pathways to interfaith marriage. While circular letters are not legally binding, district courts are strongly encouraged to follow them. NGOs and religious groups spoke out against the letter as a setback in guaranteeing the rights of citizens from diverse religious backgrounds and called for the government to respect the 1986 Supreme Court ruling and protect the marriage choices of each citizen. Many interfaith couples in response opted to marry outside of the country.

In December 2022, the parliament unanimously approved a revised criminal code, to take effect in 2026, that expanded the scope of blasphemy and apostasy provisions with articles that criminalize “hate speech based on religion” with penalties ranging between two and five years in prison, depending on the type of infraction.

In February, the Medan District Court sentenced Rudi Simamora to one year in prison for blasphemy against Islam for violating the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law prohibiting hate speech against any religion, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The Christian YouTuber was convicted of blasphemy for posting a video in which he belittled Allah and stated Allah is the reason why “many people are lost.”

In April, a court convicted Gratia Pello after police arrested him on charges of offending Islam and sentenced him to two years in prison. A lecturer at a small Christian theological school in Malang, East Java, Pello was known for conducting dialogues with Muslim converts from Christianity, blogging comparisons of Christianity and Islam, and publicizing his views in YouTube videos.

On August 1, authorities arrested a Muslim preacher and headmaster of Al Zaytun boarding school, Panji Gumilang, on charges of blasphemy and hate speech. They accused Gumilang of promoting an unorthodox version of Islam by allowing men and women to pray side-by-side and permitting women to deliver sermons during Friday prayers. Gumilang denied the blasphemy accusations and said the mixed-gender prayer was a means to promote equal rights for women. The accusations added to Gumilang’s pending legal issues. Government officials previously said the cleric had six aliases and more than 250 bank accounts. At year’s end, the government’s anti-money-laundering authority was continuing its investigation into what it characterized as suspicious transactions by Gumilang.

On September 19, the Palembang District Court sentenced social media personality Lina Luftiawati to two years in prison and fined her 250 million rupiah ($16,300) for “inciting hatred” against religious groups by posting a video in which she recites an Islamic prayer before eating pork, an act forbidden under Islam. The video had more than 13 million views within one week. Following sentencing, Luftiawati, who identifies as Muslim, told reporters, “I know that I am wrong, but I did not expect this punishment.”

YouTuber Muhammad Kace, a former Muslim cleric and convert to Christianity, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in April 2022 for blasphemy and hate speech, had his sentence reduced to six years in June 2022 by an appellate court. Kace was convicted of blasphemy and hate speech for posting several hundred videos and sermons on social media that were critical of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.

Abuses Involving the Ability of Individuals to Engage in Religious Activities Alone or In Community with Others

According to religious groups and NGOs, government officials and police sometimes failed to prevent religious and religiously affiliated groups from infringing on others’ religious freedom and committing other acts of intimidation, such as damaging or destroying houses of worship and homes. Groups often identified as intolerant included the Islamic Community Forum, Islamic Jihad Front, Indonesian Mujahideen Council, and the banned Islamic Defender’s Front (FPI).

In some locations, Shia Muslims were hindered from commemorating Ashura Day, which is a day of mourning for the death of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson. On July 28, local police, community leaders, and members from Islamic organizations responded to reports of a Shia Ashura commemoration event taking place in a hotel room in Polewali Mandar, West Sulawesi. They entered the hotel room where they reportedly found hundreds of Shia men and women dressed in black for Ashura. Local media reported that upon efforts to disband the event, community members and participants shouted at one another, demanded each other’s addresses, and took photos. The head of the organizing committee told media on July 30 that the event was not disbanded but continued under police protection after “slight disturbances.”. In Makassar City and Gowa Regency in South Sulawesi, the Sunni group “Heretical Hunters Army” (LPAS) monitored locations on Ashura Day “with no results,” according to their leader. In contrast, thousands of Shias in Jakarta peacefully commemorated Ashura Day on July 28 in Bung Karno Stadium without disturbance or disruption.

Across the country, minority religious groups, including Muslim groups in non-Muslim majority areas, continued to say the official requirement that groups had to obtain signatures from 90 members of the religious community and 60 members of other religious communities in the area supporting the construction or renovation of a house of worship was a barrier.

NGOs continued to report that some local governments did not issue permits for the construction of new places of worship, even when congregations had the required number of members, because those who opposed the construction for religious reasons sometimes pressured neighbors not to support the construction. NGOs continued to report cases in which a few vocal opponents were reportedly successful in persuading officials to stop issuing construction permits, effectively giving groups from majority religions a de facto veto over construction of houses of worship by minority faith groups. Some NGOs also advocated removing the requirement of FKUB approval, describing it as an unnecessary bureaucratic step that was sometimes used to deny approval of houses of worship that otherwise meet legal requirements.

Members of the Jewish community stated their numbers nationwide were too few to consider building any new synagogues. The country has one legally recognized synagogue, located in Tondano, Sulawesi.

Obtaining a building permit remained an obstacle for some religious groups. Local authorities typically prohibited services from taking place in buildings that had not received official approval. In April, local officials sealed the Simalungun Christian Protestant Church (GKPS) in Cigelam, Babakancikao, Purwakarta after media reported that a group of intruders interrupted a service and demanded the church’s closure. Officials said the church lacked proper approval and certification. Church leadership objected and said the building was closed without due process but acknowledged they had not obtained a building permit. Purwakarta Regent Anne Ratna Mustika said the sealing was temporary until the church obtained the proper permit. In response, the Communion of Indonesia Christian Churches (PGI) sent a letter to the regent citing three other churches in Purwakarta whose applications for building permits remained pending after 30 years, at great expense to the congregation. The PGI also called on President Joko Widodo, through MOHA and MORA, to urge the regent to issue a temporary permit to GKPS and other churches in Purwakarta, citing the Joint Ministerial Decree of 2006 that allows local governments to provide a temporary permit for churches while applications are pending. At year’s end, the local government had not issued a temporary permit, but it did allow the congregation to use a military-owned building for services while awaiting approval.

In situations where congregations had obtained a building permit, local authorities sometimes defended the congregation’s right to construct a house of worship when faced with local opposition. In April, Lumajang Regent Thoriqul Haq defended the construction of a Pentecostal church in Tempeh Tengah Village after residents erected banners at the construction site rejecting the new house of worship. Protestors claimed the building permit approval process lacked transparency and stated they did not want the church constructed adjacent to two local mosques. The regent upheld the right of the church to continue with construction, saying the location was discussed with the FKUB and the church received permission in accordance with all applicable laws.

In July 2022, hundreds of residents protested at the intended construction site of the Ahmad bin Hanbal Mosque in Bogor, West Java, after hearing the mosque would be for Wahhabi followers. At the time, the mayor temporarily suspended construction to allow for 90 days of deliberation between the Hanbal Mosque and the community. He also acknowledged a high risk of physical conflict, including a “mass movement” of people from outside of Bogor who also objected to the mosque’s construction. As of year’s end, construction of the Hanbal Mosque had not yet resumed.

State-recognized religious leaders in government-supported interfaith forums reportedly found ways to block aliran kepercayaan believers from constructing places of worship, largely through stringent permit requirements. Aliran kepercayaan adherents said they feared accusations of atheism if they contested such treatment in court. Christian leaders also continued to report that some local officials indefinitely delayed the approval of requests to build new churches because officials feared construction would lead to protests. Ahmadi and Shia Muslims and Christians said they sometimes also faced delays or denials when seeking approval to relocate to temporary facilities while a primary place of worship underwent renovation. Ahmadi Muslims reported difficulties constructing mosques in Depok and Sukabumi, West Java, where locals protested, and city governments denied building permits.

As of October, construction of a new Maranatha church in the city of Cilegon, Banten Province, remained on hold more than a year after hundreds of demonstrators, including the Cilegon mayor and his deputy, protested against the new church in September 2022, an act that religious freedom activists called “unconstitutional.” Cilegon is the largest city in the country without any non-Muslim places of worship, including churches, temples, or viharas. In May, the head of the Banten Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Tejo Harwanto, and the head of the Legal and Human Rights Service Division, Andi Taletting, met with the church building committee to address the conflict. According to media reports, Harwanto and Taletting acknowledged the church had followed regulations but stated that considering the perspectives of additional parties was a necessary next step.

The 2023 Jehovah’s Witnesses Religious Freedom Report cited 436 instances of harassment against Jehovah’s Witnesses schoolchildren by educators between January 2019 and August 2022 for abstaining from participation in nationalistic or religious activities that violated their personal beliefs. As a punishment for not saluting the Indonesian flag and only standing instead, the report stated that some students were expelled or denied promotion to the next grade level. According to the report, students as young as 10 had their photos posted online, showing them abstaining both from saluting the flag and singing the national anthem in an effort to shame them.

Aliran kepercayaan followers continued to report that in accordance with the law requiring all students to take a religious education class in one of the six officially recognized religions, schools insisted their children attend these classes without any official accommodation for an alternative course of study or exemption for children of minority religious groups not among the six recognized groups. There were some reports of bullying of indigenous children for aliran kepercayaan beliefs, including some female students forced by school administrators to wear hijabs. Ahmadi Muslim students reported religion classes on Islam focused only on Sunni teachings. Some schools only offered classes in the majority religion during the school day, while students from minority religions were required to attend class for their faith after school hours or on the weekend.

NGOs documented 73 local mandatory hijab regulations with penalties ranging from verbal warnings, expulsion from work or school, or imprisonment of up to three months. Despite efforts by the Ministries of Religion, Home Affairs, and Education and Culture to prohibit mandatory wearing of hijabs, NGOs stated that the central government did not have authority over the civil service and education sectors, as they fell under the provincial and district governments. In August, the Commission on Violence Against Women held its first hearing on mandatory hijab regulations.

Women and girls who chose to not wear a hijab occasionally reported being bullied or harassed. In August, a teacher in East Java partially shaved the heads of 14 schoolgirls for improperly wearing their hijabs. Media reported school authorities suspended the teacher. Parents reported that the pressure for mandatory hijab regulations came from the community rather than religious leaders.

Abuses Involving Discrimination or Unequal Treatment

Although the government generally allowed citizens to leave the religion column blank on their identity card (KTP) applications and a 2017 Constitutional Court ruling allowed citizens to select Indigenous faiths on their KTP applications, individuals continued to report difficulties accessing government services if they chose either option. Faced with this problem, many religious minority members, including those following Indigenous beliefs and atheists, reportedly chose to identify as a member of an officially recognized religion close to their beliefs or of the locally dominant religion. According to researchers, this practice obscured the real numbers of adherents to religious groups in government statistics. NGOs and religious advocacy groups continued to urge the government to remove the religion field from KTPs.

Given the inconsistent legal status regarding approval of interfaith marriage, some couples of differing religions selected the same religion on their KTPs in order to marry legally. Strict enforcement of marriage laws and implementation rules reportedly varied by region.

Minority Muslim groups, including Ahmadis, Shia, and Gafatar, reported occasional resistance when their members applied for KTPs as Muslims, effectively denying them access to public services if they could not secure KTPs. If provided the option of identifying as “Ahmadi,” most Ahmadis did not select this option as they would no longer be considered Muslim by the government, complicating such choices as to where they could attend school and whom they could marry.

Before the start of Ramadan in March, the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission released its annual circular outlining regulations on appropriate televised content and requirements for all televised preachers during the month of Ramadan. The circular required all preachers to be “appropriate,” meaning conforming with standards established by MUI, and to have no association with organizations prohibited by the government. The circular also restricted footage of hugging or cuddling between people of the opposite sex, sensual body movements, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex content, hypnotic practices, and content that conflicts with “norms of decency and morality.”

Many individuals in the government, media, civil society, and general population were vocal and active in support of the principles of religious pluralism and tolerance, but public figures also used religion to justify discriminating against interfaith couples and other marginalized groups.

Other Developments Affecting Religious Freedom

Some government institutions conducted events to advocate religious tolerance and interfaith dialogue. In July, MORA launched a countrywide program to promote peace and harmony between religious groups called One Thousand Religious Moderation Villages. MORA also sponsored a symposium at Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University in Yogyakarta on religious heritage, nonviolence, and traditions to highlight the key role of educational institutions in promoting religious moderation values and countering intolerance. In August, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited the ambassadors from 15 countries to the Jakarta Plurilateral Dialogue to discuss the importance of freedom of religion and freedom of expression.

In September, MORA began using the Christian name Yesus Kristus when describing Christian holidays rather than using Jesus’ name in Islam, Isa Al-Masih. Christians said they viewed this change as a positive step towards greater inclusivity. Historically, the government used Isa Al Masih to describe Good Friday (Wafatnya Isa Al-Masih) and the Ascension of Christ (Kenaikan Isa Al-Masih).