Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan Baku International Multiculturalism Centre Azerbaijani Multiculturalism Textbook for Higher Education

7.17. Multiculturalism in Indonesia

Indonesia has a population of 230 million, the majority of whom belong to the Austronesian group of over 300 ethnicities and ethnic groups. According to the 2010 census, over 1,340 different nations and ethnicities live in this country. This important difference is the result of different approaches to the issue of ethnic groups. For example, some sources consider the Cheribons to be an ethnic group, while other sources suggest that the Javanese are the titular ethnos. The Betawi and Bantenese peoples are also considered either ethnicities or titular ethnoses.

There are also other non-aboriginal ethnic groups living in Indonesia, which migrated from other countries. Most of them are Chinese. Ethnic Chinese live in all parts of the country, but the majority of them live in the big cities. Migration of the Chinese to Indonesia dates a long way back in history, but their mass migration began in the 16th century. Traditionally, they have controlled much of the economy of Indonesia. Therefore, relations between the local people and migrant Chinese have always been tense. These conflicts became much worse during the presidency of General Suharto. In that period the exacerbation of sociocultural conflicts between the Chinese and the local people and the ban on Chinese people speaking in Chinese made some deny their ethnicity.

Migrants from India and the Arab countries form communities in various regions of the country, especially in big cities. There are fewer Europeans and people born of mixed marriages of Europeans and Indonesians. Most of them either moved to different countries, especially to the Netherlands, or were repatriated after World War II and the independence of Indonesia.

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The official language of the Republic of Indonesia is the Indonesian language. The Indonesian language is compulsory in all general secondary schools, according to the Constitution. Almost all the population of the country knows their ethnic language as well as the official language. According to a report issued in 2009, 719 living languages are spoken in Indonesia.

Indonesia is a secular country, but religion plays an important role in the life of the Indonesian people. It is expressed in the ideology of the Indonesian people, Pancasila – ‘belief in the one God’. According to the constitution adopted in 1945, all citizens have religious freedom. Legislation adopted in 1965 envisages government help for the major religions – Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism and Confucianism.

Interreligious and interethnic relations in Indonesia have not always been friendly. Clashes between different ethnicities and religions broke out in the last centuries of Indonesian history. These clashes became more regular in the 20th century. At different periods the government has itself adopted decisions fostering tolerance or discrimination. For example, during the Orba regime (Orde Baru or New Order) new laws were passed against the ethnic Chinese, restricting their cultural and religious practices, especially Buddhism and Confucianism. In 1966 and 1998 President Suharto made an attempt to decrease the number of Muslims in the government and to increase the number of Christians. In the beginning of 1990 there were two groups in military government who had different views on making Indonesia an Islamic country. The group headed by General Prabowo struggled to create an Islamic state in Indonesia, while Wiranto’s nationalist group sought to establish a secular government.

The ethno-confessional conflicts in Indonesia have both shared and unique causes. Most of the conflicts are deep-rooted, but

Section III

Chapter 7

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Azerbaijani Multiculturalism

the most recent ones are the result of critical conditions in socio-economic and political life. Therefore, the government is carrying out various projects to improve the socio-economic condition of the people, to promote tolerance and stable relations among followers of the officially recognized religions and to establish integration among ethnic groups, in short, to shape a multicultural environment.