Bhinneka sans Ika to review the Marriage Law Mochtar Karuwin Komar  ;   A legal consultant; Graduate of Atma Jaya Catholic University, Jakarta

JAKARTA POST,  28 September 2014

                                                                                                                       

The national motto of Indonesia is “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika”, which translates as “unity in diversity”. This diversity encompasses people of various religions and cultures. Furthermore, the Constitution stipulates that each person has the freedom to practice his or her religion of choice. Indonesian marriage law, which effectively prohibits inter-faith marriage, however, contradicts these founding principles. According to the law, a marriage requires a religious ceremony in order to be valid. The Indonesian government officially recognizes six religions: Islam, Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism and Confucianism. In practice, this means that both members of a couple must belong to the same religion if they seek a legal marriage. Many people in Indonesia have had to convert, sacrificing their beliefs, in order to tie the knot with the person they love. The difficulty is often augmented by pressure from families and the cultural stigma attached to inter-faith couples. Many families force their sons or daughters to break ties with their partners of different faiths, or they ask the partners to convert. Younger generations, however, accept inter-faith relationships. While pressure from families may be an important factor for couples, the law can be an insurmountable obstacle. Of course, parents are free to convince their children to follow their beliefs, but the law should be fair and unbiased. Fairness and equality do not encompass forcing people to convert in order to marry people they love. This forced conversion has many negative consequences. It separates people from their beliefs, religious practices and culture. It also often sparks friction or even division between them and their families. This tension can undermine the love and intimacy between a married couple. The person who has to convert may feel he or she has sacrificed too much and may even begin to resent his or her spouse for it. Implementation of the marriage law can result in misleading data about the growth of followers of a certain religion as many of its new members may not genuinely believe in the new faith. Do we want to keep a law that undermines Indonesian culture, religions, marriages and families? Should we maintain a law that fundamentally violates our constitutional freedom of religion? A number of inter-faith couples have sought alternate ways to get around the law’s requirement. Some people have officially changed their religions immediately ahead of their wedding ceremony and then returned to their original religion shortly afterwards. Others have travelled abroad to get married and some couples have even resorted to living together without getting married. Couples who love each other should not have to use such desperate means in order to be together. Indonesian law should support a healthy family life without violating its citizens’ rights and free will. Happily, a group of legal scholars has recently challenged Indonesian marriage law by filing a judicial review with the Constitutional Court against the article in Indonesia’s marriage law requiring religious ceremonies. One of the petitioners argued that he and the others “[found] that this law has the potential to violate people’s rights to adhere to their chosen religion and to bypass religious wedding rituals.” Government officials have countered that Indonesia is at its core a religious country and that this justifies the law’s requirement for religious ceremonies. Allowing inter-faith marriages does not mean that marriage and culture in Indonesia will not have a religious underpinning. In fact, allowing everyone to stay true to their beliefs, even when marrying people of different religions, will only strengthen their faith. One of the great aspects about Indonesia is that we have a diverse population with different beliefs. Our laws should respect those beliefs and support the unique nature of our culture. Most importantly, Indonesian law should not violate people’s freedom to practice whatever religion they choose or marry whomsoever they love. Indonesians should never have to choose between love and their beliefs. We can all hope that the challenge to the Marriage Law will be successful. The Constitutional Court should listen to its citizens’ concerns and follow its own constitutional principle: upholding freedom of religion for all. Inter-faith marriage should be a freedom accessible to all Indonesians. ●