When religious intolerance turned into violence in Indonesia, several strong community organizations partnered together to teach students peace and tolerance. These small but strategic investments show how local peacebuilding efforts make the most significant impact on a community.
Beginning in the late 2000s, religious freedom in Indonesia was increasingly restricted, and religious intolerance increased along with acts of violence. The Jakarta Post argued that increased intolerance was due to the Indonesian government’s inability to prosecute those who violate laws, including hate speech, and an increase in proselytization. Similarly, Human Rights Watch found that the Indonesian government’s response to religious intolerance had been severely lacking.
By 2011, extremists began inciting violence against religious minorities, including the Ahmadis, Christians, and Shia Muslims. In response, Indonesia’s Pesantren and Society Development Association (or P3M), the Wahid Institute, and Search for Common Ground (SFCG) worked together on a two-year project to address extremism and intolerance through pesantrens, private Muslim schools run by religious elders.
The “Countering and Preventing Radicalization in Indonesian Pesantren Project”, promoted religious freedom and provided messages against extremism, especially in areas that had historically proved vulnerable to religious intolerance and violence.
The project’s activities sought to empower the peaceful majority and mitigate the negative impacts of the extremist minority. P3M, the Wahid Institute, and SFCG achieved this goal by creating radio programs for young adult audiences that encouraged students to be “agents of change” within the Muslim community. The radio programs, which were broadcasted in partnership with the pesantrens, had an extensive audience in the broader community as well.
As part of the project, SFCG also hosted a Student Film Festival to raise students’ critical awareness of tolerance and religious freedom. The festival, titled “To Understand and Respect,” provided students with the opportunity to explore the surrounding community and to interact with people from different cultures, religions, and beliefs. One teacher commented, “the way [the students] came into the church and watched another religious ritual created tolerance and critical attitude toward people who misjudge other people from different religions.”
In their evaluation, SFCG found the project yielded positive results for both the pesantren students and for the surrounding communities. The radio programs and films elevated students’ awareness and critical thinking about different religions and religious affiliations. One female student remarkedthat the project helped her learn “students can spread tolerance among their community by using radio and video” and that the video project made her realize “religious belief is an inviolable individual right.”
From a peacebuilding perspective, the project’s success can be attributed to its ability to transform attitudes, structures, relationships, and behaviors in a community. Radio and film programs contributed to socioeconomic development by teaching youth technical skills. The content of the programs promoted dialogue among conflicting groups, and educated listeners in peace and conflict resolution. The programs also led to an expansion of freedoms of expression, association, and press. By partnering with pesantrens, which hold an important role in Indonesia, these initiatives gained significant legitimacy in the eyes of broader community members. Partnerships with strong community organizations like the pesantrens ensure that existence of the radio programs and teachings of tolerance are sustainable.
The lesson for U.S. policy makers is that small and strategic investments in peacebuilding allow the U.S. Agency for International Development to implement programs designed to mitigate and prevent mass violence and support long-term community resiliency.
