Indonesia's Tiny Minority of Extremists
Sun, Jul 30, 2006 at 8:00:34 pm PDT
A survey of Indonesian Muslims by the Center for Islamic and Social Studies shows that more than 40% are ready to wage war against non-Muslims: Survey reveals Muslim views on violence. (Hat tip: LGF readers.)
The survey, conducted from 2001 to March 2006, found 43.5 percent of respondents were ready to wage war on threatening non-Muslim groups, 40 percent would use violence against those blaspheming Islam and 14.7 percent would tear down churches without official permits.
“This condition has helped terrorists easily recruit new comrades and makes the country a fertile ground for sectarian radicalism,” Jajat said.
He added that a simultaneous study on the reasons for the results found Islamic teaching and Islamism made the most significant contributions to violent behavior, both in the domestic and public spheres.
“The more Muslims give their support for certain Islamic teachings legitimizing the use of violence, the more violence will happen.”
He noted that between 30 percent and 58 percent approved of amputation of the left hand for thieves and the stoning to death of rapists, as well as other tenets of sharia law, and opposed the election of non-Muslims for president.
Simplistic understanding of Islamic teachings and the introduction of so-called “yellow books”, detailing Islamic law and regulations, in Islamic boarding schools contributed to the emergence of hard-line groups, the issuance of sharia bylaws and sowed hostility toward non-Muslims, he said.
