Mixing religion, politics - two commentaries

Mixing religion, politics
Michael Vatikiotis , Singapore
841 words
21 September 2007
The Jakarta Post
6
English
(c) 2007 The Jakarta Post

The sight of several hundred of saffron-robed Buddhist monks marching in protest through the streets of the Myanmar capital Yangon, their hands clasped in prayer, is a strong reminder of the significant role that religion plays in the politics of Asia.

It may be too early to tell whether the fledgling alliance of monks, many of them students in saffron robes, will prove strong enough to topple the country's military regime, but many observers recall that the popular revolt that forced Burmese strongman Ne Win to step down in 1988 was also spearheaded by the country's influential Budhhist clergy.

Religion in Asia is a powerful leveler in unequal societies. Few popular movements for freedom and democracy in the region have taken off without strong support, if not inspiration, from religious quarters. The earliest movements for independence in Burma (now Myanmar) as well as Indonesia, drew inspiration from religious organizations. In modern Indonesia, Islamic scholars and thinkers like Abdurrahman Wahid and Nurcholis Madjid spearheaded the fledgling democracy movement of the 1990s, and Wahid eventually became President.

Elsewhere in the region, the link between struggles for freedom and religion is less overt but present nonetheless. In the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo rode to power in 2000 on the back of a mass movement that consciously tapped support from the Catholic Church. In Hong Kong, the pro-democracy movement that mobilized hundreds of thousands of people to march down the busy streets of the territory in 2002 and 2003 took inspiration from the Catholic Church, which is strong in the territory.

The religious tinting of popular protests against authoritarian rule has helped keep many of them non-violent and reduced levels of conflict. Political change in Asia has been accompanied by short bursts of violence, but all out civil war is rare.

Yet, to the Western mind, religion and politics should not be mixed. The dominant Catholic Church of Europe keeps a tight rein on its clergy and followers through the Vatican to maintain the strong division between church and state embedded in European political culture. The Western mind is also affected by a long history of conflict with the Muslim world, which makes it hard to imagine the Muslim faith as a liberating force.

Terrorist attacks by Islamic militants over the past decade or longer, have entrenched the view that the militants who carry out these attacks are bent on curbing freedom and undermining democracy. The irony of course is that it is precisely the quest for freedom in Muslim society that breeds Islamic militancy. Al Qaeda itself was a combined product of fierce opposition to a feudal Saudi regime and an active role in liberating Afghanistan from Soviet occupation.

But the reality in Asia is that mainstream religion and liberation politics form a highly combustible compound. Despite the focus on a few irrational extremists in Indonesia and understandable fear of violence, the majority of Muslim activists engage in politics in the name of populism.

Their agenda is usually based on the idealistic premise that an Islamic way of life promotes freedom and justice. In a country where politicians and officials are popularly perceived as selfish and corrupt, this is a powerful message and one that forces secular politicians to temper their behavior and adjust their programs or lose at the ballot box.

There is of course a limit to political movements mobilized by religious faith. East Asia has proved more resistant to theocracy than many parts of Western Asia like Iran and Pakistan. Despite the important role of Islam in Indonesian political life, the constitution guarantees freedom of religious faith and several attempts to nudge the country towards conservative Sharia Law have been voted down.

The Buddhist kingdoms of Thailand and Cambodia maintain a healthy balance between "church" and "state", and even in Myanmar today the Buddhist hierarchy has yet to declare its support for the protests spearheaded by younger monks, many of them students.

The role of religion in Asian politics will only be further marginalized once political pluralism is more firmly established in the region. This is why the agenda for political reform must go way beyond simply ensuring free elections.

For now, democratic politics in many countries of the region represents a marginal adjustment by vested interest groups who continue to trample on the rights of ordinary citizens and hide behind flimsy policies and manipulated mandates.

There is an urgent need in Indonesia's fledgling democracy, for instance to build on the progress of the past decade by encouraging political parties to develop equitable policy platforms and ideologies instead of dressing up old traditions of patronage in democratic garb. The same goes for the Philippines and Thailand, where democracy at street level seems an elusive dream and explains why ordinary people still place an inordinate amount of faith in stone amulets and pray for miracles. Many of them would surely support the marching monks of Myanmar.

The writer is Regional Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue based in Singapore.

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Another angle:

Singapore paper views significance of monks' protest in Burma
487 words
21 September 2007
16:50
BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific
English
(c) 2007 The British Broadcasting Corporation. All Rights Reserved. No material may be reproduced except with the express permission of The British Broadcasting Corporation.

Text of report by Singapore newspaper The Straits Times website on 21 September

[Editorial headlined: "Monks take the high road"]

Myanmar's military autocrats are a hardy lot. Since they crushed the 1988 revolt and the ensuing rebellion following a civilian election victory which the generals overturned, they have prospered more or less unhindered. Through sanctions, ostracism, the rising tenor of its ASEAN allies' criticism and veiled threats from the United States, the junta has sailed through it all, serene and practically daring its adversaries to do their worst. But just how immune to power challenges the generals are is now being tested as never before. Buddhist monks have been taking to the streets in a campaign of non-violent protest for the past several weeks. A few of them were roughed up by security forces a fortnight ago, never a smart thing to do in a devoutly Buddhist nation. The monks' intervention is undoubtedly the most serious fissure to have opened up in Myanmar society since the days of the student-led rebellion and Aung San Suu Kyi's martyrdom. The Buddhist clergy is Myanmar's most organized institution, after the military apparatus itself. It has the power of moral righteousness on its side; the generals can summon up no more than a mailed fist. An illegitimate gesture, at that. With or without civilians joining in the marches, in what manner the military authorities respond to this mortal threat to their legitimacy could determine whether Myanmar sees light ahead or remains mired in the dark ages.

Yesterday's march by hundreds of monks through central Yangon and around the Shwedagon pagoda has been replicated in cities across the land -in Mandalay, Pakokku and Sittwe -locations where the monkhood is especially prominent by its numbers. The protest marches have been against the hefty increases in fuel prices imposed last month, but the object of the monks' anger is really the unelected government itself. The monks have been involved in political protest before, but the climate of censure against the junta has never been heavier than now. The generals are faced with a dilemma. If they run to type and use force on the monks, they could spark a spontaneous uprising by an oppressed if dispirited population. If they hold back, as the monkhood is such an enduring symbol of rectitude, the momentum will build until the pressure has to find an outlet.

It calls to mind the galvanising role played by protesting monks in Vietnam when the war was at its most brutalizing. A Myanmar of diverse ethnicities holding together is still to be preferred. But if the junta finds itself at the precipice, there can be no sympathy for a cabal that has consistently denied the people the decency that is theirs as of right.

Source: The Straits Times website, Singapore, in English 21 Sep 07