FAITH FOR TOLERANCE Tragically, our problem becomes even more complicated due to the systemic and mutually-reinforcing

unholy alliance between civil government and cleric. Civil government has adopted, without critical consideration, the fatwa of ulema that is intolerant toward religious freedom. Is it the role of government to judge whether a particular religious person is deviant and misleading? The answer is, of course, not! In the framework of modern nation-state, government has no right to judge the faith or belief of any citizen. Because faith and belief is neither a gift of government nor it is of ulema (religious cleric); rather, to John Locke, it is made by the individual conscience. The events of religious intolerance in this country remind me of the philosopher John Locke (1632-1704). During his life, Locke has undergone severe religious intolerance and the years of bloody conflict in England. In his asylum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 17th century, Locke wrote an open letter called, in Latin, Epistola de Tolerantia, which was then translated by Popple as A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689). This famous letter called upon the importance of tolerance in the construction of the freedom of religion and civil liberties. Both liberties cannot be exercised mainly by dissenters, a label given to those who had different opinion from the official doctrines of the Anglican Church. Instead of enjoying the freedom of religion and civil liberty, the dissenters became the victims of brutal political and religious persecution. Therefore, A Letter Concerning Toleration was written as Lockes total support to the above dissenters to exercise their freedom of religion, and for their resistance against governments imposition of the Anglican Churchs doctrines. To Locke, every attempt by external power to coerce religious belief, through civil government or religious institution (church), is mistaken and cannot be justified at all. Because, the true faith and belief could not be determined by external force; it is a matter of internal force, made by individual conscience (Locke 1983:27). Lockes call on tolerance is based on his distinction between the interior realm of faith and the exterior realm of power. Power must reside in the exterior domain, not the interior one, where faith and religious belief lie and become its ultimate judge. Power should not interfere in the interior realm of faith, and therefore, civil government or commonwealth must be separated from religion or church. Locke said, The church itself is absolutely separate and distinct from the commonwealth (1983). For this reason, civil government must be distinguished from religious domain, and its main task is not to support piety, but to protect and develop the civil interest of men such as life, liberty and health. Locke also interpreted church as an association of voluntary and free society, and observed human beings as individuals that are equal, free, rational, and well-mannered (Locke 1983:26-28). Lockes liberal toleration makes him a major contributor of the theory of classical and liberal democracy in the west.

Although Lockes idea of tolerance is limited because of his intolerant outlook toward Catholicism, Islam and Atheism, his thought is amazingly influential. His bright idea on Life, Liberty, Health, and Indolence of Body inspired the third President of the US, Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), to declare the independence of the US in three keywords: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Lockes influence was also reflected in Jeffersons argument to support the principle of religious freedom: that true faith and belief were inspired by persuasion of rational thought and not by force, while faith or belief that resulted from coercion and power were not true and authentic faith. Liberty of conscience is a central principle of faith, said James Madison (1751-1836), the father of Americans Constitution, who was Jeffersons successor as the fourth President of America (1809-1817). Just like Locke, who formulated toleration to be the chief Characteristical Mark of the True Church, Madison made use of theological argument to defend tolerance and religious freedom. If this freedom is abused, he asserted, it is an offence against God, not against man (1981: 8-9). Madison is commemorated as the father of the nation that designed tolerance and freedom of religion as the main spirit of its constitution. Our major problem in Indonesia is that the external force, namely the unholy alliance between civil government and ulema, has interfered in, controlled and watched citizens faith. The two external forces have acted as the judge of truth over ones faith and accused him or her as deviant and mislead. Here it is assumed that faith must be homogeneous and compatible with the will of the regime of truth. Yet, the faith and belief that are based on threat and coercion, according to the Iranian intellectual Abdul Karim Soroush, is not the true faith. To be a true believer, he said (1996), one must be free. Faith must bee free and liberated from any intervention, from both civil government and exclusionary cleric. Tragically, our problem becomes even more complicated due to the systemic and mutually-reinforcing unholy alliance between civil government and cleric. Civil government has adopted, without critical consideration, the fatwa of ulema that is intolerant toward religious freedom. While James Madison forbade the use of the State of Virginias money to support any religious activity, our government allowed the use of states money to support the ulema whose fatwa weakens the foundations of pluralism and interfaith tolerance. Faith, which has to be Muslims device to be tolerant toward the others, has been misused to justify intolerant and anti-pluralist attitudes. Yet, tolerance and pluralism are among the most important messages of the Quran. All of a sudden, I recall a story told by Professor Ali S. Asani of Harvard University, who once assisted Prof. Annemarie Schimmel at Harvard. When he was nine or ten, he faced a crucial question: Why didnt Allah create all human beings similar, but plural? Quoting Quran (49:13), his pious Muslim father advised him: that is in order to know each other and to be tolerant toward diversity and pluralism. This is the true faith.