Jakarta, Indonesia - Police and media in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, are too lax in their treatment of radical Islamic groups and their violence, a leading moderate Islamic cleric said on Thursday.
But Din Syamsuddin, who leads the 30-million strong Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second largest Islamic group, said he would not confront those radicals due to fears it could be too divisive.
Radical Islamic groups constitute a tiny fraction of Indonesia's more than 200 million Muslims but have a loud voice and strong visibility. In recent years they have been behind many boisterous protests and often violent attacks against those they perceive have offended Islam.
Their targets range from licenced bars in the capital and unlicensed Christian churches across the country to property of Islamic sects and Western missions.
This week the Indonesian versions of protests against Danish cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammad included vandalism of the Danish embassy and Danish and U.S. consulate property.
Syamsuddin said the unruly actions of radical groups often are tolerated by authorities and win more media play than they deserve.
"Those radical groups are not massive organizations. But they have a voice because ... the media, domestic and international, do not want to expose the voice of moderate Islam," he told a group of foreign journalists and diplomats in a panel discussion.
"Why those radical groups can engage in violence but no extra effort from the police? That's my question," said Syamsuddin, elaborating cases in which police stood by while militants damaged targets.
Syamsuddin accused the radical groups of getting financial backing from elements in Indonesia's political establishment but conceded he himself was reluctant to antagonize them.
"We have our own way ... to handle the problem because we don't want to have an internal conflict" among Muslims, he said. Indonesia's mainstream Islam is mostly moderate, and the government is secular, but there is a growing desire among Muslims to show their identity.
Religious harmony is being tested through the growing presence of the radicals, which some believe is a by-product of the 1998 downfall of President Suharto's despotic regime. It had put a tight leash on religious extremism and overt links between the state and Islam.
Franz Magnis-Suseno, a German-born Catholic priest and an authoritative figure in interfaith relations, said Christians in Indonesia feel increasingly uneasy, especially after Muslim radicals forcefully shut down some churches which had no permits in recent months.
"Will traditional tolerance in this century maintain its condition or will tendencies of intolerance increase? It is still open-ended," said Magnis-Suseno, who was also on the panel.