Abdurrahman Supardi Usman, S.H., M.H.
Independent Researcher
abdurrahmansupardiusman@gmail.com
Abstract
The State of Indonesia was a state based on the rule of law and at the same time, it was the country with the largest Muslim community as its citizens. As a state based on the rule of law, Indonesia had chosen democracy as its identity. The interesting thing when democracy confronted with the Islamic principles as the way of life for its believers. Although it was a kind of khilafiyyah (dissent) in Islamic epistemology, the prohibition to elect a leader who did not come from the same faith still be a challenge to diversity in Indonesia, in general, is also being debated in the discourse of Islam and democracy. Did the prohibition of electing a leader who did not come from the same faith in Islamic dogma, contradicts with the right to be elected principle as stated in article 25 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights? Then how if the actualization of that dogma in question in interpreted as a form of the right to freedom of religion which was recognized and protected in Undang-Undang Dasar Negara Republik Indonesia Tahun 1945 as The Constitution of Republic Indonesia? Constitutional approach and comparative approach were used in this paper to elaborate the intersection between of the right to be elected dan freedom of religion principle in the context of the ‘Moslem leader’ dogma actualization in Indonesia. This Elaboration was expected to lead to the reinterpretation of the tolerance paradox in the freedom of religion context.
Keywords: Religious Intolerance, minority, human rights, Democracy