D

espite a dark past of intolerance, several cities like Tual and Ambon are among the most tolerant regions in the country, according to the rights group, Setara Institute.

The institute released its first tolerant city index on Monday, with Tual and Ambon, both in Maluku province, snatching the top two highest scores in the list of 10 most tolerant cities in Indonesia.

'€œThe reason is simple. The residents there have collective memories [regarding violent clashes in the past] that make them realize that communal conflicts are harmful for them. Therefore, they are trying their hardest to avoid conflicts,'€ said Setara deputy chairman Bonar Tigor Naipospos.

In 1999, bloody sectarian strife erupted in Ambon and Tual, leaving a death toll of more than 2,000. The unrest in Tual allegedly erupted because of racial hatred provoked by unidentified people who reportedly insulted Muslims and their holy book and desecrated the name of the Prophet Muhammad.

'€œFollowing that, the religious communities there actively tried to conduct cross-religion meetings. The religious leaders also actively sought for dialogue among them. So they'€™re learning from the past,'€ Bonar said. '€œSeeing how Indonesian people still adopt a patriarchal culture, the roles of religious leaders and regional heads become really important in promoting tolerance.'€

National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) commissioner Muhammad Imdadun Rahmat expressed the same theory.

'€œWhen a region was marred by conflicts, then there'€™s a possibility that its people experienced an enlightenment and its state apparatus also learned from past experiences, which made them care and respect plurality more and be more cautious in managing differences,'€ he said.

According to Imdadun, the commission has not received a single report about religious intolerance from either Ambon or Tual this year.

Setara research director Ismail Hasani, meanwhile, said that the era of religious intolerance in Ambon was long gone, with the region having raised itself from the ashes of the bloody conflicts.

'€œThe balance of people in Ambon is evenly matched and Ambon has a tremendous power post-conflict,'€ he said, adding that Ambon'€™s success story lied in the heterogeneity of its people.

The rest of the list was made up by cities like Pematang Siantar, Salatiga, Singkawang, Manado, Sibolga, Sorong, Pontianak and Palangkaraya.

The Setara Institute came up with the list after analyzing four variables, such as the presence of discriminatory regulations and religious conflicts, in 94 cities throughout Indonesia from August to November 2015.

Bonar said these cities scored high in the index because of various factors, such as the existence of regulations promoting tolerance, a lack of religious conflicts in recent years and demography.

'€œWe realize that Indonesia is vast and each city has its own character, so it'€™s not easy to generalize [why a city is considered more tolerant than others],'€ he said.

Meanwhile, Bogor scored the lowest in the list, followed by Bekasi, Banda Aceh, Tangerang, Depok, Bandung, Serang, Mataram, Sukabumi and Banjar/Tasikmalaya.

'€œThere are many bad incidents lately in Bogor, such as the relocation plan for the Indonesian Christian Church [GKI] Yasmin by the Bogor city administration and the banning of the Shia community in Bogor from celebrating their religious feast day, Asyura,'€ he said.

Bonar added that the government should take notice of the list.

'€œI'€™m suggesting the home minister [Tjahjo Kumolo] pay attention to this finding and take steps to coordinate with city administrations so that there are more serious efforts to improve religious freedom,'€ he said.