Criminalization for Different Understandings: A Human Rights Analysis of Blasphemy Cases in Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30641/ham.2025.16.135-150Keywords:
blasphemy, freedom of religion or beliefAbstract
The right to have different interpretations of mainstream religious teachings in Indonesia can lead to criminal penalties. In practice, judges often rely on expert testimony to gain confidence that "those who are different" have committed the crime of blasphemy. The research method employed in this article is the Human Rights (HAM) research method, which emphasizes the study of court decisions related to criminal acts of blasphemy in Indonesia, particularly regarding the spread of beliefs that differ from the mainstream as blasphemy. The court decisions are analyzed using a human rights approach, especially the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). As a result, 3 (three) of the 11 (eleven) court decisions reviewed still ignore the principle of impartiality in testing differences in interpretations of mainstream religious teachings. Judges do not open up space for dialogue to explore expert testimony from the defendant's perspective. This criminal justice practice, in turn, will undermine FoRB as a meaningful concept. In the future, differences in interpretation of mainstream religious teachings will not be a matter of criminalization, but rather of dialogue. Even if criminalization is necessary, what is prohibited is the crime of broadcasting religious hatred, the judicial process for which is carried out independently and impartially.
Downloads
References
Aditya, Zaka Firma. "Judicial Consistency dalam Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi tentang Pengujian Undang-Undang Penodaan Agama." Jurnal Konstitusi 17, no. 1 (2020): 80-103. https://doi.org/10.31078/jk1714. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31078/jk1714
Adiyaryani, Ni Nengah. "Pembuktian." Dalam Hukum Pidana Materiil dan Formil, disunting oleh Topo Santoso dan Eva Achyani Zulfa. USAID, The Asia Foundation, dan Kemitraan, 2015.
Ahmad, Rumadi. "Hak Beragama atau Berkeyakinan." Dalam Buku Sumber Hak atas Kebebasan Beragama atau Berkeyakinan di Indonesia, disunting oleh Alamsyah M. Dja'far dan Atika Nur'aini. Wahid Foundation, 2016.
Ahmad, Rumadi. "Kebebasan dan Penodaan Agama: Menimbang Proyek "˜Jalan Tengah' Mahkamah Konstitusi Republik Indonesia." Indo-Islamika 1, no. 2 (2012): 245-71. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15408/idi.v2i2.1177
Aisah, Siti, Zainal Abidin Bagir, Muktiono, dkk. Standar Norma dan Pengaturan Nomor 2 tentang Hak Atas Kebebasan Beragama dan Berkeyakinan. Komisi Nasional Hak Asasi Manusia Republik Indonesia, 2020.
Arsil, Dian Rositawati, Muhammad Tanziel Aziezi, Nur Syarifah, dan Zainal Abidin. Penafsiran terhadap Pasal 156a Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana tentang Penodaan Agama (Analisis Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia). Lembaga Kajian dan Advokasi Independensi Peradilan (LeIP), 2018.
Asfinawati, Hurriyah, Nanda Saraswati, dkk. Modul Pendidikan Kebebasan Beragama atau Berkeyakinan. Mata Nusantara Grup, 2024.
Bagir, Zainal Abidin. "Resolusi Melawan Intoleransi dan Prospek untuk Merevisi Peraturan tentang Penodaan Agama." Dalam HAM dan Syariat: Sebuah Kajian, disunting oleh Chekli S. Pratiwi, Lena Larsen, Brett G. Scharffs, dan Tore Lindholm. PT Mizan Pustaka, 2022.
Bielefeldt, Heiner. "Limiting Permissible Limitations: How to Preserve the Substance of Religious Freedom." Religion and Human Rights 15 (2020): 3-19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/18710328-BJA10001
Bielefeldt, Heiner. Politik Kesetaraan: Dimensi-Dimensi Kebebasan Beragama atau Berkeyakinan. PT Mizan Pustaka, 2019.
Bielefeldt, Heiner, dan Michael Wiener. Menelisik Kebebasan Beragama: Prinsip-Prinsip dan Kontroversinya. PT Mizan Pustaka, 2021.
Bielefeldt, Heiner, dan Michael Wiener. Religious Freedom Under Scrutiny. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.9783/9780812296686
Boven, Theo van. "The United Nation Commission on Human Rights and Freedom of Religion or Belief." Dalam Facilitating Freedom of Religion or Belief: a Deskbook, disunting oleh Tore Lindholm, W. Cole Durham Jr., dan Bahia G. Tahzib-Lie. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2004.
Crouch, M. "Law Religion in Indonesia: The Constitutional Court and the Blasphemy Law." Asian Journal of Comparative Law 7, no. 1 (2012). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/1932-0205.1391
Eddyono, Supriyadi Widodo. Kompilasi Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi dan Perubahan Kitab Hukum Acara Pidana (KUHAP) Indonesia. Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, 2017.
Effendi, Tolib. Dasar-Dasar Hukum Acara Pidana: Perkembangan dan Pembaruannya di Indonesia. Setara Press, 2014.
George, Cherian. Pelintiran Kebencian: Rekayasa Ketersinggungan Agama dan Ancamannya bagi Demokrasi. Pusat Studi Agama dan Demokrasi (PUSAD) Yayasan Paramadina, 2017.
Gogineni, Rajaji Ramanadha Babu, dan Lars Gule. "Humanism and Freedom from Religion." Dalam Facilitating Freedom of Religion or Belief: a Deskbook, disunting oleh Tore Lindholm, W. Cole Durham Jr., dan Bahia G. Tahzib-Lie. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2004. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-5616-7_31
Harahap, M. Yahya. Pembahasan Permasalahan dan Penerapan KUHAP: Pemeriksaan Sidang Pengadilan, Banding, Kasasi, dan Peninjauan Kembali. Sinar Grafika, 2019.
Hasan, Noorhaidi. "Islam dan HAM." Dalam Membela Hak-Hak Masyarakat Rentan: HAM, Keragaman Agama, dan Isu-Isu Keluarga, disunting oleh Noorhaidi Hasan dan Maufur. Pascasarjana UIN Sunan Kalijaga Press, 2021.
Hasan, Noorhaidi. "Religious Diversity and Blasphemy Law: Understanding Growing Religious Conflict and Intolerance in Post-Suharto Indonesia." Al Jamiah Journal of Islamic Studies 55, no. 1 (2017): 105-26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2017.551.105-126
Hefner, Robert W. "Negara Mengelola Keragaman di Indonesia: Kajian Mengenai Kebebasan Beragama Sejak Masa Kemerdekaan." Dalam Mengelola Keragaman dan Kebebasan Beragama di Indonesia: Sejarah, Teori, dan Advokasi, disunting oleh Zainal Abidin Bagir. Center for Religious and Cross Cultural Studies, 2014.
Hicks, Neil. "The Public Disorder of Blasphemy Laws: a Comparative Perspective." The Review of Faith and International Affairs 13, no. 1 (2015): 51-58. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2015.1005917
Indrayanti, Kadek Wiwik, dan Anak Agung Ayu Nanda Saraswati. "Criminalizing And Penalizing Blasphemy: The Need To Adopt A Human Rights Approach In The Reform Of Indonesia's Blasphemy Law." Cogent Social Sciences 8 (2022): 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2022.2104704. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2022.2104704
Isnur, Muhammad. Agama, Negara dan Hak Asasi Manusia, Proses Pengujian UU 1/PNPS/1965 tentang Pencegahan, Penyalahgunaan, dan/atau Penodaan Agama di Mahkamah Konstitusi. Lembaga Bantuan Hukum (LBH) Jakarta, 2012.
Larsen, Lena. "Islam, Kebebasan Beragama atau Berkeyakinan, dan Kesetaraan Gender." Dalam HAM dan Syariat: Sebuah Kajian. Penerbit Mizan, 2021.
Lendvai, Gergely Ferenc, dan Gergely Gosztonyi. "Sacred Flames: the Burning of Quran in the Context of Free Speech." Religion and Human Rights 20 (2025): 19-38. https://doi.org/10.1163/18710328-bja10048. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/18710328-bja10048
Marzuki, Peter Mahmud. Penelitian Hukum (Edisi Revisi). Kencana, 2019.
Maufur. "Membina Tanpa Mengekang: Peran Penyuluh KUA dalam Menjamin Hak-Hak Beragama atau Berkeyakinan." Dalam Membela Hak-Hak Masyarakat Rentan: HAM, Keragaman Agama, dan Isu-Isu Keluarga, disunting oleh Noorhaidi Hasan dan Maufur. Pascasarjana UIN Sunan Kalijaga Press, 2021.
Nurdin, Nazar. "Delik Penodaan Agama Islam di Indonesia." International Journal Ihya' "˜Ulum Al-Din 19, no. 1 (2017): 129-60. https://doi.org/10.21580/ihya.18.1.1745. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21580/ihya.18.1.1745
Nurhayati, Siti, Moch. Choirul Rizal, dan Rizki Dermawan. Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi dalam Penegakan Hukum Pidana. PT Scopindo Media Pustaka, 2024.
Prud'homme, Jo-Anne. Policing Belief: The Impact of Blasphemy Laws on Human Rights. Freedom House, 2010.
Pultoni, Siti Aminah, dan Uli Parulian Sihombing. Panduan Pemantauan Tindak Pidana Penodaan Agama dan Ujaran Kebencian atas Nama Agama. The Indonesian Legal Resounce Center (ILRC), 2012.
Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi Republik Indonesia Nomor: 65/PUU-VIII/2010, tanggal 18 Agustus 2011 (2011).
Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi Republik Indonesia Nomor: 140/PUU-VII/2009, tanggal 19 April 2010 (2010).
Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi Republik Indonesia Nomor: 140/PUU-VII/2009, tanggal 19 April 2010 (2010).
Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Banda Aceh Nomor: 80/Pid.B/2015/PN.Bna, tanggal 15 Juni 2015 (2015).
Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Banda Aceh Nomor: 81/Pid.B/2015/PN.Bna, tanggal 15 Juni 2015 (2015).
Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Banda Aceh Nomor: 82/Pid.B/2015/PN.Bna, tanggal 15 Juni 2015 (2015).
Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Banda Aceh Nomor: 83/Pid.B/2015/PN.Bna, tanggal 15 Juni 2015 (2015).
Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Banda Aceh Nomor: 84/Pid.B/2015/PN.Bna, tanggal 15 Juni 2015 (2015).
Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Banda Aceh Nomor: 85/Pid.B/2015/PN.Bna, tanggal 15 Juni 2015 (2015).
Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Biak Nomor: 64/Pid.Sus/2021/PN Bik, tanggal 10 November 2021 (2021).
Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Klaten Nomor: 03/Pid.B/2012/PN.Klt, tanggal 13 Maret 2012 (2012).
Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Lubuk Pakam Nomor: 1192/Pid.B/2013/PN.LP, tanggal 18 November 2013 (2013).
Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Makale Nomor: 31/Pid.Sus/2020/PN.Mak, tanggal 3 Juni 2020 (2020).
Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Sampang Nomor 69/Pid.B/2012/PN.Spg, tanggal 12 Juli 2012 (2012).
Ringmar, Erik. "The Right to Practice Your Religion: European Legislation and the Origin of Religious Beliefs." Religion and Human Rights 19 (2024): 45-64. https://doi.org/10.1163/18710328-bja10041. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/18710328-bja10041
Rizal, Moch. Choirul. "Penodaan Agama di Indonesia: Dari Disparitas Pidana ke Penyesuaian Kebijakan Kriminalisasinya." Dalam Kebebasan Beragama atau Berkeyakinan: Konteks dan Dinamikanya di Indonesia, disunting oleh Al Khanif. Penerbit Gading, 2024.
Rizal, Moch. Choirul, Michelle Salma Khotom Aji, Muhamad Atji Firmansyah, dan Unsa Elen Purwanti. Laporan Hasil Anotasi Putusan Pengadilan terkait Tindak Pidana Penodaan Agama di Indonesia. Inisiatif untuk Hak Asasi Manusia, 2024.
Salama, Ibrahim, dan and Michael Wiener. "Tailoring Peer-to-Peer Learning on "˜Faith for Rights.'" Religion and Human Rights 18 (2023): 55-90. https://doi.org/10.1163/18710328-bja10032. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/18710328-bja10032
Scharffs, Brett G. "Pengantar untuk Kebebasan Berpikir, Beragama, dan Berkeyakinan dalam Perspektif Hak Asasi Manusia." Dalam HAM dan Syariat: Sebuah Kajian, disunting oleh Chekli S. Pratiwi, Lena Larsen, Brett G. Scharffs, dan Tore Lindholm. PT Mizan Pustaka, 2022.
Sopyan, Yayan. "Menyoal Kebebasan Beragama dan Penodaan Agama Di Indonesia (Telaah atas Putusan MK No. 140/PUU-VII/2009)." Jurnal Cita Hukum 3, no. 2 (2015): 195-212. https://doi.org/10.15408/jch.v2i2.2314.2015.3.2.195-212. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15408/jch.v2i2.2314
Susetyo, Heru, Farida Prihatini, Abdurakhman, dkk. "Keberlakuan Hukum Penodaan Agama di Indonesia antara Tertib Hukum dan Tantangan Hak Asasi Manusia." Perspektif Hukum 20, no. 1 (2020): 71-99. DOI: https://doi.org/10.30649/phj.v20i1.244
Temperman, Jeroen. "Standar Hukum Internasional mengenai Ujaran Ekstrem terkait Agama." Dalam HAM dan Syariat: Sebuah Kajian, disunting oleh Chekli S. Pratiwi, Lena Larsen, Brett G. Scharffs, dan Tore Lindholm. PT Mizan Pustaka, 2022.
Uddin, Asma. "Public (Dis)Order and Public (Im) Morality: an Introduction to the Spring 2015 Issue." The Review of Faith and International Affairs 13, no. 1 (2015): 1-4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2015.1005920
Wahid, Ratnaria. "Faith in the Balance: ASEAN's Quest for Religious Freedom Amidst Cultural Diversity." Religion and Human Rights 19 (2024): 140-60. https://doi.org/10.1163/18710328-bja10046. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/18710328-bja10046
Yahya, Imam, dan Sulistiyono Susilo. "Conservative Muslims In Indonesia's Religious And Political Landscapes: Ahok's Blasphemy Case As A Political Leverage." Cogent Social Sciences 10, no. 1 (2024): 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2024.2392293. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2024.2392293
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Moch. Choirul Rizal, Michelle Salma Khotom Aji, Muhamad Atji Firmansyah, Unsa Elen Purwanti
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The copyright of each article is retained by the author(s). Authors agree to grant the first publication rights to Jurnal HAM. The Journal embeds a simple machine-readable Creative Commons license under Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC). Thus, papers in this Journal can be used freely for non-commercial purposes with the acknowledgment of authorship and publication in this journal.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
