Indonesians are up in arms over a Holocaust museum

Human rights organisations have slammed Indonesia's highest Islamic clerical body for calling for the demolition of a recently opened Holocaust museum in a Jewish neighbourhood.

According to the Indonesian Ulema Council, the museum in Minahasa, North Sulawesi province, violates the constitution and is inflammatory (MUI).

The Shaar HaShamayim Holocaust Museum was erected by the local Jewish community and is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia.
It was inaugurated on Jan. 27 by German ambassador Ina Lepel to commemorate International Holocaust Day.

"The museum is dedicated to combating racism, anti-Semitism, and all forms of intolerance," Lepel stated at the launch.

Her statements were not well received by the Ulema Council.

In a statement, Muhyiddin Junaidi, deputy chairman of the MUI's advisory council, said, "The Indonesian government should act decisively and promptly demolish the museum since it is provocative and its existence is not welcomed by many in this country."

He claims that the museum is not beneficial to Indonesians and that it harms Palestinians' feelings.

He also accused the Jewish community in Minahasa of attempting to persuade the Indonesian government to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.

Indonesia, like many other Muslim countries, refuses to recognise Israel as a sovereign state.

The MUI, according to Bonar Tigor Naipospos, vice head of the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, has a poor understanding of history and what the museum represents.

On Feb. 2, he told UCA News that the museum "sends a message that a tragedy against mankind occurred and millions of people were victims."

He claimed the MUI call was more about religious intolerance than "learning lessons from the tragedy so that it doesn't happen again," when it should have been "taking lessons from the disaster so that it doesn't happen again."

"The museum is necessary for the young generation to warn them that cruelty to others can result in the slaughter of millions of people," he added, adding that calling something that actually happened "provocative" is unusual.

The Jewish population of Indonesia is estimated to be around 5,000 people, with the majority of them arriving during the Portuguese and Dutch colonial periods.

The local administration in North Sulawesi, which has a large Christian population, authorised the local Jewish community to erect a synagogue in 2004 and a Holocaust museum subsequently.