Islamophobia in Indonesia: Fact or Assumption?

Islamophobia is a phobia to Islam without any particular reason that causes Muslims to experience exclusion from economic, social, and public life. It is not just a problem for Muslims, but also for other religions. It rises potential horizontal conflict among followers of religions or groups. Islamophobia does occur in the West. In Indonesia, the hardline Islamic groups labelled critical thoughts or policies that do not in line with them as Islamophobia. However, religious leaders from Ambon, where there were conflicts between Christian and Muslim, said there was no Islamophobia in Indonesia. The statement is also agreed upon by a leader from Kerjasama Antar-Umat Beragama (Jakatarub) Bandung. Both leaders are representatives from the so-called tolerant and intolerant cities, affirmed that there are no Islamophobia in Indonesia. Therefore, is it just an assumption from the hardline Islamic groups who accused those who do not agree with their opinion about Islamic state by sharia as Islamophobia? How do we understand several policies or acts that seem like Islamophobia? This paper argues that there is no Islamophobia in Indonesia by analyzing two cases that labelled as Islamophobia in Indonesia using the open and closed view of Islam (The Runnymede Trust, 1997).