IT was the week of going gaga in Jakarta. Lady Gaga, to be precise.
In what was perhaps a shrewd effort to win the support of Western cultural conservatives on purely aesthetic grounds, Islamic activists campaigned against a planned concert by the American singer in Jakarta on June 3.
All jokes aside, and notwithstanding the extreme frugality of Lady Gaga's musical virtuosity, the issue has become an important test of freedom of expression in modern Indonesia.
At time of writing, it was not still absolutely clear whether the Gaga extravaganza, for which 50,000 tickets have already been sold, will go ahead. Some of the groups which objected to her coming to Jakarta were mainstream and respectable, such as the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). The PKS is an Islamic party but is part of the governing coalition of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, holds several national ministries and has no history of violence or illegality.
But some of the groups objecting are much more unsavoury, chief among them the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which threatened to disrupt the Lady Gaga concert with violent demonstrations or even to physically prevent her leaving Jakarta airport. The FPI has a long history of murderous sectarian violence. They are regarded as thugs for hire and frequently intimidate non-Muslims as well as Muslims they regard as heterodox.
The Jakarta police decided not to recommend to the National Police that a permit be issued for the Gaga concert.
This, they said, was in part because she "indulges in revealing her body, dancing erotically and spreading pornography".
This is the first time the authorities have refused permission for an international singer to perform in Indonesia. The decision was widely criticised. The secular, nationalist PDI-P party criticised the police for effectively taking the side of the FPI. The highly respected liberal newspaper, The Jakarta Post, was scathing in its editorial criticism of the decision.
This was especially because it follows controversy over the visit of Canadian feminist Muslim writer, Irshad Manji. She argues for a liberal interpretation of the Koran and is highly critical of dominant Islamic practices and interpretations. Several of her public events were disrupted and one university cancelled a scheduled event she was to speak at.
The Gaga and Manji controversies, following on so closely, led The Jakarta Post to editorialise: "For the last several years, a dangerous standard procedure has developed that has led the police to allow the disruption of talks, art events and now a concert, either because they are protecting and serving a violent minority interest or because they are adopting a hands-off policy instead of providing security to all citizens."
But, and it's a hugely important but, it would be wrong to characterise Indonesia by the reaction of the intolerant groups who don't want Manji to speak or Lady Gaga to sing.
The day after Manji was prevented from speaking at a university, the Association for Independent Journalists held a meeting for her. This meeting was protected by volunteers from Nadhlatal Ulama, Indonesia's, and indeed the world's, largest Muslim organisation. NU has an exemplary record of interfaith dialogue and tolerance. Under such guards, this event was undisturbed.
Similarly, Manji appeared on television and a long, sympathetic interview of her was run in Tempo, Indonesia's most influential newsmagazine. And so the question is, what is the real trend in Indonesia? Is the society becoming more intolerant, or are the intolerant just becoming more vocal?
A week in Jakarta convinced me of two things. Many Indonesians are disturbed by the reticence of the police in dealing with mobs that claim Islamist inspiration. And the other is that it is exceptionally difficult to work out the trend line in Indonesia, because the society is so big and so diverse, and there are so many contrary indicators.
