Published on the official website of the Master of Islamic Studies, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta,
Problems within religious communities have never ceased to exist, from the past until now. Many problems arise from within a particular religious community, and many others arise from other religious communities. An example is the recent issue of building a church in Sedayu, Bantul, which has been widely discussed and has now reached a resolution.
Bantul Regent Suharsono expressed gratitude to Pastor Sitorus for agreeing to mediate. In this mediation, an agreement has been reached with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two parties.
The issue of inter-religious conflict has been studied by Nawari Ismail in his book entitled “Konflik Umat Beragama dan Budaya Lokal” (Inter-Religious Conflict and Local Culture). In this book, Nawari states that the plurality of religions and ethnic groups, as well as the high horizontal mobility of the Indonesian people, have led to more rapid and widespread socio-cultural conflicts, including inter-religious conflicts. Interactions between religious groups can lead to conflict when one group perceives the other as causing harm, either in terms of access between identity groups or in various needs. Social-cultural religious issues, coupled with political issues, often give rise to inter-religious conflicts.
This active lecturer at the UMY Master of Islamic Studies, who is competent in sociology and ethnography, also wrote that various efforts must be made to resolve inter-religious conflicts and focus more on efforts to control and resolve inter-religious conflicts by linking them to local cultures that have actually become social capital in the conflict process, and which can potentially be used as social capital.
