Unity in Diversity? MIA

I've been reading different things about atheism recently and then it got me thinking: How can you be an atheist in a country with the largest Muslim population in the world? In a country where acknowledging atheism is the same as an invitation to get arrested, harassed and most likely hurt? In a country where thugs wearing white long robes and silly white hats, chanting something presumably meaningful in Arabic, CAN actually get away with murder? I guess the answer is: secretly.

There was a case of an atheist civil servant in this country who posted a status saying he didn't necessarily believe in god. And that didn't end nicely for the man, of course. He was then arrested, convicted committing blasphemy, got fired and then spent some time behind bars. I have lots of atheist friends, and I don't think they ever said it out loud. And that was before the FPI-era; before people can hurt other people just because they pray differently with the majority. Before churches in Bekasi were forcefully closed down. Before Ahmadiyahs got killed and trapped in their own mosque or houses. Before Buddhist temple was asked to take down their Buddha figure on top of THEIR temple's entrance.

The fact that Indonesia still considers blasphemy as a criminal conduct is beyond my comprehension. By definition, blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God (Merriam-Webster). If you don't actually believe that there's a god, how can you insult or show contempt towards it then? Okay, you can say by not believing is showing contempt or lack of reverence. But when you don't believe in tooth fairies or Santa Claus anymore, are you trying to show contempt towards tooth fairies and/or Santa Claus? Or to the people who still believe in tooth fairies and/or Santa Claus?

I guess the theistic basic principles of this country has been abused to a degree where people forget that we also have another unifying nationalistic slogan (which supposedly becomes the foundation of this country as a nation), the Bhinneka Tunggal Ika: in diversity we unite.

It feels very utopic to talk about Bhinneka Tunggal Ika now. It sounds like a beautiful fictitious concept that only exists in a Victorian novel or something. Definitely cannot picture the way Indonesia works as a nation now. I constantly ask myself this: Why is it so wrong to be different?

Will there ever be a peaceful way to solve religious conflicts or differences in this country? Will there be a safe way to control poisonous and dangerous mass organisations like FPI? It's not that I reject the idea of a religious organisation; it's about how they use violence, break the law and violate human rights in the name of a religion.