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Diversity concerns as gated Muslim communities increasing in popularity in Indonesia
ABC Radio Australia - July 24, 2017
Her family home is a newly built, modest-but-modern, three-bedroom townhouse in a new housing complex with about 130 identical properties. Many are still being built. Heni feels safe here, in a gated Muslim housing estate, where Christians or any other faith are not welcome.
"For me, because I am a Muslim, I am comfortable living here," she told the ABC. "It's easier to adapt here as we share the same belief, how should I say this? The homogenous community makes me feel comfortable."
Heni's neighbours to her right and left are Muslim, living in "Islamic harmony", according to the property developers who are, with increasing vigour, promoting and building the gated estates.
It's almost impossible to find out how many Muslim gated complexes there are in and around the capital Jakarta, because many are not registered.
But property developer Musthafa Hadid told the ABC there are hundreds, and the numbers are increasing as the lifestyle choice becomes increasingly popular.
"They want to live in a conducive Islamic surrounding," Mr Hadid told the ABC from his latest development of 13 townhouses.
"For example, if they live in an area with non-Muslims, they might have dogs as pets, they also want a housing complex where they can have a little mosque nearby."
Traditionally dogs have been seen in Islam as being unclean. But the desire for homogenous living goes against the ideals Indonesia prides itself on, like diversity and it is seen as a worrying sign for those already concerned by a conservative shift in the approach to Islam.
"It would be difficult for people to live in diversity if they live in this gated community," Alissa Wahid, a daughter of former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid, said during an interview with the ABC.
Abdurrahman Wahid, popularly known as Gus Dur, was known for championing tolerance. Ms Wahid said gated Muslim housing should be banned by the Government.
"This trend is not contributing to the wellbeing of the society," Ms Wahid said. "This is like ghetto, where people are segregated, this is segregation and because of this segregation it is easy for prejudices to rise."
But far from it ending, the concept is flourishing and property developers are profiting.
Mr Hadid unashamedly admitted he took part in the street protests in Jakarta to rid the city of its Christian governor, and also turned Christians away from his housing complexes.
But he denied there was a growing conservatism. "I won't use the word 'conservative' but people now are more aware of Islamic-related values," he said.
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