Religion, Community and Conflict in Indonesia: Reflections on Chris Duncan's Violence and Vengeance

This review essay of Violence and Vengeance engages with Duncan's view that religious distinctions on their own are rarely the cause of violence, although they may subsequently form its raison d'etre. The review examines how religion assumes a very public space in various Indonesian societies but how the public profession of distinctive religious positions need not stir hostility. However, recent assertions of religious purity and correctness are putting new pressures on community relations, and can be seen as contributing to the severe expressions of violence in North Maluku studied by Duncan. The review questions his call for a truth commission as a necessary precursor to reconciliation, suggesting it may disrupt the strong progress already made towards peace. Instead, it calls for a closer analysis of elite and state roles in provoking or countenancing communal violence.