Social Exclusion towards Ahmadiyya in Indonesia in Contrast to the Guarantee of Freedom of Religion in the Constitution

Abstract

The freedom to adhere to the religion one believes in is the right of every Indonesian citizen that has been mandated through the 1945 Constitution (1945 Constitution). However, there are still many citizens who have not been able to embrace a religion according to their beliefs, one of which is Ahmadiyya adherents. They also receive discrimination from society as a form of social exclusion of Ahmadiyya adherents. This study aims to elaborate on the forms of discrimination experienced by Ahmadiyya adherents and their rights as citizens in T. H. Marshall's perspective of citizenship. The method used in this study is a literature review to reveal the problem of social exclusion for Ahmadiyya adherents in fulfilling their rights as Indonesian citizens. The data collection process was carried out by filtering scientific articles related to discrimination, social exclusion, and the concept of citizenship through official journal publication portals such as SAGE, SCOPUS, JSTOR, Taylor & Francis Online, and others. This study found that the rejection received by Ahmadiyya adherents was due to weak law enforcement and oversight from policymakers in carrying out constitutional mandates. In fact, the government, religious leaders, civil society organizations (CSOs), and human rights activists can be actively involved in instilling the values of tolerance and freedom of religion in the society as the efforts to achieve the fulfilment of citizens' rights.