On the eve of the presidential and parliamentary vote in Indonesia – the most populous Muslim nation in the world – in a climate marked by protests over the “interventionism” of the outgoing leader Joko Widodo in favour of Prabowo Subianto, there is a small but significant change for Christians.
In fact, with presidential decree 8/2024 regarding public holidays, the head of state last week decided to officially change the name of the anniversaries, moving from the previous Islamic name to the Christian term. From this month of February, therefore, the term “Isa al Masih” will no longer be used, but the more appropriate “Jesus Christ” will be used.
Jokowi’s decision will concern, in particular, the naming of four holidays present in the country’s calendar: Christmas, which from today will be called “Day of the Birth of Jesus Christ”; Good Friday, which is the “Day of the Death of Jesus Christ”; Easter, now “Day of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ” and the ascension to heaven, from “Isa al Masih” to “Jesus Christ”. The choice was based on Jokowi’s desire to show the increasingly plural face of the country in terms of religious faith and confessional harmony.
The possibility of changing the name of the Christian holidays had been discussed for two years, since the Minister for Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas had proposed it during a meeting with the Indonesian bishops in the Moluccas in April 2022. A choice linked to the request of groups of faithful who asked to make the terminology more “Christian”, compared to using the Islamic denomination.