It was inspiring to see thousands of people staging vigils and peaceful rallies in Charlottesville in the United States to pay tribute to those killed during the violence instigated by white supremacists on Aug.12th in the Virginian city. One day after the deadly riot, reports said 500 rallies were planned across the US.

Despite US President Donald Trump’s display of indecisiveness, the outraged American public clearly and loudly denounced the act of white supremacy, together affirming that bigotry and racism are against American values.

By contrast, in a country dubbed the world’s third-largest democracy, religious supremacism, bigotry and persecution are left almost unchallenged. The spirit of collectively condemning religious supremacism does not exist in Indonesia, a nation claiming to be harmonious amid ethnic and cultural diversity. In fact, most Indonesians stay silent, if not fearful, of ultra-conservative groups aiming to enforce their beliefs on others.

Putra Mario Alfian, a 15-year old boy from Tangerang, Banten, was abused by a number of people in May after posting a Facebook status and image deemed offensive to Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab. After being forced to make a written apology to the leader, he and his family were eventually forced out of their rented house by the landlord.

Fiera Lovita, a general practitioner, left her hometown in Solok, West Sumatra, after being intimidated and terrorised following her Facebook comment criticizing the FPI leader. Fiera had commented on Rizieq’s fugitive status after police named him a suspect in a pornography case. The Solok Police chief was later dismissed, reportedly because of her inability to protect the victim.

The long list of religious superiority actions continues, with houses of worship being vandalised and burned, as in Tanjung Balai, North Sumatra, where a mob burned down pagodas and monasteries in mid-2016. In October 2015, two churches in Aceh Singkil, Aceh, deemed illegal by locals, were set alight, forcing thousands to flee their homes. There is also continuous persecution of Shiites and followers of the Ahmadiyah minority.

Amid all this, most Indonesians have been silent.

Condemnation came from the Anshor Youth Movement (GP Anshor, an Islamic group) and rights activists. However, the fact remains that 59 recorded cases of persecution from January to May this year alone, according to the South East Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet), have not ignited the public to stand up together to defend basic values of our democracy: Diversity and tolerance.

We seem to succumb to extremism and religious supremacy, noisy only on social media when seeing ultra-conservatives raiding food stalls and restaurants during the fasting month of Ramadhan. Sadly, extremists are even used for political gains by opportunist politicians, as seen in the Jakarta gubernatorial election.

Indeed, police took stern action to safeguard restaurants against raids in Depok, West Java, during Ramadhan and prevented the FPI from raiding a supermarket in Sragen, Central Java, over the use of Christmas attributes last December.

Yet, much more needs to be done. As stated by National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian late last year in the wake of massive rallies against then-Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, in taking firm action against extreme intolerant groups: Police need both constitutional legitimacy and public legitimacy.

The scholar Testriono has argued that police need strong support in acting against such groups, because first, they worry they would appear to be defying Islam. Second, firm action against religious leaders and their followers will create political instability and hinder the police’s duty in maintaining stability.

Together, we must loudly give the public legitimacy the police needs, for our own sake.

According to a study by the Wahid Foundation, 11 million people are willing to conduct radical and violent acts in the name of religion. Conducted in April and May 2016, the study, meanwhile, found that 72 per cent of the 1,520 respondents surveyed opposed radical acts. This, according to the foundation’s director Yenny Wahid, represents the majority of Indonesian Muslims.

In a nation of more than 250 million people, 11.5 million extremists and others prone to violence are a small portion of the population. Yet the majority of tolerant Indonesians tends to remain silent.

German political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann in 1974 cited “the spiral of silence.” She explained silence by the minority against the majority reflected fears of isolation and more severe consequences violence, loss of jobs, legal consequences, etc.

Thus, minority members try to find out what the majority opinion is, speaking out when they believe they share the dominant opinion, but remaining silent when they think their opinion is only that of a minority.

However, tolerant Indonesians are the majority here, yet remain powerless and voiceless toward bigotry and intolerance.

If we, tolerant Indonesians are the majority, why should we feel powerless against the bigoted, noisy minority?

Some actions can be taken to fight religious supremacy. The government must single out any group aiming at undermining our sense of unity in diversity. Firm legal action must be brought to bear on those committing persecution, intimidation or violence against minority groups in the name of religion.

Denunciation and concrete action are also needed from major religious institutions like the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, if we want our very basic principle of Unity in Diversity to prevail. The use of radicalism or intimidation and violence based on extreme and intolerant beliefs for political gains must be stopped.

As for the public, we need to speak out more often and louder and shake up the current atmosphere allowing a vast public space for extremists. Strong denunciation through concerted peaceful rallies, public discussions, strong public statements by opinion leaders, peaceful religious sermons and online-offline campaigns on religious radicalism and bigotry are critical.

The media also need to consistently make it clear that religious supremacy has no place in this country. Known for their political alliances, Indonesian media organizations must make tolerance and diversity their top priorities, detaching themselves from any expression of extremism, including of their owners and allies. Only then will extremist and intolerant groups face strong resistance and be challenged.

We cannot afford to stay silent. As American Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel put it, “silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

(The writer is Communication consultant with Fleishman Hillard Indonesia, Jakarta.)