Indonesia was once known for its moderate and diverse Islam, but extremism is on the rise. Anger over the perceived “blasphemy” of former Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (better known as “Ahok”), a Chinese Christian, brought more than 200,000 people to the streets in 2016 and eventually led to his imprisonment. In August 2017 the government announced plans to further tighten blasphemy legislation, though a month earlier it ordered the disbandment of Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir “to protect Indonesia’s unity”.

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Indonesian Islam to model harmony

The Indonesian Muslim Congress, meeting under new President Joko Widodo, has re-stated that Indonesian Islam could serve as a model, at the international level, to present a “harmonious society” in which Muslims live and work peacefully side by side with believers of other religions. President Widodo said “Indonesia is a […]

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VIDEO: Amidst hopes of Jokowi, Indonesian Christians remain concerned

VIDEO: Amidst hopes of Jokowi, Indonesian Christians remain concerned

In Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Muslim population, the number of cases of religious intolerance doubled during 2014 – to 67, according to a recent report from the Southeast Asian nation’s National Commission on Human Rights. About 30 of these cases were about the closure or vandalism of churches, […]

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Indonesian churches remain closed

Indonesian churches remain closed

All smiles: A Muslim leader shares a joke with local police officers after protests in West Java that secured the closure of four churches.Courtesy Open Doors International   Four churches in Indonesia remain closed two months after local officials yielded to the demands of protesting Muslim hardliners. The Indonesian Full […]

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Court case hangs over Indonesian pastor

Court case hangs over Indonesian pastor

An Indonesian pastor remains in a tortured psychological state as a legal case against him lingers on. Palti Panjaitan, who runs the HKBP Filadelfia church in the village of Jejalen Jaya, east of Bekasi, was accused by an Islamic leader of assaulting him on Christmas Eve of last year. The […]

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