Religious Freedom Report

May 7th, 2006, in IM Posts, by David

View the original article here.

12 Comments on “Religious Freedom Report”

yukizzolicious Says:
May 7th, 2006 at 4:21 am
Haha another double standards of the US. Wondering if there’s religious freedom watch on the US hmmmph! Practice what you preach.
Rockstar Says:
May 7th, 2006 at 3:56 pm
Dude the problem is not the US, stop worrying about other country. You gotta admit it there are so many issues concnerning the relationship between religions in Indonesia. Christians are being a subject of discrimination, you gotta admit it.

So yeah don’t laugh because it’s not funny, but rather think, this does sound like Indonesian mentality, can’t accept criticism from others.
rad Says:
December 24th, 2006 at 10:40 am
So yeah, there are some dismal things happen & some good things too. Although I highly doubt that Ahmadiyah & Jehovah’s Witness should even be allowed to exist. They’re heretical

BTW I take offense on the above saying of Indonesian mentality, it seems that if the guy above is from US, he should not be quick to judge about other people mentality. Vice versa to the Indonesian above.
Mel Says:
September 9th, 2007 at 8:32 am
When you look at that picture of the caning, don’t you think “Goodness, in what past world does that belong, this is 2007″ ?
Bill Says:
October 13th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
I like your site. Glad you do it.

I’m also wondering where you got that photo of caning in Aceh. I am working on a book about Aceh and would love to know who I could contact about the photo.
thank you
Janma Says:
December 19th, 2007 at 11:46 am
The local balinese banjar just down the street from my studio has three ‘warung muslim’ in it doing business everyday. They used to be set up in the temple courtyard believe it or not, and when the temple was renovated they moved to the banjar. Can you imagine a ‘warung hindu’ in a mosque courtyard?
Is there a liberal, secular, tolerant Muslim country? « Citizens Against Sharia Says:
February 1st, 2008 at 6:28 am
[...] in order to avoid being banned. Why would a peaceful sect be banned in a secular country? Also from Indonesia Matters, “Indonesia remains on the ‘Watch List’ in the United States Commission on [...]
Adi Says:
December 6th, 2011 at 9:04 pm
I am a first time reader of “Indonesia Matters” and I find it quite interesting,particularly when it includes religion.Maybe because of my Indonesian heritage (my dad is from Medan and my mom is Sundanese)I like to know what’s going on in Indonesia be it good or bad.I am a Singaporean.
I am a Muslim,and I find that Islam has been buried under layer upon layer of traditions,superstitions and innovations.True Islam is hardly recognize able today!
The English word equivalent for ” Muslim” is submitter,”Islam” is submission.”Allah” is not a name but an Arabic word for “God”.
If I were to implore God in English,will it be accepted?Is God an Arabic entity?Sadly millions of so called Muslims think so!Must the Quran be read in Arabic?Does it make sense to read the Quran( if you are not Arab or speak the language)in Arabic without understanding it’s meaning?Read the Quran in the language of your mother tongue,if your mother tongue is Indonesian then read it’s translation in Indonesian.That is what the Quran is for-our manual for our daily lives and the hereafter.
I recalled being told by my “Muslim”friends that in Indonesia Islam is “strong”meaning that the “Muslims there are “perfect” especially in Aceh and the majority of Indonesians are “Muslims”.When I heard of the news of the devastating Tsunami that hit Aceh,I was not surprised.Why?
What have “Muslims” done to Islam is the “raison d’être “.
“There is no compulsion in religion,” this is a command from God in his book to humanity- The Quran,the final testament.How many “Muslims” are aware of this – not the majority.The majority of “Muslims” have made their scholars,ulama etc into “lords” of religion – they obey their “lords” not God.Islam practiced today by the majority is contrary to the teachings as decreed by God in the Quran,as the Prophet Muhammad had said ” My Lord,my people have deserted the Quran.”
Misconceptions abound in today’s Islam,laws not sanctioned by God are enforced.”Fatwa” have no basis in the Quran neither do “Sharia” There is only the Hadiths of God (Quran) and his Sunnah (System) not the “hadiths and Sunnah”of Muhammad falsely attributed to him by his enemies and hypocrites of Islam.
In a nut shell, true Islam has been distorted beyond recognition.The Quran (written by God)the only book that true muslims should adhere to,has been abandoned,”Muslims” now have another book at their disposal,the “Hadiths”( man made collections of sayings falsely attributed to the Prophet Muhammad) from which “Muslims” can find anything they wish to
justify their corrupted needs.Are “Muslims” really Muslims?Have they really question their attestation of faith to be valid.Are they obeying the commands in the Quran to the letter ?
The command to verify every information by using one’s eyesight,hearing and brain as decreed by God in the Quran [17:36] is to be taken seriously as to abolish false information and misunderstandings for the true
The Quran is for all humanity and submitting to God Alone is the key to happiness now and the hereafter.

I don’t mean to offend any Muslim reader or impose the contents of this letter upon anyone but I must say that certain findings in this letter are based upon what I read in the Quran.
God willing we will all be blessed with the truth.
Nay Says:
December 7th, 2011 at 4:21 am
If you’re only going to accept certain parts of your religion and not others, you have to ask yourself intelligently upon what basis you accept certain aspects and not others.

When man still has to rationally and intelligently pick and choose which laws he wants to follow it’s a hard case to make then, that man should follow “God’s laws.”

Why not go one step further and make up your own laws based on reason and logic, and ignore religious practice which is irrational and unreasonable.
Do you really need to simulate the existence of a “higher power” in your mind?
Adi Says:
December 7th, 2011 at 10:12 am
Peace to all,

I read in today’s Straits Times (the main English newspaper in Singapore) that Scientists have discovered a planet similar to Earth orbiting a star 600 million light years away.It was confirmed by NASA along with other discoveries by it’s Kepler telescope,which was launched on a planet hunting mission in 2009.
“A phenomenal discovery in the course of human history,”Dr.Geoff Marcy of University of California,Berkeley,one of the pioneers of planet hunting outside Earth’s solar system said in an e- mail.

Quran [65:12] God created seven universes and the same number of earths.The commands flow among them.This is to let you know that God is Omnipotent and God is fully aware

This information was in the Quran that was released into Prophet Muhammad’s memory with Gabriel’s mediation about 1400 years ago.
Adi Says:
December 7th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
@ Nay. ..You are missing the main point here..I wrote what have “Muslims done to Islam?”
The main theme is about the corruption of Islam and I have stated the facts supporting it based on the Quran.
“There is no compulsion in religion…” you and I are given freedom of choice.
I have chosen mine.
Goldfinger Says:
December 8th, 2011 at 10:46 am
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life publishes report on religion and restrictions thereon every years. Regrettably, though not surprisingly, Indonesia ranks among the countries with the most restrictions placed on and conflict caused by religion in the world. Google it. It’s all there.

Wittgenstein once said that if you wanted to know whether a man was religious, it was better to observe him than to ask him. Indonesians are religious people in the formal, bureaucratic, ritualistic sense, but hardly more spiritual or moral than other peoples, including those who practice no religion. That, in and by itself, should be a damning indictment of how religion is practiced and understood in Indonesia.

Islam will be judged, not by the lofty rhetoric and ideals of its scriptures or the idealistic example of its prophet from millenia ago, but rather by the mundane, every day actions and attitudes of Muslims in the here and now. So far the verdict is still out.