Ulema Council on Anti-Porn Bill

Amidhan, the chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council and a member of the National Commission on Human Rights, gives his reasons for supporting the anti-porn and public indecency bill in an interview with the Jakarta Post.

Do you believe the pornography bill will be effective in checking the perceived moral decay in the country?

The deliberation of the bill on pornography is based on two reasons. First, our people no …

Comment by Karlira Kanakahuko: … Dear demonic Ulema, …

Indonesia’s Role in UN Human Rights Council

… 2006 the UN General Assembly elected Indonesia along with 46 other nations to the Human Rights council. There is also the possibility that Indonesia will be elected to the Security Council in November 2006, says guest writer Sarawut Pratoomraj.

"The UN will elect new non-permanent members of its Security Council in November. Our first target of becoming a member of Human Rights Council has been achieved. Now, we hope we can achieve our second target."

Foreign Minister Hassan …

UN Human Rights Council Member

Indonesia has been elected a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council at the General Assembly session in New York, joining such heavyweights in the human rights respecting field like Saudi Arabia, Cuba, and China.

Indonesia managed to garner an impressive 165 votes from a total of 191 UN members and thereby became one of the forty-seven countries that has been elected a member of the UN Human Rights Council.

This proves that the international …

Papuan Tribal Council & Human Rights Abuses

The Papuan Tribal Council has demanded the establishment of an independent fact finding team to investigate human rights abuses that have taken place in Papua.

The council's spokesman, Welly Mandowen, said the task of probing rights violations in Papua was too much to be left in the hands of the existing human rights commission.

The existing commission can't do its job properly as we know that its …

Solider Involvement in Mujahidin Council

… supporting the aims and ideology of the Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI), Indonesian Mujahidin Council, a military court was told.

The man, who was dishonourably discharged from the army, was also a member of the Laskar Mujahidin in Solo and Bandung beginning from 2004.

One can only wonder how prevalent this sort of thing is among the armed forces.

FPI & Aliansi Kebangsaan untuk Kebebasan Beragama

Video of the Front Pembela Islam attack on a religious freedom rally in Jakarta, and president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's response.

A video news report of the Front Pembela Islam (FPI) attack on a gathering of the Aliansi Kebangsaan Kebebasan Beragama dan Berkeyakinan (AKKBB) marking Pancasila Day on June 1st at Monas square, Jakarta. About 200 FPI men beat and struck about 100 AKKBB …

Comment by Ross: … The Indonesian Council of Ulemas felt the violence a …

Ahmadiyah (Nearly) Banned

A formal banning of the unorthodox Muslim sect Jamaah Ahmadiyah becomes more likely.

A Step Closer

Team Pakem (Badan Koordinasi Pengawas Aliran Kepercayaan Masyarakat (Bakor Pakem)), the body that oversees (unorthodox) religious activity in Indonesia, has recommended that all activities of the sect Jemaah Ahmadiyah Indonesia (JAI) be stopped and the JAI dissolved.

Wisnu Subroto of …

Comment by Patung: … by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) that had declared …

Curing Homosexuality

… acceptable to their followers.

Ma'aruf Amin, chairman of the Fatwa Commission at the Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI), said

It's a curable disorder. There have been many cases where homosexuals have realized what they did was wrong and became heterosexuals again. It's something that can be fought off.

Benny Susetyo of the Indonesian Bishops Council said:

According to official church documents, we weren't born with sexual disorders. The church regards homosexual behavior as a …

Ahmadiyya

… Affairs Ministry, decided on 15th January not to ban Ahmadiyya, despite a fatwa by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) that had declared Ahmadiyya an heretical Islamic sect. antara

Teacher not Prophet

The decision not to ban the group was made after Ahmadiyya leaders caved into pressure and issued a 12-point statement saying they acknowledged Muhammad as the last prophet, and that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was simply a teacher.

Pakem however said it may change its decision if Ahmadiyya …

Majelis Ulama

… illegal throughout Indonesia on 7th November, after a meeting with representatives of the Clerics' Council (MUI), the Department of Religion, Military Intelligence, the police, and the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), and based on MUI conclusions that the group's teachings were not in accordance with the Qur'an and Sunnah. tempo

The head of BIN, Syamsir Siregar, said on the 2nd there were about 8,000 followers of Al Qiyadah in Indonesia and State Intelligence would help in the job of …

Comment by Ross: … MUI zealots’ council - but these brave souls will …

Grand Mufti

Indonesia doesn't need a Grand Mufti, the MUI is enough.

Chairman of Indonesian Ulema Council, (Majelis Ulama, MUI) Ma'ruf Amien says the country does not need a middle eastern style Mufti Council of Muslim clerics, with a Grand Mufti at the head of it, to issue binding rulings on Islamic law.

Maruf Amin, not a mufti.

Maruf says the MUI already does the job of issuing fatwas, and it is an independent body, whereas a Mufti Council would be under the government. In …

Al-Qiyadah Al-Islamiyah

Mini theocracy in Bogor and Padang.

MUI Fatwa

On 4th October the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued a fatwa against the "Al-Qiyadah Al-Islamiyah" sect, which is led by Ahmad Moshaddeq, real name Salam.

MUI Chairman, Ma'ruf Amin said the sect had grown rapidly since 2000 and that since July 23rd 2007 Ahmad Moshaddeq had been claiming to be a prophet after he spent 40 days and nights in meditation at Mount Bunder, Bogor, West Java.

The MUI spent 3 months studying …

Comment by Cukurungan: … heresy after Council of Nicea Cukurungan, excuse …

Pentecostal Church

… of worship if the number of worshippers nearby was small. antara

Usman Fathan of the Ulema Council, MUI, in Bangka Belitung, said on the 24th of April 2007 that the rules for building houses of worship have to be obeyed. However he said he did not agree with people taking the law into their own hands.

The government of Bangka has already disallowed the conversion of the house in question to a church.

Bangka Belitung has a population of one million people of whom 79% are …

Indonesian Islamic State (NII)

… Islamic State (NII, Negara Islam Indonesia) movement urged the Bandung chapter of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) to issue a warning about the congregation.

The former members recently went to the MUI Bandung chapter on Jl. Martadinata in Bandung, West Java, asking it to alert the public to aggressive tactics used by the movement.

Dede Ahmad, 34, a former NII member, said he was worried over increasingly strident efforts to collect donations, supposedly to establish an Islamic …

Islamic Textbooks

… evaluation team was set up after complaints from a parent to the city and provincial legislative councils, as well as related government agencies.

The team has been working for four months and we hope it will continue its work by checking Islamic textbooks for other grades.

The team is made up of representatives from the Padang branch of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the Indonesian Mosque Council, Imam Bonjol State Islamic Institute, the Padang Language Council and the local …

The Vespa Lifestyle

… Islam from Saudi Arabia and the decline of the Hindu-Buddhist Islam of the masses, the Indonesia Ulema Council's increasing conservatism and fatwa issuing, the occurrence of terrorist attacks, and so forth.

All the rage.

There is a battle, she says, over what constitutes true Islam, and the destiny of the country is at stake. The battle goes on, and the Islamists often suffer setbacks, but don't expect a return of the Vespa Girls at UI anytime soon. Read on.

Sharia Wimps

Regional branches of the Ulema Council are urged not to be limp-wristed about encouraging local sharia laws.

Chairman of the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), Indonesian Clerics' Council, Ma'ruf Amin, says that leaders of regional branches of the MUI must support local governments in developing laws based on Islamic sharia law. Those who fail to do so he calls banci, wimpish or effeminate.

[Branches of] the MUI …

Bush Visit Opposition

… opposition.

Hurt Feelings

Maruf Amin of the main Muslim clerical body, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) says the government should not have invited someone who keeps hurting the feelings of Muslims around the world. Maruf said the feeling of dislike towards Bush was palpable among Indonesian Muslims. antara

Profit

In Makassar, South Sulawesi, a professor at the East Indonesia University (UIT), Muin Salim, said there was no gain for Indonesia in Bush coming. Instead …

Sholat in Indonesian

… use of Indonesian was brought to the attention of the authorities when the Malang branch of the Ulema Council, MUI, issued a fatwa against him. Malang Regent Sujud Pribadi and chief of the Malang Prosecutor's Office Ichdar Supi'i then moved to close down the Muslim boarding school which Roy headed, I'tikaf Ngaji Lelaku. gusdur.net

Yusman Roy, while preaching at the I'tikaf Ngaji Lelaku school in Malang.

Now that he has been released he says he will continue to use Indonesian …

Heresy in Bogor

… Yusup Maulana had explained in a letter to local officials, police, and the local branch of the Ulema Council, that he indeed taught ideas which were not in accordance with Islamic law, to the forty students who attended his school. This admission of heresy had caused the residents to run amok, apparently.

The police have detained Ustad Yusup Maulana at the police station. The report says that Ustad Yusup Maulana has told the police that he is at fault and that he will shortly stop …

Freedom of Religion Report

… outside of Aceh promulgated local laws implementing elements of Shari'a.
In June 2005 the Council of Ulemas ( MUI, various) issued eleven new fatwas (religious decrees) including one that renewed a 1980 fatwa that banned Ahmadiyya. The government formed the MUI in 1975 as the state's highest Islamic authority. Although the government also funds and appoints MUI's members, MUI is not a government body. It's edicts, or fatwas, are designed to be moral guiding principles for Muslims …

Jamiyatul Islamiyah

… A Den of Heretics is Shut.

In a press conference on the 18th the West Sumatra branch of the Ulema Council, MUI, re-iterated its previous view that the teachings of the Jamiyatul Islamiyah were deviant and that the group could therefore not openly practise its faith. It appears that the JmI believe that Abdul Karim Jamik, or Djamak, who is the sect's founder, has the same status as Muhammad, as a prophet.

The MUI made a plea, earlier, to the leader of the JmI, Karim Djamak, to "fix" …

TV Temptation During Ramadan

… appear on television screens during the upcoming "holy month" of Ramadan.

Chairman of the Ulema Council, Ma'ruf Amin, warned television stations recently not to show any programs that would be offensive to the soon approaching celebration of the fasting month of Ramadhan.

Stop programs which are offensive to the Islamic holy month.
(Hentikan tayangan TV yang akan menodai bulan suci umat Islam ini.)

Programs which he thought likely to offend Muslims during Ramadan were …

West Java’s Tolerance Problem

… of the church building.

The crowd, comprised of local officials, people from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), youth activists from a local mosque, and other Muslim leaders, insisted that no church should be allowed in the predominantly Muslim area. Protestors demanded to see the church's building permit for worship services.

The church does not have a permit. Pastor Mathias says:

We have been trying to get a permit since the church was established in 1998.

Mathias claims …

Love Thy Neighbour

… organisations. 71.7% of people supported the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), 59.1% were favourable to the Ulema Council (MUI), while 16.9% were admirers of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI).

August 27th, 2006.

The pdf of this survey has become available.

87.6% of respondents were Muslim, 10.4% Christian, 1.5% Hindu, 0.5% Buddhist. 39.8% Javanese, 14% Sundanese, 3.4% Malay, 3.9% Madurese, 3.7% Minang, 3.8% Bugis, 2.2% Betawi, 29.8% other.

Questions:

Are you bothered or not bothered …

Lebanese Jihad

… al Anshori, the leader of the MMI, said he had received a request for help from the Palestinian Ulema League and so had begun recruiting jihadists from 10th May. Their despatch to the war zone waited only on technical problems, a funding shortfall, and the lack of visas. Rp 15 million (US$ 1600) was needed for each man's journey, he said.

Then on the 10th reports say that the 500 volunteers from the MMI are still waiting to get visas from the Palestinian embassy in Jakarta. MMI leader …

Infotainment Gossip Shows

… the Press Board, the PPP, Partai Persatuan Pembangunan, and the Majelis Ulama Indonesia, the Ulema Council.

Press Board, Dewan Pers, spokesman Leo Batubara said that the broadcasting of infotainment shows which deal with unfounded stories of adultery, gossip, and such like, was clearly against the Press Law and the journalists' code of ethics. But, he said, if there were some basis in fact for the accusations of adultery against a famous person there was no problem.

One of the …

Morality Law for Depok

… the national capital.

In Depok this week several Islamic groups urged the Depok Legislative Council to immediately deliberate and pass an anti-prostitution and liquor bill, modeled on that of nearby Tangerang city. The debating of the Raperda Pelacuran dan Raperda Minuman Beralkohol has been made a priority of the current session of the Depok parliament and will likely be shortly passed into law.

We will give whatever support is necessary.
(Kita akan memberikan dukungan kapanpun …

Ban Playboy

The chairman of the Ulema Council, the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), has asked the government to ban Playboy magazine.

Din Syamsuddin, of the MUI, said :

If need be the president himself should take firm action.
(Kalau perlu Presiden sendiri yang bertindak tegas.)

Din said Playboy had violated the law in that it was obscene. What's more it was distributed in an unrestricted manner, freely available …

Islamic State Fears

… scholars say are in violation of the Constitution.

Ahmad Suaedy said that the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) had encouraged intolerance by issuing several controversial fatwas. This had inspired hard-line groups such as the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) to attack Muslim sects and those of other faiths, he said.

The hard-liners are using these edicts to legitimize their violent acts, while MUI has perversely used this violence to justify …

New Fatwas

The Indonesian Ulema Council has issued 19 new fatwas.

1000 members of the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) met at the Pondok Pesantren Modern Darussalam Gontor, Ponorogo, East Java, 25-28th May and concluded their session with the issuance of the nineteen fatwas. Ma'ruf Amin, the chairman of the Fatwa Commission of the MUI said :

The 19 fatwas are divided into three groups, that is, fatwas concerning …

Inter Religious Harmony

… police.

Sona Maulida Roemardhie added that previously she had been summoned by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and told not to proceed with the inter-faith forum.

They said I was secular and haram. They demanded that the forum be cancelled.
(Di sana, saya divonis sekuler yang telah diharamkan MUI. Untuk itu, mereka meminta forum tidak jadi dilaksanakan.)

Debate on Morality Bill

… that the proposed law must be in accordance with the fatwa concerning pornography issued by the Ulema Council and in accordance with sharia law. He railed against the possibility that the bill would be watered down and become more secular in nature, and lose the Islam-laden words "iman and taqwa" (faith and fear of God).

Previously Hilman Rasyad Syihab, a PKS MP and a member of the deliberating committee on the bill, had attempted to rally the troops by warning that its passing was no …

Critiques of Moderate Indonesia

… International Institute reports on a speech given by M. Din Syamsuddin of Muhammadiyah and the Ulema Council at UCLA last week.

Preaching in Tasikmalaya

… he has been in custody he has been visited several times by representatives of the Indonesian Ulema Council, MUI, and that these visitors have tried to force him to say the Syahadat and affirm himself as a Muslim. Having done this, they say, he will be free to go.

They know that I used to be a Muslim.
(Mereka tahu bahwa saya dulunya Muslim.)

Abe hails from a strict Muslim family, some of his family are well-known in the area as religious teachers, and this makes his situation …

Nahdlatul Ulama Moving Rightwards

… Islamic teachers and scholars", has recently demonstrated its support both for the Indonesian Ulema Council's (MUI) fatwa which declares the Jamaah Ahmadiyah sect heretical and and for Religious Affairs Minister Maftuh Basyuni's statement that the Ahmadiyah congregation should found a new religion and stop calling itself a part of Islam, Herdi Sahrasad writes in the Jakarta Post.

Some hardline Muslim groups have likely been emboldened by these moves of the NU and thus their …

Religious Freedom Report

… on Ahmadiyah religious communities followed the issuing of a fatwa in July 2005 by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) condemning Ahmadiyah as "deviant" from Islam. In addition to the Ahmadiyah fatwa, the MUI issued religious edicts banning interfaith prayer, marriage, and inheritance, as well as the notions of pluralism, liberalism, and secularism. According to Indonesian human rights groups, the MUI fatwas undermined public support for projects of interfaith dialogue and public …

Ratna Ani Lestari

… which originally endorsed her bid for the regency leadership.

We fully support the request by ulemas for Ratna to resign. She has hurt the feelings of ulemas and the people.

said the speaker of the house, Ahmad Wahyudi.

The PDI-P believes that political shenanigans are at work. The party's Banyuwangi branch chairman, Hermanto, said that the council's support for Ratna's resignation was premature and legally suspect because she was not formally accused of a crime.

We reject the …

Sin Reduction in Jakarta

The Indonesian Ulema Council is in the process of creating an anti-sin ordinance for Jakarta.

The chairman of the MUI in Jakarta, Hamdan Rasyid said it would be along the lines of similar laws in Tangerang but more comprehensive, covering all sorts of sinful activities that Jakartans are prone to indulging in. These include prostitution, gambling, pornography, and drinking.

The rules we are …

Comment by Irving Karchmar: … the minds of the Ulema Council and their ilk. In a large …

MUI View on Houses of Worship Law

Interview with the deputy chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Ma'ruf Amin, on the houses of worship law, from the Jakarta Post.

Some doubt the joint ministerial decree will promote tolerance among the followers of different religions.

The decree is an implementation of the 1945 Constitution and Article 22 of the Regional Autonomy Law, which requires local administrations to help maintain national unity. National unity can …

Outbreak of Demonic Possession

… of areas in Indonesia are suffering from an outbreak of demonic possession. So says the Indonesian Ulema Council who place the blame for the outbreak on lack of good religious indoct....ehm, education in schools.

This month alone it is claimed that incidences of possession have occurred in Yogyakarta (6/3), Banjarmasin (20/3), Surabaya (20-22/3), Bogor (21/3), and Malang (22/3), mainly among high school students. That which took place in Malang though affected workers at a cigarette …

Mystical Islam in Medan

… school in Medan, north Sumatra, is accused of deviant, mystical, Islamic teachings. The Indonesian Ulema Council, always vigilant against anything that smells of heresy, is investigating.

The Babur Ridho pesantren attracted a large mob of local residents demanding that it close, after accusations surfaced that some its practices and teachings were not within the mainstream of Islam. The police, as always saying that they sought to avoid violence, sealed the front gates. After a meeting …

Yusman Roy in the LA Times

… Paddock, visited Yusman Roy in prison and interviewed him.

The government and the [Indonesian Ulema] council have been working together to suppress my ideas. But this will not stop me from doing what I believe.

Despite Condoleezza Rice 's optimism the news is getting out that so-called secular Indonesia persecutes people based on their religious beliefs.

Yusman Roy.

The article deals with a number of recent cases of blasphemy, apart from Yusman Roy's, including the Lia …

Arab or Indonesian?

… are dressed they will still be treated as sex objects by some men.

A fatwa of the Indonesian Ulema Council of 2001 says:

That which arouses lust is forbidden. (Yang dapat membangkitkan nafsu berahi adalah haram.)

For the Council the source of lust is what is seen rather than those who see. What is seen includes magazines, films, books, - and women, while those who see are men. ( Apparently last February the religious police of Aceh barged into a hotel in Banda Aceh, where a …

Condom Vending Machines

… met with the stern resistance of the local branch of the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), Indonesian Ulema Council.

The chairman of the MUI in Sumatra Barat, Nasrun Harun, said that all elements of society in the province were fiercely opposed to the measure.

Elva Zulmaini of the family planning organisation said that the plan to introduce the machines had been put back due to the non-conducive atmosphere.

According to this study, http://www.ari.nus.edu.sg/docs/wps/wps05_042.pdf …

Reactions to Pornography Bill

… issues are already covered by the Criminal Code.

Those "certain groups" include the Indonesian Ulema Council, MUI, whose spokesman, Ma'ruf Amin, said that the bill was urgently needed and claimed that the "the liberal-minded who seek unlimited freedom" should stop trying to block or change the bill.

He said that Muslim groups were not forcing their opinions on others:

There will be compromises for sure. We do not want the law to force people to cover up their bodies completely. We …

Mini-Skirts in Batam

… predictable source of support for the measures came from the Batam branch of the Indonesian Ulema Council, Asyari Abbas.

I thank God for the operation, because exposing one's body is not part of our culture, and especially not our religion.

Comment by Molisan Tono: … of the Indonesian Ulema Council, Asyari Abbas. I thank …

Ahmadiyah

… and we will look at one of them, the case of the Islamic sect, Ahmadiyah.

The Indonesian Ulema Council, not an official state body but one which carries a lot of influence in government circles, last year issued a fatwa against the group accusing it of deviating from true Islam. The Minister of Religious Affairs, obviously a state functionary, has also on occasion accused the Ahmadiyah of heresy. The Minister, Maftuh Basyuni, went so far as to say that the sect had no right to be …

Ahmadiyah Lombok

… to Jakarta, to continue their efforts to meet with foreign diplomats.

Meanwhile the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) said that the moves by the Ahmadiyah sect to seek foreign asylum were a publicity stunt to highlight its grievances, adding that its members would never gain acceptance by mainstream Muslims. MUI chairman Amidhan said he understood that the members felt there was a lack of state protection for them to practice their beliefs.

If the Ahmadiyah members feel that the …

Prophet Muhammad Cartoons

… how dense Indonesians are, was Ichwan Sam, the secretary-general of the fatwa-issuing Indonesian Ulema Council.

This insult against a religious symbol revered by other communities displays their foolishness and stupidity.

Al-Mukmin School, Ngruki

… activity" as acts of terrorism.

The seminar was held in conjunction with the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), a hardline group of clerics prone to issuing medieval-heritage fatwas at any opportunity, and the ludicrous Religious Affairs Ministry, which since the rise of democratic politics after the fall of Suharto has been the dominion of small Islamic parties who need to be bought off for coalition building purposes.

The MUI deputy chairman said:

Let there be no stigma given …

Hunger Strikes are Haram

… lines near their houses, have had the fear of hellfire put into them by the West Java Indonesian Ulema Council which issued an edict condemning hunger strikes as sinful in Islam.

The West Java branch of the Indonesian Ulema Council, in assuming that the protesters are practising Muslims, said that harming oneself was forbidden, or haram, in Islam. Said Hafidz Ustman of the Council:

This is a call, not an fatwa. It is (the residents' rights) to demand something, but not by …

Sharia Compliant Banking

… 2003 the practice was extremely rare and has only come into prominence due to the Indonesian Ulema Council fatwa of that year declaring bank interest to be an illegal profit, or “riba”.
From 2006 all funds held by the government in hajj pilgrimage accounts will be given over to the sharia compliant bank system. Some 200,000 Indonesian pilgrims each year pay 25 million rupiah, or about $2500, up to a year in advance, to go to Mecca.
The government is also lowering the …

Comment by Dragonwall: … to the Indonesian Ulema Council fatwa of that year …

Muslim Radicalism in 2005

… belonging to the “heretical” group were vandalised.
Fatwas
The Indonesian Ulema Council became increasingly strident in its efforts to stamp out laxness and liberalism in the practice of Islam in Indonesia, with, on July 29, 2005 the issuance of eleven fatwas including edicts that ban Ahmadiyah as well as liberalism, secularism and pluralism, and interfaith marriage.
Liberal Islam Network Targeted
Liberal Islamic groups that promote a tolerant brand of Islam, …

World Peace Forum (WPF)

… Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought, Iran
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, of the Pontifical Council for inter-religious Dialogue, Vatican
Ven. Master Chin Kung of Amitabha Buddhist Society, Australia
Amina Rasul-Bernardo, of the Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy

and

Anwar Ibrahim, politician, Malaysia
Xanana Gusmao, president of East Timor

Some well-known campaigners for world peace who would have loved to come but didn't, and so prepared recorded …

Blaming the Victim & Others

Explanations for the FPI violence at Monas, blaming the victims, the government, and foreign plots.

Ahmadiyah

Head of the Muslim Lawyers' Team (Tim Pengacara Muslim,TPM), Mahendradatta, says the Monas incident was caused by the AKKBB side making deliberately provocative speeches, saying such as things as

the FPI are Laskar Kafir (Infidels' Front) and Laskar Setan (Satan's …

Comment by timdog: … let them buy their council houses and encourage them to …

I Gede Winasa

… from Winasa's home town of Tegalcangkring approached the Bali Legislative Council to inform legislators that Winasa has two religions, they being Hinduism and Islam.

They claimed that Winasa affirmed himself to be a Hindu in his winning bid for office as Regent of Jembrana, yet when he married the Javanese Muslim Ratna Ani Lestari in Banyuwangi, East Java he put himself down as a Moslem. jakartapost

I Gede Winasa

And a few days later dozens of Aliansi …

Islamic Syncretism Examples

How many men taught the Javanese their Islam, how far they succeeded and whether the Javanese are really just heathens.

Wali Songo

The men who proselytised Islam to the Javanese, the "Wali Songo", or the "nine teachers", may have been more than nine, says History professor at UGM, Djoko Suryo. (Although there is an unofficial tenth - Siti Jenar .)

There is no clear explanation …

Comment by timdog: … Second Buddhist Council in the time of Ashoka - on …

Shopping Mall Churches

Church services in malls, people in West Java are flocking to shopping malls in order to pray.

"Indonesians seek salvation in shops":

Shopping malls in West Java are home to a growing number of Christian congregations. There are 10 in this mall alone.

Few of them want to talk publicly about why they are here, but off the record they admit it comes down to intimidation by Muslim …

Comment by rima: … body, the Central Council of Non-Religious Philosophical …

Wag the Dog à la Indonesia

… place? Will tolerance resurrect and save the people from doom?

As always, we shall wait and see.

Comment by Purba Negoro: … of an educated Council, as they have been acculturated …

Impatient People

… Ahmadiyah is yet but will tell everybody on Monday next week. antara

Presidential Advisory Council

Adnan Buyung Nasution

Eight out of the nine members of the Dewan Pertimbangan Presiden (Wantimpres) decided to urge the president not to ban Ahmadiyah. Those in the no-ban camp were:

Adnan Buyung Nasution
Ali Alatas
Emil Salim
TB Silalahi
Rachmawati Soekarnoputri
Sjahrir
Subur Budhi Santoso
Radi A Gany

The lone dissenter was Maruf Amin …

Islamic-Western Civilization

Fatkhuri says Muslim and Christian civilization have much in common.

The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization

The book written by Bulliet titled The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization is a critique of Huntington's work on the Clash of Civilizations .

Islam & the West - Shared Heritage

Bulliet argues that Islam and the West have common roots and share much of …

Comment by Rob: … extend beyond the Council of Nicea and the Vatican II and …

Modern Day Witch Hunt

… nonconformist beliefs that are contrary to the self-styled orthodoxy of the parasitic caste of Ulema (Islamic priests) who have a vested interest in maintaining their "brand" of Islam, and ensuring that the money and influence that they derive from this position continues to flow. The so-called guardians of Islamic orthodoxy seem to forget the adage that the heresy of one age becomes the orthodoxy of the next age. Today in Indonesia faith and religion are business and business is booming …

Comment by Muchamad Minako-sukamito: … by a bunch of Ulemas, most probably imported from …

Examples of Human Rights Hypocrisy

Sylvester sees power-mongering and the profit motive behind the West's hypocrisy over human rights.

Human Rights enforcement by Western countries: Is it sincere?

We all are aware that Western countries such as the US, the EU, and Australia often promote the human rights to every corner of the globe. Today we see the protests by Westerners against human rights abuse in Tibet, Middle …

Comment by Pena Budaya: … (ie. UN Security council permanent state members) on …

How to Get a Bule Man

A new book giving advice to Indonesian women on how to find an expat man, How to Catch Mr Bule .

Published by Gramedia Pustaka Utama and written by one Erlinawati How to Catch Mr Bule provides tips and advice for Indonesian women on how to snare a foreign man for romance and likely marriage, and how to manage the relationship.

How to Catch Mr Bule.

The book discusses …

Comment by MbakAditya: … to living in a council house. How about …

Khofifah Indar Parawansa

… PKB.

However on the same day as the announcement PKS official Muhammad Siroj said the Syariah Council of the East Java branch of the Justice Party is reluctant to support a woman for the position of provincial governor.

The Syariah Council have already given their opinion [against it], the question of female leadership is one that results in differences of opinion among clerics.

Not only did the Syariah Council oppose it, he said, but also among the rank and file of the PKS, and …

Easter Militancy & Mayhem

… get verbal permission, they have to get written permission from the RT, RW, the village, the local council, and the regency government.

To avoid creating problems:

Obey the rules, only use proper houses of worship.

He advised the Muslim protestors to complain to the local government and not take things into their own hands. tempo

Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) leader Umar Shihab said the MUI had never instructed that the services of other religions should be broken up and his …

Religious Cults & Religious Freedoms

… Laws
On March 7th at the Islamic Book Fair in Jakarta Kholil Ridwan of the Clerics' Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia, MUI), while discussing a newly released book called "Nabi-Nabi Palsu" (False Prophets), said the government needed to make a law against deviant Islamic sects.
There should be a special law for this, so that sects can't develop.
He said the Department of Religion should take the lead in preparing such a law, and once it was promulgated if there were any …

Female Genital Mutilation

Foreign efforts to eradicate female genital mutilation.

United Nations

On February 27th ten United Nations agencies pledged to engage in a renewed effort to eliminate female genital mutilation (FGM), or female circumcision , within a generation.

UN Deputy Secretary General Asha-Rose Migiro said:

If we can come together for a sustained push, female genital mutilation can vanish …

Comment by timdog: … of a Bradford council house… by doing this you …

US Military Intelligence

… Nahdlatul Ulama organization
Nahdlatul Ulama organization oficial papers
nahdlatul ulema
muslim garis keras indonesia
meaning of mukmin
islamization soft in indonesia
pesantren al zaytun

These kinds of visits to IM are not uncommon, from American and also Australian government agencies, particularly from

pacom.mil (U.S. Pacific Command)
pacfa.fleet.navy.mil (U.S Navy Pacific Fleet)
dss.mil (U.S Defense Security Service (DSS))

It …

New Order Relics

Whether the government should pay heed to fatwas issued by the clerics' council.

Politician and the principal of an Islamic boarding school, Salahuddin Wahid, said on 14th February that the government should not give any special credence or weight to fatwas issued by the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI).

This country is based on the 1945 constitution and the basic law.

The fatwa against Ahmadiyah, and presumably the fatwas against other other Islamic …

Jewish Conspiracy

… Buya Mas'oed Abidin, the chairman of the West Sumatra branch of the Indonesian Clerics' Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia, MUI) complained on 12th February that the celebration of Valentine's Day was proof that Indonesia was more and more subject to foreign, global culture.

We have to stop it, it's not appropriate in our culture.

The celebration of lover's day was proof that the youth of today had lost their love for Indonesia and its culture, he said.

In the original …

Cultural Diversity

… Timur and Bali, where Muslims are a minority, and would have to be discussed at a Party senior council meeting later. He suggested that if non-Muslims did want to join then it meant they embraced Islam. okezone

Konflik Israel-Palestina

Perselisihan Israel dan Palestina, sekaligus hubungan Indonesia dengan Israel.

Mengunjungi Israel

Pada awal Desember 2007, lima wakil dari lembaga Islam Indonesia, termasuk Muhammadiyah dan Nadhlatul Ulama, berangkat ke Israel dan menemui presidennya, Shimon Peres. Kunjungan mereka disponsori oleh Simon Wiesenthal Center dan LibForAll Foundation.

Shimon Peres menyatakan bahwa ia …

Comment by Andy: … pada Security Council: “ Sudah jadi pengetahuan …

Genocide

… to the millions worldwide who died at the hands of Communism. That is a genocide worth remembering.

Comment by Achmad Sudarsono: … council. … Maybe even announce it …

Soft Islamization

… while caliphate mongers Hizb-ut-Tahrir also figure, as does the fatwa prone Indonesian Ulemas Council ( MUI ).

A 2006 survey, which might have been this one, or this one, or this one, or maybe even this one, showed that one one in ten Indonesians supported terrorist attacks like the 2002 Bali bombings if intended to "protect the faith".

After Suharto fell governmental decentralization allowed politicians to get elected locally on Islamic platforms, and they then …

Banning Islamic Sects

… and senior civil servant, and prolific author, said on 22nd December that instead the Clerics' Council, MUI, should be dissolved, because its fatwa against Ahmadiyah had caused the recent violence against the group. detik

Adnan Buyung Nasution

On 30th December former president Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) agreed, saying that the MUI did nothing but issue fatwas, and there were a lot of other more useful Islamic organisations in existence. antara

But if it can't be …

Comment by iamisaid: … banned the MUI council who keep issuing …

Indonesian Houses

… essentials namely, electricity and water supply.

Water Supply

The house receives its City Council water supply via a PVC pipe. Water is scheduled to run on alternate days for about three hours in the morning. I could go along with the alternate day supply provided it is upheld.

The short 3 hours forced me to double the number of water pumps so that it would ensure as much water is pumped into the storage tanks before time runs out.

Despite all that being done, the sad reality is …

Bahai

… leaders. Four others refused to change back to Islam, while the seventh did not turn up. antara

Comment by Frederick Glaysher: … Mother Bahai Council of the United States Tarbiyat …

Smoking Sin

… production is high, providing a living for millions, and consumption also high, the Clerics' Council, Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), is having a difficult time deciding whether to issue a fatwa against smoking, or make it haram within Islam.

Maruf Amin of the MUI said on 25th October that the fate of the farmers who grow tobacco and the workers in cigarette factories had to be considered, and this would make an anti-smoking fatwa unlikely.

In countries like Saudi Arabia, where …

Comment by Husam: … the fatwa council there said smoking is also …

Mainstream

Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama duke it out in Banyuwangi.

While it's normally smallish, weird sects like Al-Qiyadah Al-Islamiyah or fundamentalists like LDII that have their mosques attacked by mainstream, moderate Muslims, in Banyuwangi, East Java on 26th October members of the two main mainstream Islam groups, Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), came to blows.

In Kaligung …

Comment by naga: … serious? its the ulema’s who CREATE these …

Most Influential Women

… - Director General of Foreign Trade Siti Nurbaya - Secretary General of Regional Representative Council (DPD) Herawati Diah - Journalist Retno Iswari Tranggono - Entrepreneur Kemala Chandrakirana - Chairwoman of Komnas Perempuan Baby Jim Aditya - Activist anti AIDS/HIV Dewi Motik - Entrepreneur Poppy Dharsono - Entrepreneur, Fashion Design Nunun Nurbaetje Daradjatun - Entrepreneur Mira Lesmana - Film Director Maggie Liem - Specialty Fashion Retailer Tri Sudwikatmono - …

Rasa Sayange

Malaysian theft of the "Rasa Sayange" song.

"Rasa Sayange" is a traditional or folk song believed to have come from the eastern Indonesian islands of Maluku, or the Moluccas, whose modern version was first recorded in the 1950's. Following is a recording of it:

However in the latest instalment of the "Truly Asia" advertising campaign the song has been appropriated by the …

Comment by marv2000: … for the Indian council said the Chinese have no shame …

Juwono Sudarsono

Juwono Sudarsono offers advice for democracy obsessed westerners.

The minister for Defence, Juwono Sudarsono, suggests in his blog that westerners, especially "the often insufferably condescending British", should not try to impose their obsession with liberal democracy on Burma (Myanmar) and Pakistan without taking into account the historical, cultural and economic realities of those two …

Comment by dewaratugedeanom: … in the UN Security Council. Could it be that the military …

New Order Loyalists

… Muladi, National Resilience Institute Governor
Mooryati Sudibyo, Regional Representatives Council Deputy Speaker
Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, former president
Meutia Hatta Swasono, Minister for Women's Empowerment
Fahmi Idris, Industry Minister
Tjahyo Kumolo, leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) at the House of Representatives
Yuddy Chrisnandi, Golkar politician
Jimly Asshiddiqie, Constitutional Court President
Maftuh Basyuni, …

Sutiyoso

Soon to be ex-Governor of Jakarta, Sutiyoso, intends to run for president.

Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso announced on 1st October that he was likely to run in the 2009 presidential election .

Sutiyoso, looking presidential.

He told a gathering of hundreds of people attending his "political declaration" at the Four Seasons Hotel in South Jakarta that after 10 years as Jakarta's …

Comment by iamisaid: … and the Jakarta Council of Reform Saviours. They …

Fundamentalist Mosque

An LDII mosque is attacked in Jember.

A mosque or musholla belonging to the fundamentalist Indonesian Islamic Propagation Institute, (LDII, Lembaga Dakwah Islam ) was attacked and reduced to rubble by hundreds of local men in Tanggul Wetan village, Tanggul district ( map ), Jember, East Java, on 19th September.

An LDII person said:

It happened really quickly, about 500 men suddenly …

Comment by Odinius: … realize that the Council of Nicea paved the way for the …

Wahidiyah

… in Manonjaya, Tasikmalaya.

Ajengan Asep is the leader of the West Java branch of the Mujahadin Council, Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI), who Wahid accuses of being behind the midnight attack on 12th September.

Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur).

Wahid also asked the police to arrest two of the leaders of the Tasikmalaya branch of the Clerics' Council, Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), Saefudin Juhri and Dudung Akasah. The Tasikmalaya MUI recently condemned the Tasikmalaya Wahidiyah group …

Women in Mosques

Women are not allowed in the Sultan mosque in Ternate.

Women & Their Unholy Voices

While almost all mosques in Indonesia allow women to come inside and pray, although they have to sit behind the men, the Sultan mosque in Ternate, North Maluku (Maluku Utara, Malut) ( map ) is unique in forbidding women from entering.

Djafar, a local figure, explains:

Only men can pray in …

Comment by Korrill: … itself about the council of Nicea - the editing of the …

Batam Radio

The Batam airwaves are often a mix of foreign and religious content.

What is broadcast on the radio stations of Batam island ( map ) has frequently been raised in the media of late, with specific concerns related to foreign use of Batam airwaves.

Falun Gong

In May of 2007 Chinese embassy officials complained that the station Radio Era Baru 106.5 FM (Xi wang zhi sheng, New Era …

Comment by Hassan: … in the Nicean Council of 325 AD? Out of a thousand …

Street Beggars

… or goods from illegal roadside stalls. On 10th September all seven parties represented at the city council agreed on the bylaw, which is intended to replace a 1988 regulation and is hoped to make Jakarta a more ordered city. Punishments for transgressions are jailing for between 10 and 60 days or fines ranging from 100,000 rupiah ($11) to 20 million rupiah ($2,100).

Jornal Effendi Siahaan of the City Council's Law section explained that giving money to beggars only made such people …

Soeharto vs. Time Case

… the media over the implications for press freedom in the country. Abdullah Alamudi of the Press Council, (Dewan Pers), said:

It's really disappointing and a big setback for press freedom.

Time's legal counsel, Todung Mulya Lubis (see also his views on capital punishment ), said the justices had not paid any attention to the 1999 Press Act and complained:

It isn't Time that has lost, it's press freedom.

Todung Mulya Lubis.

Heru Hendratmoko and Eko Maryadi of the …

Metro TV Xin Wen

Ross on Metro TV's Chinese-language news service, Xin Wen.

The Metro TV Chinese-language news reported on the APEC conference in Sydney on its morning news. What did Metro show the Indonesian viewers? None other than the President of Red China making his speech. But Indonesia's own President, SBY, attended that gathering.

Jakarta's Metro TV is quite a young channel, which has …

Comment by Ross: … Medicina (Regional Council on Medicine) that Cuban doctors …

Hijab Solidarity

… 300 university students from Lembaga Dakwah Kampus (LDK), or the Campus Preaching Council (LDK), marked the International Hijab Solidarity Day in Semarang, Central Java, on 4th September.

"International Hijab Solidarity Day" was declared at a conference of the Assembly for the Protection of Hijab held on July 12th, 2004, in London.

Already gotten the message.

The date of 4th September was chosen because, as protest leader Lulu Jamaliah says, that was the date in …

Mixed Religion Marriages

… it.

Farida Prihatini of the Islamic Law department at UI however says that the Clerics' Council, Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), has made mixed-religion marriages haram, or forbidden, and in principle other religions, besides Islam, do not allow them either.

It's unacceptable, there is no [valid] marriage, it's living in sin.

Father Andang Binawan says the Catholic church has no problem with mixed-religion marriages, provided the non-Catholic partner is willing to submit to …

Comment by Sylvester: … the Clerics’ Council, Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), …

Priyo Budi Santoso

… 28th August a delegation from the religion department of Golkar met with leaders of the Clerics' Council, Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), at the Istiqal mosque, Jakarta, to discuss how the MUI and Golkar could together develop strategies for ensuring religious harmony and preventing the break-up of the country into warring tribes.

Priyo Budi Santoso.

Priyo Budi Santoso of Golkar, who replaced the amorous Yahya Zaini as the head of the party's Religion section, says his party is …

Traditional Markets

… to ensure the latter's survival. He said to a plenary session of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) at the parliament building on August 23rd, in discussing its policies on regional development:

Governors, district heads and mayors should determine proper locations for modern and traditional markets.

The statement was made in response to DPD Chairman Ginandjar Kartasasmita's complaint about the rapid disappearance of traditional markets:

We discovered the phenomenon …

Kampung Girls

Ross says "kampung" girls are the best.

As Spring, and all other seasons, bring rain in Scotland, so does the advent of Ramadan in Indonesia almost inevitably produce whining articles in the Jakarta Post from spoilt lazy women who can't look after their own families.

Ignoring the paradox of a communist-sympathising newspaper affording a platform for the worst examples of the "exploiting …

Comment by Tammy Ho: … married to a local council man. They are born, they …

Batam Nightlife

The nightspots of Batam are urged to close down for Ramadhan.

Chairman of the Clerics' Council, Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), Ma'ruf Amin urged the owners of bars, discos, and probably brothels on the holiday island of Batam to close down entirely while Muslims observe the fasting month of Ramadan.

They make plenty of profit over 11 months, it's not too much to ask them to close down for one month.

He advised the government of Batam on August 24th to think carefully …

Sharia Application

Sharia can be applied without making Indonesia an Islamic state.

Fuad Amsyari of the Crescent Star Party, Partai Bulan Bintang (PBB), said in Jakarta on 21st August that the basic form of the state, Pancasila, did not need to be changed in order that sharia be applied. Instead, every law that was made could incorporate Islamic law.

It was a mistake to think that sharia application …

Comment by Julita: … Joakim and the Council of Israel came from Jerusalem …