Ramadhan Sweeping

As the fasting month of Ramadhan approaches efforts at "sweeping" of places of dubious moral worthiness, such as bars and brothels, tends to increase.

Recently there have a been a few reports of sweeping by both police and motivated citizen's groups, usually of a religious bent. In Bogor on the 8th hundreds of young men from an obscurely named group raided roadside stalls and rented properties thought to be places of sin. This action was a …

Comment by Raden: … why there is no sweeping news again this year ???

Munir & Muchdi PR

Ross on BIN chief Muchdi's questioning by police over the murder of activist Munir.

The former deputy head of the country's spy service, BIN, has been taken into custody, apparently voluntarily, in connection with the murder of the rights activist Munir. He is presumably meant to be the brains behind Pollycarpus, the rather dim-looking Garuda pilot who is already behind bars for the …

Comment by Wilson: Ross, Your sweeping generalizations just reveal …

Religion & Religiosity

Rima says religion and religiosity are to blame for much of Indonesia's, and the world's, troubles.

Why religion doesn't matter at all

Once upon a time, Indonesia was well-known in the world as a nation of peace, tolerance and religious pluralism. Other countries even made us their example, a country full of people with various religious beliefs, from various ethnic and language …

Comment by barry prima: … could make such sweeping and factually laughable …

My Friend the Fanatic

Sadanand Dhume's My Friend the Fanatic - Travels with an Indonesian Islamist .

My Friend the Fanatic - Travels with an Indonesian Islamist tells the story of Indian journalist Sadanand Dhume's journey across Indonesia and his meetings with political, cultural, and religious figures in 2004, and is written from the standpoint that the country is being torn between two forces, …

Comment by timdog: … within or to come sweeping out of west and central Asia …

FPI - Laskar Kafir, dikuasai Mossad

Keterangan mengenai kekerasan FPI di Monas, menyalahkan korban, pemerintah dan persekongkolan asing.

Pimpinan Tim Pengacara Muslim (TPM), Mahendradatta, mengatakan bahwa insiden Monas terjadi karena pihak AKKBB dengan sengaja memprovokasi dengan melontarkan kata-kata seperti

FPI Laskar Kafir dan Laskar Setan

Provokasi lainnya termasuk fakta bahwa parade AKKBB ilegal, tanpa ijin …

Comment by tomaculum: … ” Lho, apa sweeping FPI di …

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 Ross: … use is surely too sweeping. Do we dismiss Mother Teresa …

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 jaka: … Yapto, keyperson of PP, …

Modern Day Witch Hunt

… was no one left to speak out.

Stop the persecution of Jamaah Ahmadiyah members! Defend Ahmadiyah!

Comment by janma: … from calcutta came sweeping through the hindu village on …

Agama, Adat and Conversion in Nusa Tenggara

… to a non-religious person with an interest in traditional cultures and belief systems, the idea of sweeping down over the dense green treetops in a light aircraft to bring the "word of god" and "save" the "savages" of Papua or wherever, does seem grotesquely arrogant and condescending - not to mention 150 years out of date - but I digress.

In Sumba the majority of people are now Christian - nominally at least. Pure Marapu religion endures in a few places, particularly the key ancestral …

Pemblokiran Situs Internet

Pemerintah mencoba membuat peraturan tentang Internet dan memblokir akses ke situs-situs yang mengandung muatan pornografi.

Hukum Dunia Cyber

Pada tanggal 25 Maret, Undang-Undang Informasi Transaksi Elektronik (UUITE) disahkan oleh DPR di Jakarta. Pembahasan mengenai UUITE ini di kalangan masyrakat umumnya berkisar pada hal-hal yang dilarang oleh hukum ini, seperti yang bisa dilihat …

Comment by torasham: … tapi situsnya. 2. Sweeping aparat harus disertai surat …

Youth Groups & Activists Running Amok

… this, as far as is humanly possible, these people don't appear to be among them:

The Sport of Sweeping in Solo

In Solo/Surakarta on the night of 17th March a group of what are variously described in the media as "thugs", or "youths", or less harshly "local residents", were having a party on the street, and some of them were drunk, or were in the process of getting drunk.

From a neighbouring district hundreds of men from the Muslimin mosque, called by the media either "activists" or …

Comment by Cukurungan: … Sport of Sweeping in Solo”¦..is this action …

Fitna by Geert Wilders

… could be a possible date. For anyone interested bookmark www.fitnathemovie.com in your favorites.

Comment by Lairedion: … dan aksi-aksi sweeping terhadap warga Belanda di …

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: … aggressive, broad-sweeping statements about the “evil …

Forgiveness

Some people are in a forgiving mood as former president Suharto nears death.

As Suharto nears death, with never-ending media reports of "condition improving"/"condition worsening", and as his grave is prepared, suarapembaruan the question of the stalled but outstanding legal case against Suharto concerning stolen national assets has been repeatedly raised.

Hidayat Nur Wahid …

Comment by Cukurungan: … the rage that was sweeping through Indonesia and thus …

Soft Islamization

The experts say soft Islam is sweeping the country, not hard Islam.

In a similar vein to Time's " Vespa Girls " story of 2007 the Economist says Indonesia is a place where "Where 'soft Islam' is on the march" economist The story begins:

Is Indonesia, the most populous Muslim-majority country, undergoing creeping Islamisation?

Some examples of Islamic extremism, such as attacks on the Ahmadiyah sect, …

White Men

White Men in Indonesia: A Guide By Achmad.

White Men in Indonesia: A Guide By Achmad

Bule (white expat ) wipes the slobbering beer-froth from his jowls, as he stumbles, drunk, onto the pre-dawn dark of the bar-district in Jakarta, Jl. Felatehan, Blok M.

Thirty Bir Bintangs before, Bule had started the night wondering how it had come to this. Now, through the beer-fuelled haze, …

Comment by Benjamin: … anyone making such sweeping accusations is only belittling …

Poor People

… places as though by getting rid of the beggars it would do likewise to the syndicates. It is like sweeping stuff under the carpet.

Helping the Poor

Simplistic as this suggestion might appear to be, is it not possible for those who have the means such as, the people who earn a "decent" salary, the people who run businesses of their own, the larger size Companies, the multi national Companies to make a monthly contribution for such a worthy humane cause?

Each contributes according …

Minority Groups

Indonesia is founded on discrimination against minorities, says Dragonwall.

Bribery, Corruption and Discrimination

New Order

After the ending days of President Soekarno, General Soeharto then took command as President and Supreme Commander of the Indonesian Armed Force (TNI) and began his rule of Indonesia from 1966-1998.

To commoners in Indonesia, at that time, when …

Comment by Dragonwall: … and the prairie sweeping winter chill of Wyoming. …

Morality Police

… of a morality police in Indonesia intent on rooting out pornography, or more instances of " sweeping " against places where sinful activities are known to be going on.

Hendardi of the Setara Institute says:

Articles 22 and 24 could create anarchy with irresponsible groups using the law to suit themselves.....Groups could come into existence [perhaps like Bandung Sin Watch ] which act as morality police.

He said the RUU should make it clear that only the police had the …

Learning Indonesian

Ausdag explains why learning Indonesian is not popular in Australia.

Why Aren't Australians Learning Indonesian - A Response to " Bahasa Indonesia - Australians Don't Want to Learn Indonesian " (Indonesia Matters November 19th, 2007).

Having studied Indonesian at university level, then in-country and then teaching the language for five and a half years in an Australian primary school …

Comment by iamisaid: … well as your other sweeping and unfounded statements that …

Indonesian Women

Laws that discriminate against women.

The recent 39th meeting of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in New York recommended Indonesia revoke all laws that are viewed as biased against women, said the Minister for Women's Empowerment, Meutia Hatta, on 26th September.

Although Indonesia ratified the Convention 23 years ago Meutia …

Comment by Ade Wanto: … the way they have sweeping in ramadhan not allowing …

Street Beggars

Laws against giving money to street beggars.

A new public order by-law in Jakarta forbids the giving of money to beggars, buskers, car windscreen cleaners, and street kids, or the buying of food 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 …

Comment by iamisaid: … citizens. In a sweeping act of haughtiness, they now …

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 Arema: … ironing, mopping, sweeping, cleaning, all of them. It was …

Learning Islam

Indonesian Muslims still have some way to go in learning Islam.

The minister of religion, Maftuh Basyuni said on 4th August that Islam did not teach violence or radicalism, and radicalism could not be allowed to flourish Indonesia because most people were opposed to it and it had no basis in the Quran. He advised people to not only read the Quran a lot but to learn it and understand …

Comment by Dawud Farquhar: … rejecting them and sweeping them under the carpet like out …

Heretic Outreach

The government reaches out to heretics.

The head of the Bengkulu office of the Department of Religion (Depag), Mukhtaridi Baidjuri, has invited any members of non-orthodox Islamic groups to give up their strange beliefs and return to the fold of government approved Islam .

We are inviting them to return to the correct teachings, ie., those based on the Quran and hadiths of Muhammad. …

Comment by dewaratugedeanom: … societies) or by sweeping it under the carpet by …

National Brand

Creating a national brand for Indonesia.

Tourism minister Jero Wacik promised on 4th June that by 2008 the government will have chosen a national brand for Indonesia to promote the country and its economic and tourist charms to the world.

The form of the branding will represent all parts of Indonesia. Like Malaysia with its "Truly Asia" brand, which represents all the people of …

Comment by Arema: … the constant sweeping, the push for APP and Syariah, …

Feminism and Islam

Feminism is not suitable for Indonesian women.

Eny Dwiningsih, a professor at the Islam State University in Jakarta (UIJ), said in a seminar called "Developing Intellectual Interest in Womens' Issues" at the North Sumatra University in Medan on 18th May that Islam rejected feminism.

Feminism was dangerous to Islam because it was infused with the spirit of secularism, opposed to sharia …

Comment by Achmad Sudarsono: … said they’d be sweeping Aussies today. See what …

Boy & Girl Caned

An amorous young couple in Aceh are given the lash.

Two romancing university students, a boy, Nuriadin bin Ismail (22), and a girl, Devita Citra Putri binti Ismail (21), were caught together in a boarding house room on 6th February 2007, subject to a citizens' arrest by local people, and then handed over to the religious police, Wilayatul Hisbah , and they were then charged with …

Comment by Cukurungan: … and next made a sweeping statement. Cukurungan : …

Baywatch Bikini Party

… Doing anything of an overtly sinful nature would be like committing suicide, he said. jawapos

Comment by Niamh Piperman: … agree with the sweeping implication that all of …

Mosques

The builders of mosques are urged to get permission.

Vice president Jusuf Kalla said on the 16th in Jakarta to a gathering of the National Mosques' Council that mosques need to have the permission of the local authorities.

Kalla said that in village and rural areas most mosques did not have their paperwork properly in order while in the cities most did. He said it was unfair to expect …

Comment by Dimp: Will the FPI start sweeping these illegal mosques then? …

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Ayaan Hirsi Ali continues her battle against Islam.

Muhammad, according to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, was a sexual pervert and a political-military tyrant. This attitude endears her to neither Muslims, of course, and nor to most westerners, westerners being people who generally feel uncomfortable when religion is brought up at all, but especially when done so in such a forceful way and when the …

Comment by Cukurungan: … with the FPI sweeping. It is excatly the same Mr …

Jakarta Chinese

Governor Sutiyoso of Jakarta wants a fair deal for the city's Chinese.

On the occasion of Chinese New Year, or Imlek, Governor Sutiyoso promised to make it easier for the city's Chinese to obtain official documents, such as birth certificates, family cards, local residency papers, and even citizenship, while visiting the Wihara Dharma Bakti temple in Glodok on the 18th. tempo

"Bang …

Comment by Raden: … will be no more sweeping for alcohols & American in …

Jakarta Floods

Jakarta is awash with water.

Large parts of the capital city are flooded with many thousands having to be evacuated and much of the business life of Jakarta and its satellite cities coming to a halt. Floods have hit at least 33 districts in Jakarta, 16 in Bekasi and 7 in Tangerang.

Five people are reported to have died, three in Jakarta and two in Bekasi.

___________

Twenty people …

Comment by 1ndra: … social works like sweeping and cleaning the streets from …

Porn Sites

Internet porn sites should be blocked by the government, say religious leaders.

Former Muhammadiyah leader Syafi'i Maarif, generally considered to be more relaxed in his understanding of Islam than the current Muhammadiyah boss, Din Syamsuddin, urges the government to take action against web porn sites.

Syafi'i Maarif.

Indonesia was lagging behind its neighbours Singapore and …

Comment by Peter: … the way for more sweeping bans in the future. For …

Irwandi Yusuf & Muhammad Nazar

Former separatists Irwandi Yusuf & Muhammad Nazar of GAM have won Aceh's gubernatorial election.

Irwandi Yusuf and running mate Muhammad Nazar continue to lead in the preliminary vote count for the gubernatorial election of Aceh province in northern Sumatra, representing the former armed separastist group, Free Aceh Movement, GAM.

The vote count by the Aceh Independent Elections …

Comment by Mohammed Khafi: … of Sharia laws sweeping the province.

Enemies of Islam

Faith can overcome the enemies of Islam, says a preacher in Bogor.

Muslim cleric Ahmad Degel delivered some old time religion at his Idul Fitri sermon at the Bogor Botanical Gardens on the 24th, saying that faith was a powerful weapon indeed against the enemies of Islam, the countries of the West, because it put God in the Muslims' corner:

Besides sophisticated weapons, faith is the …

Comment by Tomaculum: … under the carpet sweeping, like some masterminded people …

Not a Hotel

Vice president Jusuf Kalla advises businessmen of Chinese descent to regard Indonesia as their home, and not as a hotel.

Speaking to a group of Chinese, Tionghoa, businessmen at the Gedung Metro TV in Jakarta on the 11th Kalla asked them to not consider Indonesia a hotel, and that when times got tough not to flee, with their money in tow, to greener, safer pastures such as Singapore and …

Comment by Dragonwall: … cause chaos by do sweeping etc. Say what the government …

Kalla & A Moroccan Waiter

A Moroccan waiter in Spain harangues vice-president Jusuf Kalla over his failure to observe the fast while travelling.

In something that would almost certainly never happen in Indonesia it appears Kalla and his group sat down in a cafe in Madrid, after having just flown from Chicago, via Frankfurt, and ordered coffee. The waiter who served them, one Hamad, asked Kalla if he was a …

Comment by Molisan Tono: … be sleepy all day sweeping the roadside stall for food. …

Expats

… Certainly some home truths there, but the "Most of them..." part may not stand up to analysis.

Comment by Achmad Sudarsono: … hate them more for sweeping away all those hot 22-year …

No Bakso in Ambon (& Padang)

The law in Ambon city enforces respect for Muslim customs, as it does in Padang, West Sumatra.

The city government of Ambon, under mayor Jopie Papilaja, in the province of South Maluku apparently passed an ordinance banning the selling of food on the streets during the fasting hours of the day, out of respect for those people who observe Ramadan.

On the 27th public order officials went …

Comment by Molisan Tono: … people who did the sweeping, have no sense of humanity and …

Swinging Surakarta

… during the celebration of past fasting months, has been subject to many instances of " sweeping " of night-time entertainment venues by radical Islamic groups.

Pemalang Adultery Crackdown

… were arrested and taken to the police station, in what appears to be an example of Ramadhan sweeping. Of those arrested one included a high school teacher and another was a public servant, both of them, it seems, caught with their pants down with lady friends.

When police arrived at one of the hotels the hotel staff attempted to hide the guest list. Undeterred the policemen proceeded to go room to room, knocking on the doors, causing panic among the lovebirds inside.

Husodo, head …

Agni Pratistha Arkadewi Kuswardono

Agni Pratistha wins the 2006 Putri Indonesia contest.

Agni, whose full name is Agni Pratistha Arkadewi Kuswardono, was the contestant from Central Java and is 18 years old. She replaces Nadine Chandrawinata as the reigning Putri Indonesia and will progress to the 2007 Miss Universe competition.

Agni was chosen on the 25th in Jakarta narrowly beating out Ananda from South Kalimantan …

Comment by Mia: … crisis that’s sweeping Indonesia, there weren’t …

Sexual Crimes & Adult Magazines

Police in Depok are carrying out a sweep of adult magazines and tabloids which they claim contribute to sexual violence against women.

On 21st July Depok public order officials descended on kiosks at various train stations and seized dozens of racy magazines, publications which usually contain pictures of scantily clad women as well as sexually titillating stories. Police deliberately …

Comment by Abdul Khalid al Jumhuri: … one who did the sweeping is the Indonesian Police. …

Israel & Lebanon

… radicalism common in Indonesia, and especially in the city of Makasssar in South Sulawesi, is " sweeping ". Yesterday about fifty university students grouped in the Makasssar Muslim Student Association (HMI) mounted a sweeping operation against American and Israeli nationals in a number of hotels in protest against the Israeli attacks on Palestine and Lebanon, says Antara.

The students from several Islamic universities in Makassar descended upon star-rated hotels such as the Sahid and …

Playboy the Third & FPI Case

… come by. Magazine sellers are reported to be afraid to carry Playboy, at least openly, for fear of sweeping operations by Islamic radicals.

Playboy third edition picture.

The third edition, with one Visensa Nyssa Yuliani on its cover, is said to be of a more racy nature than the first two.

SBY Will Be Judged

Abu Bakar Ba'asyir says the leaders of the country put their souls at risk by not applying Islamic sharia law.

The state must ensure that citizens perform their religious duties, he says :

The way of applying Islam has to be organised by the state. Muhammad and his friends gave the example. So, for example there are many Muslims who fail to pray regularly because there is no law …

Comment by Dragonwall: … comrades go around sweeping the floor? Disturbing …

Habib Riziq Beats a Retreat

… to ascertain if any men were lying in wait for Habib Riziq, but

There aren't any reports of sweeping or anarchic acts but we'll keep on the watch.
(Belum ada laporan adanya sweeping atau tindak anarki lain. Tapi, kami tetap berjaga-jaga.)

Human Trash & Dangdut Singers

… which is a mix from Arab, Indian, and Malay folk music. He threatened:

Wer'e ready to begin sweeping dangdut dancers in Depok.
(Selain itu penari-penari dangdut yang seronok yang manggung di Depok juga siap kita sweeping.)

He also urged the Depok administration to pass an anti-prostitution law along the lines of that in force in Tangerang, another satellite city of Jakarta. Any opposition to the passing of the law would be dealt with:

Wer'e ready to fight those who oppose the …

“Sweeping” of Australians

… president, and kick the Australians out presumably.

Indonesians call this sort of thing "sweeping", or to use the active verb mensweeping, and attempts at it occur with some frequency, whenever the Indonesian offence level reaches a critical point (see Muttawa ), fragile, insecure people that some of them are.

They belonged to a group called Resimen Mahasiswa (Menwa), similar to Army Cadets in a western university, supposing such things are still allowed in the west, which …

Dating Indonesian Girls

Dating Indonesian women may not be for everyone.

Indonesian women, particularly on the island of Java, are exceptionally beautiful. They tend towards the very feminine side, with lovely skin, are not too tall, and have knock-out smiles. There's plenty of plus on that side of things.

If wer'e to be honest we have to recognise that many men are interested in a woman who will take care of …

Comment by Ana: … that way. How can sweeping your problems under the carpet …