New contributor Ross McKay discusses the "PP 37", a new law granting pay rises to parliamentarians.

Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) champions polygamy and rails against gender equality and domestic violence laws.

An Islamic court in West Sumatra puts on trial Aa Gym and Yahya Zaini.

Jambi police are keeping an eye out for striptease shows on New Year's Eve.

Combating sin is the top priority for West Sumatra governor Gamawan Fauzi in 2007.

It's time for a Javanese to become governor of North Sumatra, some say.

The Padang government enforces an "Islamic" dress code for students and forbids women from going out at night alone.

The Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI) recently held a seminar in which participants voiced their complaints about creeping sharia in the provinces.

A Christian radio station in North Sumatra wins a license to operate, in spite of the pessimism of its owners over the prospects of doing so.

The Samaritan's Purse group are not welcome in North Sumatra.

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

Theocracy in action in West Sumatra as the city government of Padang teams up with the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), and the mob, to close down a mosque used by the heretics of the Jamiyatul Islamiyah.

A house used as a church in Aceh was burned to the ground by a mob.

The Ulema Council, Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), says female circumcision is necessary for Muslims.

Muslim clerics in West Sumatra are to be provided with a salary by the provincial government.

The plans of some militant Muslims to go to fight in Lebanon and the government's and others' reactions to them.

Pressure on the existence of sharia type laws in the provinces grows as fifty-six members of parliament in Jakarta demand their annulment.

Students wishing to enter junior high schools in Padang, Sumatra, must in future provide a certificate that proves their ability to read and write in Arabic.

Syafi'i Anwar, of the International Centre for Islam and Pluralism (ICIP), remarks on the growing demand for sharia based law in provincial areas of Indonesia.

The Babur Ridho religious 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.