Van der Tuuk used the time in Holland (1857-1868) to work on the rich material he had brought from the Batak lands. But he had a combatative disposition and got involved in a lot of polemics. His main target was the orientalist Taco Roorda who enjoyed great, and according to Van der Tuuk undeserved, authority in Holland. The linguist thought, among other things, that Roorda’s idea of Javanese as a foundational language from which all other Indonesian languages were derived was nonsense, a judgment with which modern authorities agree.

Gusti Dertik (Dr.Herman Neubronner van der Tuuk) was, so we are told, the greatest nineteenth century Western student of Indonesian languages, possibly rivaled only by Brandes, a quite different type of scholar (and different type of human being). He laid the foundation for the comparative study of Indonesian languages by the formulation of two phonetic laws “without which”, according to the later testimony of the scholar of Malay Van Ronkel , “no scientific treatment of an Indonesian language is possible.”

Rampage by militant groups in in Bandung & Tasikmalaya, while a senior Democrat Party figure calls for their banning.

On 8th November about 15 white clad men descended on the Ganjuran Sacred Heart Church in Sumbermulyo village, Bambanglipuro, Bantul, Yogyakarta, and demanded that dozens of Merapi volcano refugees that were being given shelter in the church, – those of them who were Muslim, – leave forthwith.

Nineteen ‘local’ religions clamouring for state recognition says the NU, but the God of Indonesia is a jealous being.

Who is winning the race to build the most houses of worship: proof minorities are not discriminated against.

Sectarian mapping of cities to prevent conflict, as another church, in Bekasi, is closed.

Ross finds shameful bigotry in the fair city of Tangerang.

Treespotter looks at capital punishment around the world, and an argument in favour of it.

American led societal transformation, intercession and the prophetic marketed in Indonesia.