Sri Muwarni, a 57-year-old teacher from Surakarta, Central Java, saved every rupiah left over from her monthly salary in the hope of being able to pay for a trip to Mecca.

Earlier this year, Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali weathered public criticism when he said that Shia Islam could be considered as heretical because it deviated from mainstrea

Margareth S.

Novianti Setuningsih – On Tuesday, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators were locked inside of the National Police compound on when Police refused to let the KPK seize b

Reportage – Following a series of religious violent incidents in recent years, the Religious Affairs Ministry has been criticized for not doing its job.

Agus Maryono, Banyumas – The Ramadhan fasting month is a holy month for Muslims, where people are encouraged to do more good deeds and refrain from consuming food, drink, or engaging in

National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman, Muhaimin Iskandar, wants the government to complete agrarian reform as soon as possible for the sake of farmers.

Lenny Tristia Tambun – Ahead of Jakarta's runoff gubernatorial election, election officials on Friday said they had found 75 offensive political banners around the capital.

An army officer facing charges over one of Indonesia's worst asylum seeker boat disasters has been accused of playing a key part in organising the ill-fated venture.

Parties must open the door for alternative figures to run for president in 2014, according to one observer.

Dili – National police and NGOs in East Timor have noted an uptick in alcohol-fueled violence, especially among unemployed youths.

Raju Gopalakrishnan, Singapore – Just over 14 years ago, Prabowo Subianto was one of Indonesia's most reviled men, accused of kidnapping, human rights abuses and a coup attempt.

Jakarta – Analysts and politicians have agreed that the only way that Muslim-based political parties can keep their heads above water in the 2014 elections is to form a coalition.

The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has urged the National Police to keep its distance from agrarian conflicts between local people and the state-owned plantation firm PT P

Dessy Sagita – The Indonesian Commission for Child Protection is urging the police to punish organizations that involve children and minors in their violent actions.

Andreas D.

Linda Yulisman, Jakarta – Indonesia booked a trade deficit for a third consecutive month in June on higher domestic demand for capital goods and raw materials, the Central Statistics Ag

The drama of the last two days at the National Police Headquarters, involving anti graft officers spending the night and having their pre-dawn meals there, before commencing fasting, ha

Rangga D. Fadillah and Margareth S.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Farouk Arnaz – When the Corruption Eradication Commission named two active-duty police generals suspects in a graft case on Tuesday, activists hoped this

James Balowski, Jakarta – After a three-year investigation and testimonies from 349 witnesses, Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has declared that the systemati

Rizky Amelia, Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Ezra Sihite – The National Police have inexplicably prevented antigraft investigators from gathering evidence related to corruption allegati

Margareth S. Aritonang and Sita W.

Sita W.

Ahmad Pathoni – Diana Marsella lives next to a mosque in central Jakarta and the call to Islamic morning prayer jolts her out of her slumber every day before dawn.

Indonesian television station Global TV was cited by the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) after renowned Muslim preacher Sholahudin "Ustad Solmed" Mahmoed hosted a sexually-expl

Endy Bayuni, Jakarta – Last week, the National Commission on Human Rights, an independent state body, released its findings from a four-year investigation into the 1965 purge of suspect

Arientha Primanita, Rizky Amelia, Farouk Arnaz & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – A senior government official guaranteed on Tuesday that there would be no retaliatory action from the pol

Despite a recommendation from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to follow up on the 1965 rights violations, the Attorney General's Office (AGO) says it is unlikely an

Indonesian and East Timorese civilians are guarding a neutral buffer zone between both countries a day after a land conflict sparked a clash there, a local official said on Wednesday.

A worrying decline in exclusive breast-feeding by new mothers underlines the need for the government to move quickly and enact a regulation that is meant to encourage and make breast-fe

Iman Mahditama, Jakarta – The police say that they will investigate the possibility that teenagers alledgedly involved in the ransacking of a cafe in Pesanggrahan, South Jakarta, on the

In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, government protection of religious freedom has been deteriorating, the United States says.

Jakarta – The vast majority of students in Indonesian schools say that they have been targeted by bullies, according to a survey released on Monday.

Indonesian television shows will be stamped with the Indonesian Council of Ulema's (MUI) Halal seal under a plan currently being discussed by the MUI and the West Java Broadcasting Comm

Arya Dipa, Bandung – A number of non-governmental organizations in Bandung, West Java, have urged the Bandung administration to stop using hibah (grants) for the upcoming Bandung mayora

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandar Lampung – Thousands of residents from 11 villages rallied outside the local office of state-owned plantation firm PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) VII Bunga Mayan

A bill governing service in the military reserves is not likely to pass this year due to public resistance, but could be approved next year, the Defense Ministry says.

Rangga Prakoso – All state institutions are responsible for addressing past human rights violations in the absence of an official rights tribunal, a leading advocate said on Monday.

Jakarta – Responding to the damning reports from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) stating that the 1965 anti-communist purge and the early 1980s killings are gross v

The rupiah weakened for a sixth month, its longest losing streak since 1998, on concern Europe's debt crisis will damp growth and exports.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Ezra Sihite – The contentious issue of increasingly expensive soybean imports has now turned to the handful of companies allowed to import the crop, amid

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Jakarta – The author of a book which criticizes Golkar Party Chairman Aburizal Bakrie for his poor handling of the Lapindo mudflow disaster in Sidoarjo, East Java,

A planned raid on several "immoral" hotels by Islamist hard-liners in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, was shut down by local police Saturday night after the so-called "morality police" bega

Bayu Marhaenjati & Zaky Pawas – In a move that was considered surprising to some, the police arrested 62 members of a hard-line Muslim group after they were involved in the year's f

Jakarta – The recently formed National Democratic (NasDem) party said it would garner at least 21 percent of the votes in the 2014 legislative election, more than the ruling Democratic

Protestors forced a church in Bandung, West Java, to shut down on Sunday amid claims that it was operating without a permit.

Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) will be sending an investigation team to Ogan Ilir in South Sumatra, the scene on Friday of possible rights violations, wi

Ulma Haryanto – Transportation projects that are not part of a wider integrated transportation development policy will not provide the long-term solutions needed to address Jakarta's tr

Novia D. Rulistia, Jakarta – Ignoring the inherent dangers, passengers still patiently wait to get on and off the buses near toll road exits and entrances.