Jakarta – The leader of an Indonesian Islamist extremist group declared war on members of a minority Islamic sect Monday after his followers violently broke up a rally for religious tol

Jakarta – Women and children from Jamaah Ahmadiyah families have been suffering not only repeated attacks but also discrimination and human rights abuses from Muslims outside the "devia

Jakarta – The United Nations Committee against Torture (UNCAT) has recommended Indonesia drop its plan to outlaw Ahmadiyah, saying the ban will legitimize crimes against members of the

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – Religious violence against minority group Ahmadiyah stems from the weakening of the Indonesian Islamic thought movement and the government's ineptitude meet the

Hardline Islamists like Abu Bakar Bashir have joined forces with powerful government agencies pushing for minority Ahmadiya sect of Islam to be formally banned.

Dicky Christanto, Denpasar – An alliance for religious freedom protested the government's ambiguous stance toward violence committed by some religious-based groups following a recommend

Jakarta – Ahmadiyah followers outside the office of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) in Central Jakarta on Thursday demanded the Islamic body annul its edicts branding them as heretic

Jakarta – Hundreds of interfaith activists rallied here Tuesday demanding the government protect religious freedom and drop a plan to outlaw the Jamaah Ahmadiyah Islamic sect.

Jakarta/Bandung/Mataram – The government is being urged to disband its interdepartmental board that recently recommended a ban on Jamaah Ahmadiyah, as protests have continued in support

Jakarta – Hundreds of supporters of a minority Islamic sect dubbed heretical by a government panel rallied here Tuesday demanding that religious freedom is protected in the world's bigg

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Recent issues of domestic religious freedom have damaged Indonesia's global reputation as a nation of religious tolerance, experts say.

Nana Rukmana, ID Nugraha and Panca Nugraha, Kuningan/Surabaya/Mataram – Thousands of followers of the Ahmadiyah sect in Kuningan, West Java, are living in fresh fear of sectarian violen

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – A coalition of civil society groups is warning President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono against banning Ahmadiyah, saying the move would escalate attacks on the Islami

Theresia Sufa and Panca Nugraha, Sukabumi/Mataram – A group calling itself the Jamaah Al Mubalighin Communication Forum burned down a mosque belonging to the "deviant" Ahmadiyah sect in

Desy Nurhayati and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Jakarta/Malang – The government has maintained its silence on Ahmadiyah two weeks after a coordinating board of top government officials recomme

Niniek Karmini, Jakarta – Hundreds of protesters chanting "Kill, kill" set fire Monday to an Indonesian mosque belonging to a Muslim sect they claim is heretical, police said.

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The Presidential Advisory Council is advising President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to cancel the issuance of a joint ministerial decree to outlaw "heretical" Isl

Jakarta – An Indonesian sect leader was jailed for four years Wednesday for declaring himself a new Islamic prophet in a case brought to court following pressure from Muslim hard-liners

Nana Rukmana, Cirebon – Ulemas of Indonesia's largest Muslim organization have given support to members of the "deviant" Islamic sect Jamaah Ahmadiyah to file a lawsuit against the gove

Lilian Budianto, Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) on Sunday launched a book detailing its political platform and dismissing the idea it aimed at making Indonesia an Islamic

Panca Nugraha, Mataram – Fearing further persecution, some 190 followers of Jamaah Ahmadiyah in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, urged the UN Human Rights Commission pay attention to their

Indonesia's Attorney General has banned a controversial Islamic sect from practising in the country.

Muhammad Nafik and Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Muslim scholars have warned extremist groups will renew attacks on Jamaah Ahmadiyah following a recommendation the government ban the "deviant

Jakarta – The government's block on access to websites that carry the controversial Dutch film Fitna is part of an attempt to restrict citizens' freedom in the name of religion, scholar

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The government's move to block access to YouTube, MySpace and other websites showing the Dutch film Fitna, deemed anti-Islamic, sparked protests on Wednesday.

Lilian Budianto, Jakarta – Violence is not rooted in Islam or any other religion, but is often linked to religions by those seeking to further their own political and economic interests

Lilian Budianto, Jakarta – The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill maintaining the government as the single Islamic haj organizer amid criticism of monopoly by the Busines

Jakarta – Indonesia's president has urged the mainly Muslim nation not to resort to violence in protests against an anti-Islamic film, and barred the far-right Dutch lawmaker behind it

Jakarta – A controversial discussion late last week on homosexuality spilled over Monday as mainstream religious organizations claimed homosexuality was a psychological disorder, not a

Jakarta – Indonesian officials and Islamic leaders called production of an anti-Islam film posted on the Internet by a far-right Dutch MP "an irresponsible action" and "unethical", repo

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Homosexuals and homosexuality are natural and created by God, thus permissible within Islam, a discussion concluded here Thursday.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Ulema have agreed to promote civil nationalism within and outside their Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) to help protect all citizens from different religio

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Indonesia has said the film Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders plans to release about the Koran could derail interfaith dialog and harm efforts toward global st

Jakarta – Al-Qiyadah, an Islamic sect that rose under the leadership of Ahmad Mussadeq, emerged in response to changing times and Islam's international reputation, the South Jakarta Dis

Tifa Asrianti, Bekasi – Five churches in North Bekasi held Sunday services from Permata Jijau Permai housing estate despite a rumor members of the Cooperating Bureau of Mosques and Pray

Jakarta – A coalition of human rights groups will highlight the threat to freedom of religion in Indonesia during the ongoing United Nations Human Rights Council plenary meeting in Gene

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The media should not highlight Muslim hardliners who take the law into their hands in the name of religion, academics said Tuesday during a discussion organized

Lilian Budianto, Jakarta – The government came again under attack Thursday after refusing to scrap sharia-based ordinances, which Islamic scholars said worked against freedom of religio

Surabaya – Muslims protested in two Indonesian cities Saturday over drawings in Denmark portraying the Prophet Muhammad, with some calling for the artist to be put to death.

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Padang – Two local leaders of the Al-Qidayah sect went on trial Thursday at the Padang District Court on charges of defaming Islam.

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – Ignoring intense criticism and threats of lawsuits, the Tangerang city administration continues to pursue its vision of a moralistic society through controvers

Desy Nurhayati and Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The government has shrugged off demands it revoke or review sharia-inspired local regulations, which many critics say violate the Constitutio

Jakarta – The South Jakarta District Court opened Wednesday the trial of an Islamic sect leader facing charges of religious blasphemy for claiming to be a prophet.

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Padang – The Bukittinggi municipal administration has banned residents from celebrating Valentine's Day, on Thursday, on the grounds the occasion is not in line wi

Jakarta – Discrimination and acts of violence in the name of religion in the country have reached a level that could threaten democracy, rights activists have warned.

Jakarta – No matter how influential it is, the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) can not dictate government religious policy, a senior government official said Monday.

Jakarta – The government should dissolve its official body which is allowed to ban religious sects, because it has disrupted the country's legal system, human rights groups say.

Ary Hermawan, Denpasar – An alliance of Bali's pro-democracy organizations and religious rights defenders came to the province's prosecutors office Tuesday to urge the agency to be cons

A. Junaidi, Bangkok – Hundreds of Islamic fundamentalists staged a rally at Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta last month to protest National Condom Week campaign.

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – An alliance of communities fighting for religious freedom has called on the Attorney General's Office to stick to the 1945 Constitution in determining whether