Jakarta – Muslim scholars stressed at the weekend that the propagation of Islamic teachings was actually a call to discuss the teachings of Islam.

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono assigned Religious Minister Maftuh Basyuni to find out how prevalent religious discrimination is in the country and to rev

Officials in Jakarta denied that Indonesian militants might be among Islamic insurgents fighting US forces in Iraq.

Jakarta – A survey showed yesterday that many Indonesians support the implementation of strict Islamic law.

M.

Pandaya, Jakarta – In recent years Indonesia has sadly been witnessing a wide variety of religious conflicts that have corroded the glue that keeps this multiethnic, multi-religious nat

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – At the end of his sermon, a Muslim preacher in South Jakarta switched to a favourite subject: Kristenisasi, or the Christianisation of fellow believers.

Pekanbaru – The Pekanbaru municipal government warned on Tuesday that government officials would shave sex workers' heads, if they were found operating during Ramadhan.

Newly-elected Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he would consider becoming a globe-trotting advocate for moderate Islam, promoting peace in hotspots such as the Middle

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Indonesia's self-appointed guardians of morality, the once disbanded radical Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI), have once again resorted to violence in the nation's

At least two known vigilante groups have been conducting raids and trashing entertainment spots across Greater Jakarta during Ramadhan fasting month.

Yogyakarta – The National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Amien Rais said on Saturday he would let Muhammadiyah followers build their own political party if they perceived that PAN had fai

Puji Santoso, Pekanbaru – Although Indonesia is not an Islamic state, authorities in Riau province rounded up a number of civil servants for not fasting and food stall owners for openin

Evi Mariani, Jakarta – The Jakarta Police announced on Friday that they objected to the the recent vandalism by at least two known vigilante groups who have been conducting raids and tr

Muslim militants in Indonesia's capital have vandalised a cafe in an area popular with foreigners because it was serving beer during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.

Jakarta – At the end of his tenure as minister of religious affairs, Said Agil Al Munawwar sparked controversy on Tuesday by banning any discussion of a draft revision of the Body of Is

Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – Yulianti, a bartender at a nightclub in Surabaya, had a busy couple of nights before Ramadhan started on Friday.

Jakarta – The Islamic fasting month of Ramadan started yesterday and the Indonesian entertainment industry is grumbling over local edicts to close nightclubs, massage parlours and amuse

Semarang/Medan/Banda Aceh/Indramayu – Millions of Indonesian Muslims, who account for some 85 percent of the total 220 million population in the country, began fasting dawn-to-dusk on F

Sjofiardi Bachyul and Ruslan Sangadji, Padang/Palu – Thousands of Muslim students and activists held protest demonstrations in various cities nationwide on Wednesday in a bid to pressur

Depok – The Depok chapter of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) threatened to raid nightclubs if the administration did not close them down during Ramadhan.

Blontank Poer/Nana Rukmana, Cirebon – Hundreds of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) members ended a three-day conference in Cirebon, West Java on Sunday, with several recommendations including a cha

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Women activists have criticized the state for intervening in people's personal affairs using religion as a justification, which they say has led to disc

Sari P.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – As the projector flickered, people in interfaith relationships told their stories.

Almost all religions forbid homosexuality as can be seen in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Bible or the people of the Prophet Luth in the Koran.

Mujiburrahman, Paris – Over the past two decades, debates and controversies have abounded among Indonesian Muslims on the interpretations of Islamic theological and legal doctrines on i

Tiarma Siboro and M.

Muhammad Uzair and Suherdjoko, Palembang/Semarang – In observance of Jilbab (Muslim headscarf) International Solidarity Day on Saturday, hundreds of Indonesian Muslim women staged separ

Jakarta – The United States yesterday announced US$468 million (S$802 million) in aid to Indonesia, earmarking part of it for improving Islamic schools, which have been blamed for encou

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – After weeks of controversy, the government-sanctioned Film Censorship Institute (LSF) pulled local movie Buruan Cium Gue (Kiss me quick) from cinemas.

Olivier Roy, Project Syndicate – Many believe that religious revival and political radicalism among Muslims who reside in the West reflects the traditions and conflicts of the Middle Ea

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri has ordered a review of the teaching of religion in Indonesian schools, saying the current methods encouraged rising radicalism

Tangerang – A group of ulema have asked Tangerang Mayor Wahidin Halim to eliminate prostitution in the municipality, citing fears that sex workers could spread HIV/AIDS.

Jakarta – Over 1,000 supporters of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) staged a rally at the Proclamation Monument in Central Jakarta on Sunday, condemning the United States' occupation

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Noted Muslim scholars played down on Tuesday fears of rising radicalism among Indonesian Muslims, saying the phenomenon would not last long and would only affect

Jakarta – Indonesian Muslims reacted angrily to the assassination of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin by Israel, with rallies held in several major cities on Java island on Friday in a

Jakarta – The leaders of Indonesia's Islamic parties have reluctantly accepted the defeat of political Islam by Malaysia's dominant secular political grouping in the recent elections, b

Tony Sitathan, Jakarta – A new Islamic fad is sweeping across Indonesia.

Devi Asmarani, Makassar – For them to graduate, primary school students in Bulukumba regency, about a three-hour drive from here, must take proficiency tests in Quran reading.

Jakarta – Thousands of white-clad, religious conservatives rallied and prayed in cities across Indonesia on Sunday, demanding the imposition of traditional Islamic law in the world's mo

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – Non-governmental organization activists criticized local administrations across the country, including in Jakarta, for handing out unofficial "severance pac

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia's Religious Affairs Minister Said Agil Al Munawar is under fire after the government admitted errors and cancelled bookings for 30,000 Muslims who had reg

Jakarta – Indonesia made progress in promoting respect for religious freedom, but in a number of cases the government failed to punish extremists responsible for murder and other crimes

Jakarta – Indonesia's peak Islamic body has put a religious ban on terrorism and suicide bombings.

Tony Sitathan, Jakarta – Idris Kemal, a senior security guard at the famous 1001 Nightclub in the Kota district of West Jakarta, popularly known as Chinatown, has been having restless e

Jakarta – Leaders of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah Islamic organizations, Hasyim Muzadi and Ahmad Syafii Maarif, in the meeting on Wednesday in Bali will tell US President Georg

Shawn Donnan, Jakarta – Moderate Islamic leaders say they are prepared to give US President George W.

Bandung – Charismatic Indonesian Muslim preacher Abdullah Gymnastiar, popularly known as Aa Gym, said on Thursday he would not meet with US President George W Bush when the latter comes

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Terrorism will top the agenda during US President George W. Bush's visit to Indonesia.