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Blontank Poer, Surakarta – A thick cloud of suspicion hangs over the country's pesantren (Islamic boarding schools), with many convinced they are a breeding ground for terrorists.

Jakarta – Dozens of students from the Jakarta State Islamic University (UIN) protested in front of the Jakarta Police Headquarters on Thursday condemning the arrest, for blasphemy, of L

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The arrest of Lia Aminuddin, the leader of Salamullah or God's Kingdom of Eden sect left several questions as to why she is being prosecuted, while other "hereti

Ruslan Sangadji, Palu/Jakarta – Conservative Muslim groups have openly campaigned against transvestism and the use of condoms.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – In a move that many saw as unnecessary, Jakarta Police declared on Thursday Lia Eden and 32 of her followers suspects for defamation of religion a day after memb

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Thousands of people affected by the closure of churches will be able to attend Christmas services at schools and other buildings owned by Muhammadiyah, the coun

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Most Islamic boarding schools or pesantren are more than just educational institutions – they are also community drop-in centers and citizen's advice bureaus, whic

Benteng Reges, Jakarta – Following the revelations of Fabianus Tibo-one of three Catholics sentenced to death for the 2000 sectarian violence in Poso-demands are growing that the real c

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – Members of several Muslim organizations will help guard churches over the Christmas and New Year period, a city official says.

Dean Yates and Tomi Soetjipto, Jakarta – Indonesia will take tough action in its newly declared war on militant ideas that could include shutting an Islamic school co-founded by hardlin

Eva C.

Several churches in Jakarta and West Java were closed down by force recently, prompting practitioners to conduct their prayers outside their church.

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – Indonesia needs more cooperation from the public to track down Islamic militants who are sometimes regarded as heroes in the world's most populous Muslim nat

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Despite the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom, discrimination on the basis of religious belief is a cause for concern in this country, accordin

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – While many Jakarta residents were looking for places to eat out on the first day of Idul Fitri on Thursday, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) forced restaurants

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – Tension between Muslims and Christians at Jati Mulya housing complex in Bekasi, West Java, has come to a peaceful end, at least for the time being, with the

Tb.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – It was almost dusk on Sunday, but a group of children at the refugee camp were still playing outside despite the mud after a heavy downpour in Banda Aceh.

Eva C.

Indonesian police say a shadowy sect known as Mahdi is becoming a threat to national security after three officers died in a bloody clash. But others say the sect doesn't exist.

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – Fallout from the October 1 Bali bombings put a damper on the local Hindu Galungan and Kuningan holidays celebrating the triumph of good over evil in heroic time

Jakarta – A clash between police and machete-wielding members of a shadowy Islamic sect on Indonesia's eastern Sulawesi island has killed four people, three of them police officers, a s

Blontank Poer, Surakarta – Tension heightened in the Central Java town of Surakarta as hundreds of supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Surakarta Is

Blontank Poer, Sukoharjo – Police officers declared the leader of a Muslim militant group a suspect on Thursday, three days after he led a mob attack on restaurants selling alcoholic dr

Blontank Poerwoko, Surakarta – A middle-ranking police officer here was removed from his post on Wednesday, a day after Muslim hard-liners raided at least two local restaurants and dest

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – A spate of recent church closures and attacks on the compound of a sect has highlighted a debate raging within the Indonesian Muslim community over religious

ID Nugroho, Probolinggo – Seven former counselors at a drug and cancer rehabilitation center in Probolinggo were sentenced on Thursday to jail terms of between three and five years for

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Actor Anjasmara and model Isabella were reported to the Jakarta Police on Thursday by an extreme right wing Islamic group for allegedly posing nude in a photogra

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Hundreds of people in West Java vandalized on Monday night houses, mosques and cars belonging to members of the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI), a Mu

Dean Yates, Jakarta – Joining a group of young Indonesian intellectuals who hold liberal Islamic views was once just a ticket to controversy. Now, it could be life-threatening.

Jakarta – The government will give authority to existing interfaith forums to issue permits for the establishment of places of worship, a move that is expected to help end conflict in t

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Following a controversial fatwa by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), which strongly recommends an end to liberalism, pluralism and secularism, Muslim moderates a

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – An aggressive attempt by Muslim hard-liners to evict the Liberal Islam Network (JIL) from the Utan Kayu area in East Jakarta has received a major blow as local

Jakarta – A member of Muslim hard-line group Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) along with senior figures from other religions declared on Saturday a national movement against terrorism

Jakarta – The government decided on Wednesday to revise a controversial ministerial decree on the establishment of houses of worship in a bid to curb interfaith violence in the nation w

Jakarta – Several Muslim leaders claiming to represent Utan Kayu residents in East Jakarta told district officials late on Tuesday to evict the Liberal Islam Network (JIL) from the area

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Muslim hard-liners have continued intimidating the Liberal Islam Network (JIL), an organization that promotes pluralism and liberalism in the country, after fai

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung/Jakarta – The closure of churches in Bandung and surrounding areas over the past two years has caused concern among people of different faiths who consider the

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has joined the chorus in condemning the much-criticized forced closure of dozens of neighborhood churches in West Java, saying

ID Nugroho, Surabaya – The Malang District Court handed down a two-year prison sentence for a Muslim cleric who was charged with despoiling Islam, by leading prayers both in Bahasa Indo

Jakarta – Contradicting earlier comments by a Cabinet minister, the Vice President promised on Monday that firm action would be taken against Muslim hard-liners who forcibly closed down

Kalinga Seneviratne, Jakarta – Ever since Indonesia's highest Islamic authority, the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI), issued 11 fatwas or edicts against liberal Islam, a fierce debate ha

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Despite laws banning people from taking the law into their own hands and recognizing freedom of religion, police in West Java have admitted to helping Muslim

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government will not ban the teachings of the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) nor dissolve the group, but will let the government-sanctione

Jakarta – Despite the ongoing controversy surrounding the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI)'s edicts against secularism, pluralism and liberalism, the Indonesian Council for Islamic Propag

Jakarta – The highest Islamic authority in Indonesia has been criticised by the world's largest Muslim organisation over its controversial edicts against "liberal Islamic thought," a re

Jakarta/Bandung/Surabaya – More criticism has been levied against the controversial edicts issued by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), this time from the world's largest Muslim organi

Jakarta – After seven long hours, the members of the Islamic Liberal Network (JIL) felt relieved, at least for the day.

Figures from various religions, including Muslim scholars Dawam Rahardjo and Syafii Anwar, and priest Anand Krishna, attended the event on Thursday.