Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court on Monday ruled to uphold the controversial Blasphemy Law, a decision that plaintiffs said was mainly based on fears of a publ

Jakarta – Renowned lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said Tuesday that the Constitutional Court's (MK) ruling to uphold the Blasphemy Law for its role in preventing vertical and horizontal conf

Washington – A United States government watchdog on Monday criticized Indonesia's Constitutional Court for upholding a law against blasphemy, fearing it may embolden extremists.

Anita Rachman & Amir Tejo – Legislators overseeing religious affairs say they expect the Constitutional Court today to issue the "correct" verdict in regard to the 1965 Blasphemy La

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – Ahead of the much-awaited ruling on the controversial Blasphemy Law, plaintiffs are holding their breath in anticipation of what they expect to be a hi

Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – Three months after the Bekasi administration sealed off the small plot of land where they had been conducting church services, members of the Filadelfia Huri

Jakarta – The Setara Institute, a non-profit organization which promotes tolerance and pluralism in Indonesia, has asked the police to have regional morality bylaws deemed threatening p

While most Christians peacefully held Good Friday services across the country on Friday, at least 1,000 churchgoers in Pa-rung, Bogor, had to pray at a restaurant after protests by Musl

Senior cleric and deputy chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama's legal advisory board Masyhuri Na'im said on Friday that Muslims should not use the term kafir, or infidel, lightly.

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – Critically acclaimed cinematographer and cultural observer Garin Nugroho, who testified as an expert in a hearing of the judicial review request of the

Ulma Haryanto – Members of the hardline Islamic Defenders Front assaulted four people in the basement of the Constitutional Court on Wednesday on the last day of arguments in a case see

Muninggar Sri Saraswati & Anita Rachman – After recently shocking many by issuing a religious edict banning smoking, the country's second-largest Islamic organization has stirred a

Anita Rachman, Makassar (South Sulawesi) – Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali defended Indonesia's blasphemy law at a conference of the nation's largest Muslim organization, and

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – Two more experts recommended Friday that the controversial 1965 Blasphemy Law be revised as critics warned of civil conflict if the law was changed.

Jakarta – The Constitutional Court must be firm on members of hard-line Islamic groups who intimidated petitioners of the blasphemy law judicial review by issuing threats and shouting r

US President Barack Obama must be welcomed as a guest during his much-anticipated state visit next week, say moderate Indonesian Islamic groups, including Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiy

Dessy Sagita & Anita Rachman – A growing debate in the religious arena over smoking intensified on Sunday, with senior officials from the country's largest Muslim organization and i

Camelia Pasandaran – Islamic scholars and religious experts on Friday demanded the Constitutional Court either revise or annul the 1965 Law on Blasphemy, arguing that the outdated law c

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – Academics took to the stand Wednesday in the judicial review of the blasphemy law, as hard-line Islamic groups warned of a violent backlash should the

Ulma Haryanto – Heated debate and cries from a rowdy crowd marked Wednesday's hearing in the judicial review of the 1965 Blasphemy Law, as leaders of the hardline Islamic Defenders Fron

Nurfika Osman – A day after Muhammadiyah issued a fatwa banning its followers from lighting up, both the organization and antitobacco campaigners have targeted cigarette advertising as

Nurfika Osman & Antara – Among the many people demanding changes to the 1965 Law on the Prevention of Blasphemy and Abuse of Religion, Sardy, an ordinary Indonesian citizen, told th

In the wake of another case of allegedly "misguided" Islamic teachings that contravene the nation's blasphemy law, the Ministry of Religious Affairs on Tuesday said there were about 70

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – With the marathon hearings of a judicial review request of the blasphemy law still going on, activists have questioned whether the Constitutional Court

Nivell Rayda – Liberal religious and human rights activists on Monday called on the government to overturn the 1965 law on blasphemy and replace it with one that better protected freedo

Indonesia is reviewing its 1965 Blasphemy Law, a law brought in by then-President Sukarno, who, activists say, used the law to repress minority religions.

Sri Wahyuni, Yogyakarta – A majority of Muslim students in state-run senior high schools in Yogyakarta province have medium to high levels of religious tolerance according to a survey.

The Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) had rejected a plan to use full body scanners in Indonesian airports, claiming it would be a violation of Sharia law and human rights.

Camelia Pasandaran – Constitutional Court chief Mahfud MD on Tuesday refused to accept a petition against annulling a blasphemy law because the petition's organizers – several Islamic b

Farouk Arnaz – In an atmosphere of fiery rhetoric, the son-in-law of Solo-born Abdullah Achmad Sungkar, who helped create regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah, has been elected to lea

Anita Rachman – If the law doesn't work, will a religious edict be more effective in ensuring motorcyclists stay safe on the roads? One community group thinks it will.

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – Contentious articles bearing no clear definition of blasphemous acts in the 1965 law on religious blasphemy pose a threat to press freedom, with many j

Ulma Haryanto – An Islamic scholar and lecturer from Jakarta's Paramadina University was jeered by members of a hard-line Islamic group at the Constitutional Court on Wednesday when he

Jakarta – The conservative Indonesian Ulema Council in Tasikmalaya, West Java announced a ban on Valentine's Day on Friday, citing its Roman legacy that contradicts Islamic law.

Nurfika Osman – The head of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) in Palembang, South Sumatra, has warned people, especially women, not to wear sexy and tight attire when they undertake ae

Nurfika Osman – Devout Muslims should not spend Sunday gazing at their sweethearts across a romantic, candle-lit dinner, the Indonesian Ulema Council has recommended, declaring celebrat

Jakarta – Hundreds of people rallied outside the Constitutional Court (MK) building in Central Jakarta on Wednesday, urging the court to refuse a judicial review of the blasphemy law.

Ulma Hariyanto – A prominent senior journalist, author and cultural expert appeared as a witness at the Constitutional Court on Wednesday to speak about his experience with a law that s

Camelia Pasandaran – A noted forum of religious leaders became the latest in a line of organizations supporting the judicial review of the 1965 law on religious blasphemy, pointing out

A far cry from 2006, when thousands took to the streets to protest George W.

Putri Prameshwari – A film deemed suitable by the country's censor was reportedly pulled from distribution on Thursday night after the Islamic Defenders Front threatened its producers a

Arghea Desafti Hapsari, Jakarta – Religious minorities have expressed their support for a group of NGOs that have requested the 1965 Blasphemy Law be reviewed, saying the controversial

Jakarta – The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) said they would defend the controversial blasphemy law, calling the move to scrap the 45-year-old law as an

Nivell Rayda – The Constitutional Court on Thursday held its first session to review the 1965 law on religious blasphemy, much to the chagrin of the government and hard-line Muslim grou

Nurfika Osman – In another blow to Indonesia's drive for religious tolerance, a report released on Wednesday said 200 violations against freedom of worship were filed with state agencie

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has said that they are very concerned about the content of a new Indonesian horror flick, titled "Hantu Puncak Datang Bulan" ("The Menstruating Puncak

Some pesantren, or Islamic boarding school, leaders in Bogor are backing the use of social networking site Facebook to facilitate communication within their school communities, despite

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country's largest Muslim organization, said Sunday it was against the move made by some NGOs and backers of pluralism to request th

Bagus Budi Tama Saragih, Jakarta – A group of NGOs concerned with religious freedom and democracy has filed a judicial review request at the Constitutional Court, asking the judges to r

Indonesia's religious ministry says there are errors in the direction worshipers face, or qibla, at 20 percent of the country's mosques.