Dessy Sagita – The head of Indonesia's largest Muslim organization admitted on Friday that a report stating that Christians were the most frequent victims of religious freedom violation

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – Pluralism and freedom in Indonesia has faced challenges since the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued an edict against secularism, pluralism and liberalism

Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – Muslim women in Surabaya, East Java, have flatly rejected a fatwa recently issued by local clerics, who said women changing the color and form of their hair

Jakarta – The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has not endorsed the fatwas issued at a recent gathering of Muslim clerics in East Java, a council leader has said.

Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – Members of a church congregation in Tambun Utara, Bekasi, said they would hold their upcoming Sunday service on a street should the Bekasi regency administra

Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – In a controversial move, clerics in East Java have issued a fatwa forbidding Muslims from dying and straightening their hair, and from holding pre-wedding p

Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – Around 100 members of a church congregation in Bekasi held their Sunday service under tight police security after hundreds of local residents held a rally to

Apriadi Gunawan and Khairul Saleh, Medan/Palembang – Demands to block TV programs the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) considers detrimental to the mentality and morality of the public ha

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Indonesian Muslim organizations have been asked to remind followers not to follow in the steps of recent church attacks in Malaysia, following a Kuala Lumpur co

Anita Rachman & Dian Arifahmi – The country's highest authority on Islamic affairs, the Indonesian Council of Ulema, is planning to insist that all imported food labeled as halal ob

Dessy Sagita – An Islamic council leader in Lebak, Banten, is facing police questioning for allegedly pouring acid onto the hands of four of his young disciples as a form of punishment.

A branch of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, has reportedly issued a fatwa to ban Muslims from watching a movie titled "Suster Keramas" ("The Hair-Washi

Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – The authorities need to pay more attention to the safety of Christian worshipers living on the outskirts of Jakarta, a religious expert says.

Camelia Pasandaran – Amid tight security, Christmas was marked peacefully with religious services and family parties in Jakarta and the rest of the world's largest Muslim-majority count

Dessy Sagita – Nadia, who went by the name Agus before having gender reassignment surgery, filed a court petition and won her fight for legal recognition as a woman.

Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – A group of people attacked on Thursday night a church under construction in Harapan Indah residential complex, Bekasi, West Java, leaving several makeshift b

Ulma Haryanto – The distribution of qurban or 'sacrificial meat' at the Bhayangkari Field at National Police Headquarters in South Jakarta on Friday was marred by a number of incidents,

Sri Wahyuni, Yogyakarta – Muhammadiyah, one of the country's largest Islamic organizations, celebrated its Islamic calendar centenary on Wednesday in Yogyakarta with a pledge to use the

Malang – Compared to their predecessors, followers of the Muhammadiyah Islamic group today are less wealthy, its chairman says.

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – Several regional branches of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the country's highest self-proclaimed Islamic authority, say the doomsday-themed Hollyw

Hera Diani – The heat was excruciating as the first batch of hajj pilgrims entered the transit dormitory in East Jakarta a day before their flight to Saudi Arabia on Oct. 23.

Jakarta – The South Kalimantan chapter of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has proposed an edict banning the use of loudspeakers if they are considered to be disturbing other people,

Tensions were high in Banten early on Sunday when radical Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir was confronted by angry residents and asked to leave their village.

Jakarta – Religious figures are calling on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to revamp the Religious Affairs Ministry and restore it to its original function of encouraging harmony and

Jakarta – Gorontalo mayoralty administration has obliged its Muslim civil servants to read the Koran every Friday.

Jakarta – A series of attacks on followers of the Ahmadiyah religious sect has once again drawn criticism, with an expert in religion and democracy urging the government to exercise its

Nurfika Osman & Antara – A Central Java court on Tuesday threw out child abuse charges against self-proclaimed Islamic cleric Sheikh Puji over his marriage to a 12-year-old girl.

Nivell Rayda – Ali did not expect to be solicited for bribe money from the "religious" office that was supposed to take care of arrangements for his marriage, but that was exactly what

Jakarta – The National Alliance for the Freedom of Religion and Faith (AKKBB) has planned to file a request with the Constitutional Court to review the 1965 blasphemy law which they say

Jakarta – More than 300 people have been killed in road accidents in Indonesia during a mass exodus to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, a police spokesman said Wednesday.

Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – A conflict between a Protestant group and a Muslim group in Cinere, Depok, may continue to heat up as a local group opposing the construction of a Huria Kris

Amir Tedjo, Sidoarjo (East Java) – Idul Fitri celebrations were muted for former residents of a town destroyed by a mud volcano that has buried thousands of homes and forced residents i

A Muslim leader on Friday criticized an Indonesian production company for inviting a Japanese adult video star to appear in its new film, a report said.

Ismira Lutfia – Though the month of Ramadan is supposed to be a time of spiritual reflection, TV ratings show that most people are tuning in to reality shows as soon as they break their

Febriamy Hutapea & Heru Andriyanto – The nation is quietly being pushed closer toward an Islamic state, Christian politicians and religious groups warned on Sunday, pointing to atte

Ismira Lutfia – What better symbols to present to Muslim-dominated television audiences in this holy month of Ramadan than Arabic cultural icons such as camels and deserts?

Jakarta – The recent bombings in Jakarta should be a wake-up call for Islamic organizations and clerics to promote noble Islamic values in order to prevent the rapid spread of terrorism

Ismira Lutfia – A prudent man does not make the goat his gardener. Nor, apparently, should a prudent television station broadcast the word "goat."

Bogor – Bogor Police took 30 unmarried couples from several hotels in Parung, Bogor, on Friday evening and brought them to police headquarters for questioning.

Ismira Lutfia – In an effort to scoop audience ratings during the holy month, broadcasters have been serving up a banquet of Islamic-oriented shows for Muslim viewers, ranging from tele

Around 370 operators and employees of entertainment centers in Bekasi, east of Jakarta, have demanded that the local authorities pay them a Ramadan allowance following the closure of th

Three key industries – food and beverages, cosmetics and pharmacy – are bracing for hefty additional costs and to risk losing trillions of rupiah in margins if the nation presses ahead

Jakarta – Indonesian officials have warned radical Muslim groups not to attack nightclubs and other businesses deemed sinful in Islam during the Ramadan fasting month, which started yes

The city warned private organizations Friday not to attack nightclubs and other controversial businesses during Ramadan.

Ronna Nirmala – As food prices continued to climb on the eve of Ramadan on Friday, state-owned pawnshops across the nation began to experience the seasonal surge of customers looking to

Hundreds of people rallied and burned down tens of houses in the Sepakat red light district in Pelalawan, Riau, on Thursday as part of an anti-vice campaign ahead of Ramadan.

Nana Rukmana, Cirebon – Hundreds of pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) located in the northern coastal area of West Java have declared an anti-terrorism movement in an effort to preve

Tangerang – Praying is meant to be a simple act, but not in Indonesia, which proclaims itself the world's biggest God-fearing democracy, and refuses to be called a secular nation.

Camelia Pasandaran – To fight terrorism fight poverty, Islamic scholars said on Thursday.

Nurfika Osman – The country's highest authority on Islam reminded Indonesians on Monday that it had previously issued an edict against Muslims carrying out acts of terror.