Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Surabaya – Roies Al Hukama, 36, a Sunni religious leader who allegedly masterminded the deadly attack on Shia followers in Sampang, East Java, stood trial on Tuesd

Amir Tejo, Surabaya – A coalition of indigenous tribes urged the Indonesian government to omit a citizen's religion from national identification cards on Wednesday, arguing that an adhe

Camelia Pasandaran – East Java's beleaguered Shiite community have struggled to support themselves since the Indonesian government cut off supplies to the 60 families taking shelter at

Margareth S.

Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya – Beleaguered minority Shia Muslim refugees from Sampang, Madura, East Java, are now facing further uncertainty as the local government stops supplies of thei

UA: 336/12 Index: ASA 21/043/2012

Arya Dipa, Bandung – Thousands of members of the Indonesian Ahlul Bait Association (IJABI), which represents minority Shia Muslims, observed Asyura Day peacefully in Bandung, West Java,

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Padang/Jakarta – Although the dust from the persecution of minority Shiite Muslims in Sampang, Madura, has not settled, another religious controversy has emerged,

Margareth S.

Margareth S.

The Indonesian government has balked at complying with the United Nations Human Rights Council's (UNHRC) recommendations, issued during its quadrennial "Universal Periodic Review" in Ma

Margareth S.

Margareth S.

The UN human rights chief on Tuesday condemned violence and discrimination against Christians and Muslim minorities like Shiites in Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation

Arya Dipa, Bandung – At least 200 members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) staged a demonstration in Bandung, West Java on Thursday, demanding that the administration immediately impl

Camelia Pasandaran & Ethan Harfenist – More than 30 Shiites in Sampang, East Java, have reportedly been forced to embrace Sunni Islam after they were faced with the prospect of havi

Surabaya – The Surabaya office of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has reported that 26 Shia refugees currently taking shelter at a sports center in

Ronna Nirmala – The country's highest Islamic authority has slammed a hard-line group for attacking an Ahmadiyah mosque in Bandung on the eve of Idul Adha last week.

Arya Dipa, Bandung – Bandung Police have arrested M.

Arya Dipa, Bandung – Idul Adha celebrations in Bandung, West Java, were tarnished by an attack launched by members of hard-line group the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) on An-Nasir mosque,

Dessy Sagita – The rise of new Islamic sects is playing a role in rising intolerance in the country, but police indifference is the main cause, a leading academic says.

Bandung – Dozens of Ahmadiyah followers in Bandung, West Java, were barred from performing Idul Adha prayer and slaughtering animals during the Islamic day of sacrifice on Friday.

Bandung – The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) on Thursday night inflicted damage on a mosque run by Ahmadiyah devotees in Astana Anyar, Bandung.

Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta, Indonesia – Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi said on Thursday that the lack of legal permits from the local administration had been behind the closure of nine chur

Rangga Prakoso – Authorities have closed nine churches and six Buddhist temples in Banda Aceh in the last week, following mounting pressure from local Islamist groups, activists and chu

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono underlined the importance of the roles played by leaders and religious figures in solving various conflicts taking place across the country.

Panca Nugraha, Mataram – The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) has urged the central government and the West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) provincial administration

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Sidoarjo – Sampang Shia community leader Tajul Muluk has remained in detention at the Sidoarjo penitentiary for the past week without a clear legal basis, despite

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Sidoarjo – A Shiite leader from Sampang, East Java, Tajul Muluk, has been forced to remain incarcerated at Sidoarjo Penitentiary even though his detention period e

Margareth S.

Efforts by the local government to quell violence against Shiites have hit a standstill in Sampang, leaving nearly 200 Shiite Muslims stranded in a local sports center after a deadly Su

Firdha Novialita – The representative of a Bogor church whose congregation has been blocked from attending services has lambasted the national government and law enforcers for their slu

The congregation of the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) Yasmin in Bogor, West Java is still being forced to worship in a haphazard fashion and is becoming restless to be allowed to fr

Ainur Rohmah, Semarang – The Social and Religious Study Institute (eLSA) in Semarang, Central Java, has blamed the government and particular segments of society for the disappearance of

A group of lawyers representing the incarcerated Shia leader Tajul Muluk submitted documents to the Constitutional Court on Friday and asked the court to annul articles in the Criminal

Firdha Novialita, Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Pitan Daslani – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono needs to protect minority groups from violence inside his own country before telling

Vento Saudale, Bogor – The Bogor administration's plan to relocate the GKI Yasmin Church to Jalan Semeru in Kotaparis, Bogor, has been met with rejection from local residents.

Prodita Sabarini, Jakarta – Shia leader Tajul Muluk's prison sentence has been increased to four years from the previous two-year sentence on Friday.

Margareth S.

Firdha Novialita – Legal scholars poring over the trial and conviction of a Shiite cleric for blasphemy earlier this year have lambasted the episode as a study in the miscarriage of jus

Lawyers representing local Shia minority Muslims are asking the Constitutional Court to review the Criminal Code's articles on blasphemy, which they say are elastic and open to abuse.

AHRC-STM-182-2012

Jakarta – Representatives of congregations from two churches in Bogor and Bekasi, West Java, have reported the local police to the Indonesian Ombudsman for ignoring their complaints.

Ezra Sihite – A deputy speaker of the House of Representatives has backed a widely criticized call by the police chief and religious affairs minister for a beleaguered Shiite community

Prodita Sabarini, Sampang, East Java – Sampang Regent Noer Tjahja is upset.

Jakarta – Despite a court ruling allowing the Taman Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) in Bogor to stay at its current location, the saga surrounding it is apparently far from ove

Jakarta – The Sampang administration's plan to either relocate Shiite refugees or move them to an uninhibited housing complex in the regency has been deemed irrelevant in solving the mi

Amir Tejo, Surabaya – Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said he regrets a Shia community's rejection to be moved away from Sampang, where a recent attack left two people dead.

Margareth S.

Margareth S.