After more than two decades of Reformasi (Reformation) that started in 1998, religious conflicts continue to occur in Indonesia, particularly over the construction of houses of worship and attacks on citizens belonging to sects considered heretical. These developments have not only disrupted harmony and damaged...
While sufficient attention has been given to the problems of both increasing religious intolerance and decreasing universal access to public services and civil liberties in Indonesia, the relationship between the two remains a puzzle. Efforts to understand the dynamics between the two so far have...
Dyah Ayu Kartika - March 4, 2019 “If Jokowi wins, there would be no azan [the Islamic call to prayer], no Qur’an study circle for children, no veil [for women]; women can marry other women, men with other men”, said three women ...
Dyah Ayu Kartika - February 5, 2019 Going into the first presidential candidate debate last month, most feminists had had low expectations, predicting women and the LGBTQ community would be left out of the discussion on human rights issues. This assumption was proven right,...
In April this year, a video about two former child combatants who fought against each other in the bloody sectarian conflict in Maluku from 1999-2002 – but have now overcome their differences to become fast friends – went viral. The video, published by BBC News, showed...
Introduction On 2 December 2016, about 800,000 Muslim protestors hit the streets of Jakarta to demand the arrest of the Christian-Chinese governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, aka “Ahok”. The largest in a series of such protests since October 2016, it was labelled “Defending Islam Acts”. The crowd...
At the National Library of Indonesia in Jakarta, Jacky recently spoke during the launch of the book Keluar dari Ekstremisme (Get Out of Extremism), to which he contributed an article about his experience in deradicalizing Ronald. Pastor Jacky Manuputty smiled at a note that read, Belajar...
Looking at Indonesia's grassroots neighbourhood associations helps us understand the perils of aligning civil society with elite interests. Last month, twenty years after student activists stormed Indonesia’s parliament and forced its authoritarian elites to make way for democratic reforms, a group of elected representatives passed the...
Wakil Ketum Partai Gerindra Fadli Zon menunjukkan barang bukti akun media sosial saat tiba di gedung Bareskrim Mabes Polri, Jakarta, Jumat (2/3). Kedatangan Fadli Zon ke Bareskrim Mabes Polri itu untuk melaporkan penebar berita "hoax" kepada Ketua Umum Partai Gerindra Prabowo Subianto yang dituduh berfoto...
Kampanye SARA di masyarakat beredar baik pada saat maupun bukan saat pilkada atau pilpres. Para pelaku menyebarkan hoaks, fitnah, dan label sesat kepada pihak yang berbeda tanpa mengenal waktu. Kepala Polri Jenderal Tito Karnavian berencana membentuk satuan tugas (satgas) anti-SARA (suku, agama, ras, dan antargolongan) untuk...
Indonesia has had a tumultuous year dealing with a divisive election and massive protests against Jakarta’s former governor, led by the Islamic Defenders’ Front (FPI). Things finally appeared to calm down last month, until the police charged FPI’s firebrand leader, (link is external) Rizieq Shihab,...
Nurcholish Madjid worked all his life to promote religious harmony. His view of Islam was one of a religion open to change and reform, an inclusive approach in which the similarities among faiths were more important than differences....
Wafatnya Benedict Anderson pada akhir tahun lalu di Batu, Jawa Timur, merupakan kehilangan besar, tidak hanya bagi orang-orang terdekatnya, tapi juga bagi banyak sarjana dan pembaca karya-karyanya di seluruh dunia. Terlebih di luar karyanya, perjalanan hidup Ben Anderson sendiri sebagai pemikir dan ilmuwan politik terkemuka...
While the world is busy with the rise of radical groups that spread terror, we may be ignoring what are in the hands of the terrorists, the weapons. Weapons of mass destruction are no longer nuclear arsenals — but the Avtomat Kalashnikova 47, the famous...
Sesudah masjid dan orang yang sedang salat Jumat di Cirebon menjadi sasaran bom bunuh diri, rangkaian kecaman sama-sama ditujukan kepada sang pelaku. Tak ada pihak yang saya ketahui memahami, bersimpati, apalagi mendukungnya. Semuanya mengutuk: dari Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono hingga pentolan yang oleh media massa...
