Ernie: Yes and no. Actually attacks on Christians ( in the Moluccas, etc) are down compared to times in the past. No guarantee for the future, and such attacks are up in Malaysia, but there is something else that caught my attention. Not on the radar in the USA but important elsewhere. The Ahamdiyya group is being persecuted rather relentlessly. This is a Muslim group which has beliefs very similar to Baha'is. Other Muslims regard them as heretical, however. But the way I see it , attacks against them are attacks against their tolerant values, not only against the challenge they represent to Sunni orthodoxy and vested interests of a large religious establishment. Persecutions often involve issues of power and resources, who continues to have leadership priority and money ? Who loses power and money ? But in this case the picture includes a question about who's values should be respected, orthodoxy or the Ahmadis ? Ahmaddiyyat represents, even if you or I think their beliefs are suspect, a more pluralistic society. Crush them and you crush pluralism. Not a good omen. Billy ============================================== In a message dated 1/28/2010 10:25:33 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, [email protected] writes:
Yes, things seem to be degenerating in Indonesia. :-( -- Ernie P. On Jan 28, 2010, at 10:14 AM, [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) wrote: Indonesia : 200 violations against freedom of worship throughout 2009. Government complicity’ lets religious conflict go on ("The Jakarta Post," January 28, 2010) Jakarta, Indonesia - A damning report on freedom of worship in Indonesia has blasted state agencies and government officials for complicity in violating this fundamental right. The Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace released Wednesday its Report on the Condition of Religious and Faith Freedom in Indonesia, revealing 200 violations against freedom of worship throughout 2009. The institute claimed state agencies had been involved in 139 of the cases — 101 of the cases saw “active” involvement by state officials, while the 38 others were by omission. “Over the last three years, we have found that violations against freedom of religion remain rampant,” Setara Institute chairman Hendardi said at a press conference. “This is mostly because the government is half-hearted in its upholding of the right to worship.” State institutions outed by the report include the police, which Setara claimed were involved in 48 cases, the Religious Affairs Ministry (14 cases), mayors (eight cases), regents (six cases) and courts (six cases). “State agencies often prohibit certain groups from praying or building a place of worship,” Hendardi said. “We also found government officials discriminated against other groups, prohibiting them from using public facilities.” He added that in many cases of attacks by Muslim mobs on congregations of other faiths, the authorities turned a blind eye and sided with the offending majority. An attack against supporters of the Ahmadiyah sect in Jakarta, for instance, led to arrests of Ahmadiyah members, and not their attackers. The police claimed they did this to protect the Ahmadis. Setara also categorized 86 cases in their findings as crimes that should have been dealt with by law enforcement officials. The violators in 29 of these cases were the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the hard-line Islam Defenders Front or FPI (nine cases), and the Forum of Islamic Community or FUI (six cases). “The Ahmadis remained the most persecuted community, falling victim in 33 separate cases during 2009,” Hendardi said. “Christians were next with 12 cases, then followers of the Satria Piningit Weteng Buwono sect with 10 cases.” The number of cases last year was lower than in 2008, when Setara highlighted 265 violations. The most prominent case in 2008 was the attack on Ahmadiyah supporters by the FPI and other hard-line Islamic groups at a pro-tolerance rally at the National Monument in Jakarta. In 2007, Setara recorded only 135 violations of freedom of worship.......... _______________________________________________ Centroids mailing list: [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) _http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com_ (http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com) Archives at http://radicalcentrism.org/pipermail/centroids_radicalcentrism.com/ = _______________________________________________ Centroids mailing list: [email protected] http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com Archives at http://radicalcentrism.org/pipermail/centroids_radicalcentrism.com/
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