Nyepi Day, or The Day of Silence, is a Hindu new year celebration unique to Bali. For 24 hours, the festival looks a lot like social distancing. But Balinese authorities are also allowing tens of thousands to attend ceremonies during the pandemic — and experts fear that despite warnings to limit gatherings, the coronavirus will spread.
Read More(TRAVEL) A village once burned down by radical Islamists is maintaining its culture by following Islam as well as their pre-Islamic ancestral traditions, including living mostly without electricity, building from wood and bamboo and living 430 steps below access to a main road.
Read More(NEWS ANALYSIS) The conviction in the UK of a gay serial rapist from Indonesia is fueling debates in the Muslim-majority country of whether rape is a symptom of homosexuality. While homosexuality is not a crime in Indonesia, the largest Muslim organizations have been advocating to criminalize gay sexual activities.
Read More(OPINION) A trip to the Sekaten festival reveals a colorful Islamic tradition that is scorned in some Sunni regions, but celebrated with much ado in Indonesia.
Read MoreA Chinese apostle of Islam is a symbol of religious and racial harmony in the world’s largest Muslim country.
Read MoreThis Indonesian province has a rich history of a matrilineal society that’s shifting from its indigenous culture toward a more austere form of Islam. Cultural and theological divides are widening with less openness to discussion.
Read More(COMMENTARY) In Maluku, two villages — one Christian and one Muslim — follow a unique tradition they say dates back to 1506 to live in harmony without diluting either of their faiths.
Read More(NEWS ANALYSIS) The country’s incumbent president Jokowi, seen as a liberal “metalhead of state”, chose conservative Muslim cleric Ma’ruf Amin as his running mate to win votes from an increasingly conservative Indonesia. Meanwhile, Jokowi’s challenger Subianto has been wooing radical Islamist groups.
Read MoreThere has been little real learning from the New Zealand mosque attack that could shape what we do in the future. However, on Mar. 24, there was a remarkable article in the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph that suggests at least one way forward.
Read MoreOngoing Indonesian elections are marked by blasphemy convictions, political imprisonment and a patchwork of laws aimed at preventing pornography, ethnic conflict and religious persecution.
Read More(COMMENTARY) Russian Jehovah's Witnesses and Uighur Muslims in China are persecuted by their governments, in part because they’re seen as insufficiently loyal, and in part because the global community prioritizes good trade relations.
Read MoreThanks to the organizing efforts of Muslim and Christian community leaders, living conditions are slowly improving for some of the poorest people in Indonesia.
Read MoreAmid large increases in religious persecution, Muslims in Indonesia are organizing massive defensive measures to protect Indonesian religious groups.
Read MoreLife at the Tebuireng boarding school is rigidly structured and disciplined, yet it also has rhythm and meaning – intentional stepping away from the rat race and becoming a better person. It is about seeking and serving God every day.
Read MoreLSPT is a small but effective charity based at a private, Muslim academy in the town of Jombang, Indonesia. LSPT serves some 1,000 of its neighbors each month with its mission of meetings needs in the local community first.
Read MoreThe shocking ruling against Ahok reveals the tension between Indonesia's policy of unity in diversity and blasphemy laws still in force. Indonesia may be in danger of losing the qualities that distinguish it from the rest of the Islamic world as a model of democracy and pluralism.
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