Exploring how religious and secular forces interact in the modern world.
Our forefathers and mothers who struggled for independence would weep, knowing we now fight to advance limited group interests.
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In the current religio-political life in Indonesia, the naming of God as Merciful becomes a public discourse geared toward a theology of inclusivity.
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If Indonesian nationalism is weakening, what other basis for moral community might make coexistence across religious differences possible?
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What is the role of religion in public life? The debate is tearing through the Indonesian political and social fabric.
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In Aceh, contemporary narratives have strengthened insider/outsider identities, relegating native ethnic Chinese citizens to “outsiders” and limiting their ability to publicly practice their culture.
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Aisha, the wife of the prophet, protected and physically made space for transgender persons to pray behind her. As such, LGBT groups are assured protection.
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Religious identity is often a deep and fundamental concern for Europeans, yet some Indonesian intellectuals suggest religious affiliation is as much an administrative matter as one of deep personal conviction.
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While some Indonesian politicians and religious leaders jockey for Saudi praise, others bemoan Saudi Arabia as a kingdom which has gone astray from Islam’s true religious principles, whose exported Wahhabi theology threatens Indonesian national integrity, and whose wealthy citizens have been accused of torturing their Indonesian housemaids.
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Familiar European systems of classification (involving ‘exclusivism’, ‘inclusivism’ and ‘pluralism’ for example) fail to do justice to the descriptions of inter-religious engagement given by Indonesian colleagues.
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Although non-Muslims are a small minority in Aceh, they are citizens too, and should have equal rights.
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