"We are on the brink of a comprehensive Islamicization of Indonesia." And it is happening there, as elsewhere, because the hardliners present themselves as the exponents of "pure Islam," and face no large-scale challenge to their doing so -- even from Abdurrahman Wahid, who shows up later in this piece.
"Sliding Towards Conservative Islam: Indonesia's Secular State under Siege," by Jürgen Kremb for Spiegel Online, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:
Indonesia is a nominally secular democracy. But the influence of conservative Islam is gaining in the world's biggest Muslim country. A further step away from tolerance may be just around the corner.It is Saturday afternoon in Kemang, the garish bar district in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. The young patrons partying at poolside on the roof deck of the trendy restaurant "Edge" enjoy a panoramic view of the entire southern part of the city. The only reminder that these partygoers are unwinding in the world's largest Muslim country is the muezzin's call to prayer at a nearby mosque.
Well-off models, successful trendsetters, designers and young filmmakers make up the guest list, and everyone is in high spirits, at least until Izabel Jahja, 30, speaks up. Wearing a tiny bikini, she raises her glass of red wine in a toast and says: "Let's enjoy life, as long as our country continues to allow it."
Jahja, the self-confident editor-in-chief of glossy magazine A-Plus, is dead serious. The Indonesian parliament has been debating a more stringent anti-pornography law for months. If the law is passed, it will ban a lot more than X-rated books and movies. In fact, it would spell the end of parties like this one, would make public kissing illegal and would mean prison time for anyone bold enough to wear "lascivious clothing." Theater, the cinema, painting and music, would likewise be curtailed, just as they are today in many countries of the Middle East. "We are on the brink of a comprehensive Islamicization of Indonesia," says Jahja.
For years, radical Islamists have taken advantage of the democracy gained after the 1998 ouster of former Indonesian dictator Suharto to question that very democracy, all in the name of piety. A cultural war has broken out between the supporters and opponents of religious fundamentalism, a struggle that could deeply change this country and its traditionally softer brand of Islam.
Read it all.
Worth reading. And worth noting -- despite D'Souza's ignorance and overstatement -- that Western decadence is part of the problem, giving energy to Islam and taking fortitude from us.
Disturbing. No: Devastating. For those like Shiva and myself who know the place well and have many friends there it is a tragedy. Its like being tied to the rails and watching the train coming on you and at you...
http://sheikyermami.com/2007/04/06/indonesias-secular-state-under-siege/
And what if Islamic Indonesia wants to invade Australia?
That has always been a fear in Australia.
Stillbreathing, if you think that western decadence is the problem, then you are no different to the muslims who think that wester decadence is a problem as well.
"if you think that western decadence is the problem..."
I didn't say "the problem"; I said, "a problem." Is this a difficult distinction?
to be exact, i said, "part of the problem." and it is, for the two reasons.
This is great new for Islam and I personal like woman who wear headscraf and dress modestly. The people of Indonesia know Islam is winning and the west is turning to Islam also.
Yes StillBreathing: western freedom, democracy, women's rights, human rights, sexual liberation etc. are all 'part of the problem'. Islam certainly has a big problem with these things. You and DeSouza have hit the nail on the head!
DefenderofIslamism: Let me make something 100% clear to you: if a free woman wants sex with you, she'll tell you. Otherwise, it's completely irrelevant how she dresses: we're just not interested in you as a sexual partner, and you simply leave us alone. Painful concept, perhaps. But hey, you can quietly enjoy the view of our beautiful FREE hair and as much of our bodies as we care to FREELY walk about showing: shorts are so comfortable in summer.
I can't believe we're still fighting these battles in 200&! Can't muslim males get the notion that women own their own bodies through their thick skulls???
I always say a country gets the government it deserves. If the population lets the Islamists enforce Sharia law then that's their problem.
So much for the "tiny minority of extremists" argument.
--------