Author: sheikyermami

*  The Islamization/Arabization of Indonesia continues:

Bucktooth Bashir sends his regards:

The tactic at work here is a familiar one, with the law’s proponents advancing a specific agenda under the cloak of an appeal to various “common values.” We’ve seen this before with respect to concepts like “human rights,” “respect for women,” and “respect for religion.” But in this case, a significant number of people aren’t buying it. “Indonesia, sharia behind anti-pornography law,” by Mattias Hariyadi for AsiaNews, September 17 thanks to JW:

Jakarta (AsiaNews) – There is no let-up in the chorus of protests from Indonesian religious minorities and ethnic groups, against the possible approval of the “law against pornography”, better known as the Undang-undang Pornografi. They claim that the new norm, under consideration in parliament, which has been asked to decide whether to approve it by September 23, brings “national unity” into serious danger, and wipes out “cultural and religious differences” by eliminating “pluralism” and fostering “social discord”. But what is most worrying to the minorities and ethnic groups is the danger that the law on pornography is concealing an attempt by the more fundamentalist branch of Islam to introduce sharia, Islamic law.

* Gates of Vienna: Stop the Arabization of Indonesia

The areas in which non-Muslim ethnicities and groups are most concentrated are the eastern islands of the country, including the island of Bali, which has a Hindu majority; the Sulawesi, which have a Protestant and Catholic majority; the Moluccas, which are also equally divided between Protestants and Catholics; Papua, which has a Catholic majority, as does East Nusa Tenggaral; Borneo, divided between Catholics and Protestants, and other districts of North Sumatra and West Nusa Tenggara.

The fear is that the proposed law could spread a climate of “anarchy”, because it does not define precisely what can be maintained as “contrary to morality”, and above all what are the “criteria” to be adopted in order to establish whether “a behavior or an artistic/cultural expression” should be censored. Chapter 21 of the draft law also leaves “free rein” for preventing possible immoral acts:“This is an especially dangerous point”, emphasizes Eva Kusuma Sudari of the Indonesian Democratic Struggle Party (PDIP), a nationalist group that has always opposed the law. “This allows people to be manipulated in order to promote anarchy and social conflicts in the country”, while fundamentalist Islamic groups would have free rein to destroy nightclubs or other gathering spots under the pretext of “preserving the purity of the holy month of Ramadan”.

Continue reading Indonesia: Religious minorities denounce vague "pornography" law as vehicle for censorship and sharia law