Tolerating Intolerance by Islam

This is an informative piece from The Economist magazine.....

"May was a cruel month for Indonesians trying to do nothing more than worship God.  During an Ascension Day service on May 17th and May 20th, about 100 Protestant [Christians] were attacked by a muslim mob at their church in Bekasi on the outskirts of the capital, Jakarta.  The mob hurled stones, bags of urine and death threats at the congregation.  The church was stil only half-built when it was attacked; the pastor has been waiting for more than 5 years for permission from the local district administration to complete it.  Since May 2nd local government officials in the [...] Muslim province of Aceh, in northern Sumatra, have closed at least 16 Christian churches, citing lack of permits."

"Such intimidation, and the ongoing rows over permits, are now so commonplace that they are barely reported.  On May 26th, however, the issue of religious intolerance in this Muslim-majority nation made international headlines when Islamic hardliners forced the cancellation of a sold-out concert by Lady Gaga, an American pop-star.  The Islamic Defenders Front (known by its initials in Indonesian, FPI) had threatened to provoke chaos if she entered the country.  Her promoters said that they could not guarantee her, or her fans', safety.  They were probably right."

"Critics argue that these are only the latest incidents in a remorseless rise of religious intolerance, and often violence.  Human Rights Watch, a New York based lobby group, reports that incidents of sectarian violence became 'more deadly and more frequent' last year.  Islamic hardliners not only attacked Christian churches but also [minority] Muslim  sects such as the Ahmadiyah that they believe to be heretical.  [...]"

"The government of president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been accused of doing too little to stop such attacks, or to express enough concern about violent Islamic groups." [...]  Certainly, cabinet ministers from the Islamic parties have been less than helpful in promoting Indonesia as the moderate, pluralistic country it claims to be.  The religious affairs minister [...] has blamed the Ahmadiyah itself for inviting deadly attacks, saying it has strayed from mainstream islam.  In March he suggested banning women from wearing skirts that were above the knee, calling them 'pornographic'. [...]

"[islamic groups] now feel that they can act with impunity.  Sometimes the police are in cahoots with the hardliners.  The situation continues to worsen."


The Economist, June 2012

Nigeria: Another location where violence instigated on behalf of Islam

The Economist in its July 14, 2012 issue had an informative article on the current situation in Nigeria.  Here is an excerpt:

"Increasingly deadly attacks on churches by Boko Haram [...] Islamist group, are straining fragile relations between Christians and Muslims.  Attacking churches is not new for Boko Haram but it has turned its attention to targets in Nigeria's 'middle belt' where the two populations mix, often stoking ferocious retaliation.  Christian leaders have been warning that the patience of their flocks 'will wear out'."

Although sectarian violence has been going on for a long time, the current muslim-based "insurgency" started in 2009.  Suicide-homicide bombings, sniper shootings, brazen assassination shootings, kidnappings, are all activities of the Boko Haram.  The national government makes some attempt to address the situation (i.e. the president, who is Christian, hired a muslim to be his national security advisor) but has not succeeded in preventing the activist muslim group from carving out a muslim state for itself, particularly in the NE area of the country, although the entire northern half of the country is predominantly muslim (see map).  Sharia law has been implemented in 9 of the northern states (Sharia law is still alien to Americans who have not had to live under its rules, influence, punishments, and laws).  Although social issues other than religion play a role as usual in political conflicts (standard of living concerns, ethinic and tribal issues, legal issues, poor law enforcement, corruption), religion and their respective cultural differences are becoming the primary influences promoted in the conflict.  International joint Christian-Muslim committees/delegations are trying to address the issue, so we can only wait and see if peaceful coexistance is possible without separation (i.e. Sudan).

South Sudan

Paraphrasing a writer from National Review:

South Sudan recently formally selected english as its official language.  This new African nation, which is mainly black,  and tribal and Christian, attained independence from the arab-islamist government in Khartoum in  July 2011.  Poor, lacking infrastructure and institutions, and embroiled as usual in tribal conflicts, South Sudan was in need of unifying influences.  Its choice of a national language marks a decisive turn toward the West and away from Islam.   The english declaration is a good start to unifying the population and trading with the West.  "Poor she may be, but in at least one respect [english as the official language] South Sudan is now ahead of the USA".