Religion Law and Intolerance in Indonesia

<p>Despite its overwhelmingly Muslim majority Indonesia has always been seen as exceptional for its diversity and pluralism. In recent years however there has been a rise in majoritarianism with resurgent Islamist groups pushing hard to impose conservative values on public life – in many cases with considerable success. This has sparked growing fears for the future of basic human rights and in particular the rights of women and sexual and ethnic minority groups. There have in fact been more prosecutions of unorthodox religious groups since the fall of Soeharto in 1998 than there were under the three decades of his authoritarian rule. Some Indonesians even feel that the pluralism they thought was constitutionally guaranteed by the national ideology the Pancasila is now under threat. This book contains essays exploring these issues by prominent scholars lawyers and activists from within Indonesia and beyond offering detailed accounts of the political and legal implications of rising resurgent Islamism in Indonesia. Examining particular cases of intolerance and violence against minorities it also provides an account of the responses offered by a weak state that now seems too often unwilling to intervene to protect vulnerable minorities against rising religious intolerance.</p>