Feb 21, 2025 Last Updated 12:16 AM, Feb 21, 2025

Religion

We are the blessed ones

Activists work to change men’s interpretations of Islam that justify their superiority at home

The shadow of the Ayatollah

Indonesia’s Shi’i community is struggling to find the right balance between local traditions and its fascination with Iran

Front stage with the PKS

At its upmarket congress, Indonesia’s biggest Islamic party tried but failed to convince it has become an open and inclusive party

Praying across borders

Doctrinal borders that divide traditionalist and modernist Muslims in Banjarmasin are breaking down, but slowly

Supporting syariah, advancing women

The life and work of an Islamic teacher in Aceh shows that the struggle for gender equality is about much more than syariah.

Art for Allah’s sake

A unique pesantren, founded and led by an internationally recognised Indonesian calligrapher, attracts men and women from all over the archipelago

New leadership, new policies?

The Nahdlatul Ulama congress in Makassar arrests the slide away from liberal views but shows the organisation's vulnerability to outside political interference

Homophobia on the rise

Recent attacks on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender meetings reveal the growing influence of Islamist groups and highlight unequal protection of citizenship rights

Religious Bandung

Bandung’s government opts for a religious program that matches the city’s character

God and democracy

A Christian church is asserting its democratic rights by suing the mayor of Depok

Celebrating community

A temple procession brings Chinese culture to life in Jakarta’s streets

Inside the Laskar Jihad

From the Archives Greg Fealy (ii65: Jan-Mar 2001) interviews the leader of a new, radical and militant sect

Marketing the Chinese face of Islam

Chinese Muslim preachers are popular, but they don’t always promote greater pluralism

Locating culture in the church

Minahasan Christians reinterpret their cultural history and identity through religion

The wives of Noordin Top

The media portrays women who marry terrorists as victims, but the reality is far more complex

'Selamat Berbuka Puasa'

In South Kalimantan local politicians target TV screens with strategically-placed messages for Ramadan

The right to choose

Indonesian activists keep fighting to have abortion decriminalised

'When Love Glorifies God'

Islamic film is emerging as a new genre in the Indonesian film world

Ponari and the sorcerer's stone

A little boy’s miracle-working throws light on the workings of the Indonesian state and the hunger for salvation amongst ordinary people

Down but not out

Islamic political parties did not do well, but Islamic politics are going mainstream

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