Khaleej Times Online – Islam & Extralegal Policing in Indonesia
Indonesia is defined as a “free” state, essentially a country that protects the civil and political rights of its citizens, by Freedom House’s Map of Freedom in the World 2009. Yet, according to the 2009 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom by the US Department of State, Indonesia’s track record on freedom of religion and human rights is still problematic.
One of the challenges that Indonesia faces in advancing its religious freedoms is the emergence of religious groups, such as the Islamic Defender Front (FPI) and the Indonesian Mujaheed Council (MMI), that use violence to promote their religious ideas, sometimes taking it upon themselves to act in place of the police or the judiciary. While the members of these organisations comprise not more than five per cent of the over 250 million Indonesians, their aggressive behaviour has been creating tension in the country.
via Khaleej Times Online – Extralegal Policing in Indonesia.
