Two women caned in Indonesia for selling food during Ramadan

Daily Mail, By MAIL FOREIGN SERVICE, 1st October 2010

Two women have been publicly caned in Indonesia for selling food during Ramadan.

Murni Amris, 27, received three lashes and Rukiah Abdullah, 22, two in front of a crowd of hundreds which gathered at a mosque in the city of Jantho, southeast of the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

They were found guilty of violating Islamic sharia law by selling rice on a stall at noon during the Muslim fasting festival.

Murni Amris receives three lashes after being caught selling
food to the public in Aceh during the holy month of Ramadhan

During the holy month of Ramadan Muslims are supposed to fast from dawn to dusk. Sharia law was introduced in Aceh in 2005 and is one of several provinces to adopt the Islamic rule.

According to Marzuki Abdullah, head of Aceh’s sharia police, Ms Amris owned the food stall where Ms Abdullah was selling the rice.

He said: 'The two women were found selling rice in a stall at noon during Ramadan. The sharia forbids selling food during fasting hours at Ramadan.'

Mr Abdullah told the Jakarta Globe the women had been arrested on August 23 for violating the regulation that stipulates: 'Whosoever prepares facilities for Muslims that do not fulfill religious standards during the fasting month of Ramadan faces either a year in jail, a fine of Rp 3 million ($340) or being caned in front of an audience for a maximum of six times.'

'They were selling cooked rice in the daytime during Ramadan. They were arrested by Shariah officers at a small stall in the Baitussalam district.,' he added.

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30,000 to attend Istiqlal Mosque mass prayer

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 09/09/2010

About 30,000 people will pack Istiqlal Mosque in Central Jakarta on Thursday evening for a mass prayer to mark the end of the Ramadan fasting month, including poor families and 5,000 orphans.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, Vice President Boediono, his wife Herawati Boediono and a number of Cabinet members are slated to join the prayer, secretary of the event’s organizing committee Akbar Suwito told kompas.com.

The orphans and the needy will receive Idul Fitri gifts provided by state enterprises during the event.

As of 6 p.m. Muslims were seen streaming into the mosque despite the rain. Dozens of police and military troops guarded the area around the biggest mosque in Southeast Asia.

Hundreds of Muslim perform Idul Fitri prayer at a square in Denpasar on the predominantly Hindu island of Bali on Friday. Muslims across the archipelago and the globe celebrate the holiday, which mark the end of the Ramadan fasting month, this week. Antara/Nyoman Budhiana

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President sends letter to Obama to stop Quran-burning plan

Antara News, Thursday, September 9, 2010 17:43 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has sent a letter to US President Barack Obama to stop and prevent a plan to burn copies of Islam`s holy book, the Quran, by Pastor Terry Jones.

Yudhoyono has written to Barack Obama
to urge the US president to intervene to
stop the Koran burning

"President Yudhoyono has sent a letter to US President Barack Obama. In the letter, the president asked Obama to `stop and prevent` Terry Jones who plans to humiliate Muslims by burning copies of the Quran at his headquarters in Gainesville, Florida, on September 11, 2010," Heru Lelono, a special presidential aide, said here Thursday.

President Yudhoyono, in his letter, also reminded Obama, burning the Quran could threaten world peace.

Indonesia, as the world`s largest Muslim majority nation, will condemn it if the Quran burning happens, he said.

Meanwhile, US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, in an effort to dissociate the US government from pastor Jones` plan, said the intended action was "un-American."

"We are conscious that a number of voices have come out and rejected what this pastor and this community have proposed," Crowley told a news briefing in Washington DC recently.

"We would like to see more Americans stand up and say `this is inconsistent with our American values.` In fact these actions themselves are un-American," he said.

He repeated warnings from officials including overall U.S. commander in Afghanistan David Petraeus that the proposed burning could undermine President Barack Obama`s efforts to reach out to the world`s 1.5 billion Muslims as well as trigger reprisals against US soldiers in Afghanistan.

"People around the world need to also understand that America is not represented by one pastor or 50 followers. We are a nation of 300 million people and the vast majority of Americans are standing up this week and saying that these contemplated actions are inappropriate, they`re abhorrent, and they should not happen," he said.

Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center church in Florida has launched a campaign of Quran burning plan.

Jones said he would torch copies of the Muslim holy book on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in an effort toward "exposing Islam as a violent and oppressive religion."

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A Second Villa Trashed in Lombok after Alleged Insult to Islam

Jakarta Globe, Fitri | September 07, 2010

Lombok. A second foreigner residing on Lombok Island in Indonesia has found himself the object of local wrath for allegedly defiling Islam during the fasting month of Ramadan.

Locals from Sidemen village on Lombok’s main tourism area of Senggigi told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday that hundreds of residents had attacked and wrecked a villa belonging to a German national and torched his motorcycle for blaspheming Islam.

German national Stephen Alexander at Senggigi Police
headquarters in Lombok on Tuesday. The long-term
expatriate's villa was badly damaged and his motorcycle
set on fire for allegedly insulting Islam. (JG Photo/Fitri)

Police identified the man as Stephen Alexander, 35, also known as Abu-Can Peter.

Mustan, a local, said Alexander discovered that a vandal had decapitated one of the statues in front of his villa on Monday evening and took the severed head to the home of village chief Amalsah.

“He came carrying the statue head and got angry at the village chief, accusing the villagers of damaging his statues.”

Alexander threatened to report the vandalism to the police if Amalsah could not find the vandal within two weeks, Mustan said.

He said villagers had just finished tarawih (evening prayers during Ramadan) and were insulted when Alexander demanded to know, “What kind of Muslims we were?”

“His words were deeply hurtful.”

As Alexander fled for the forest, the enraged villagers trashed the resident’s villa and burned his motorcycle.

Alexander, who has lived in the Lombok for ten years and is married to an Indonesian, only emerged from the forest when police arrived. They promptly arrested the expatriate and are holding him in protective custody at Senggigi Police headquarters.

Luke Gregory Lloyd, 64, meanwhile, is facing the prospect of six years in jail after he was charged with blaspheming Islam and immigration violations after disrupting a late-night Koran recital in a mosque near his house in Kuta, Lombok, on Aug. 22.

Police allege the American expatriate barged into the prayer session with his shoes on, unplugged a microphone and may have even assaulted one of the worshippers.

Lloyd, whose home was also trashed, denies the charges.

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Muslim organizations to celebrate Idul Fitri on same date

Antara News, Sunday, September 5, 2010 02:52 WIB

Yogyakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) expects mainstream Islamic organizations to celebrate Idul Fitri, the festive day marking the end of the fasting month, on the same date.

Secretary of MUI-Yogyakarta Chapter Ahmad Muhsin Kamaludiningrat said the majority of Indonesian Muslims had started the fasting month of Ramadan on the same day.

They were also expected to celebrate Idul Fitri on the same day, he said.

"Insya Allah (God willing), there will be no different dates for the Idul Fitri celebration," he said.

Indonesia`s two largest Islamic organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, observed the same date as the government despite different methods of calculating the start of Ramadan.

If Muhammadiyah depends on astronomical calculations, NU refers to the sighting of the new moon called rukyah.

The NU and Muhammadiyah followers started the first day of Ramadan on August 11.

In the Islamic calendar, Ramadan is the ninth month. During the sacred month, fasting Muslims are not allowed to eat, drink, have sex with married spouses, and do any other forbidden activity from dawn until sunset.

After a month-long fasting, Muslims in Indonesia and other parts of the world celebrate the end of Ramadan festivities commonly called the Idul Fitri.

A part from the undecided date of Idul Fitri, NU Chairman KH Said Aqil Siradj has called on Indonesian Muslims to celebrate the festivities next week in simple or modest ways.

Through a simple life style, Muslims could help one another, especially the less fortunate brothers and sisters in Islam, he told people attending an NU-organized fast breaking event here.

"According to Islam, the essence of Idul Fitri is not substantiated by new material things but by an effort to bring one`s self closer to God," he said.

Siradj also called on Indonesian Muslims to strengthen and maintain brotherhood by visiting family members, relatives, and friends.

This tradition was necessary to create peaceful and caring lives, and also would enable Muslims to get rid of social disintegration and the spirit of individualism, he said.

In celebrating the end of the Ramadan fasting month, solidarity among Muslims and among Indonesians as one nation was highly recommended, he said.

"With these efforts, our national integrity as a nation will remain strong and Indonesia becomes a peaceful and secure nation," he said.

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Barack Obama to Host Ramadan Dinner at the White House

Jakarta Globe | August 12, 2010

Jakarta. United States President Barack Obama has extended his best wishes to Muslims in America and around the world and announced that he will host a fast-breaking dinner at the White House this week.

United States President Barack Obama wishes
Muslims around the world all the best for Ramadan.
(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

“I want to extend my best wishes to the 1.5 billion Muslims around the world – and your families and friends – as you welcome the beginning of Ramadan,” Obama said in an official statement issued by the US State Department.

“Ramadan is a celebration of a faith known for great diversity and racial equality. And here in the United States, Ramadan is a reminder that Islam has always been part of America.”

The White House, he said, would host fast breaking dinner.

“I look forward to hosting an Iftar dinner celebrating Ramadan here at the White House later this week, and wish you a blessed month.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also released a video message wishing Muslims is Israel and around the world an "easy" Ramadan.

"We mark this important month [Ramadan] amid attempts to achieve direct peace talks with the Palestinians and to advance peace treaties with our Arab neighbors," Netanyahu said.

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Indonesian President Calls for Tolerant Ramadan

Jakarta Globe, Camelia Pasandaran, Anita Rachman & Arientha Primanita | August 11, 2010

Jakarta. Ahead of the start of Ramadan today, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that the Islamic holy month should be free of violence and called for harmony among the country’s various religious groups.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has called for
peace and tolerance in the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan. (Antara Photo)

“If there is any sign of violence, it should be prevented by police,” he said at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday, in his first public comments to address a recent string of violent acts against religious minorities.

Last week a violent mob attacked the mosques of the minority Muslim sect Ahmadiyah in Kuningan, West Java.

And on Sunday, members of the Batak Christian Protestant Church (HKBP) Bekasi, also in West Java, were chased down and beaten with sticks by a mob after they tried to hold Sunday services.

These are just the latest incidents of what pluralism advocates call a worrying trend, and one that the government has paid little attention to.

The Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy released a number of reports showing that these incidents are on the rise this year, and noted that in some cases regional governments had played a part in the violations.

Yudhoyono said authorities, both in the central government and the local and provincial levels, should be more sensitive and responsive to interfaith conflicts to prevent them from escalating.

“I hope ministers and the regions pay more attention to this matter. If there are differing opinions, you should find solutions,” he said. “I hope the police and regional governments cooperate to ensure security and public order.”

Ismail Hasani, a Setara researcher, said he hoped the president’s statements were more than lip service and would translate into real action.

“If there are incidents again, the National Police chief must take real action to protect the victims,” he said. “Police often only detain [hard-liners] to cool down the situation and then release them soon after without taking them to court.”

Ismail said If the government is committed to upholding the right of religious belief and practice it should annul discriminatory regulations such as the one that restricts the activities of the Ahmadiyah community and the one that requires community consent prior to the establishment of a house of worship.

Calls have also been mounting for the government to fulfill its mandate of protecting religious freedom by cracking down on hard-line groups such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which has conducted a number of violent raids.

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives agreed to hold a meeting to discuss the hard-line groups. “The government has been working very slowly [on this issue], we cannot let violence happen again,” said House Deputy Speaker Pramono Anung, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

However, Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, said disbanding hard-line groups is not an effective solution.

“I can disband it now, but tomorrow it will only change its name and continue on. It’s not about the name, not about the organization, but about what they do,” he said.

“It is easy to make an organization, but the most important thing is how the head of that organization stops their people from behaving that way.”

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Ramadan Begins for Some Indonesian Muslims

Jakarta Globe | August 10, 2010

Workers clean a mosque in Manado, North Sulawesi, on Sunday ahead of Ramadan. Several Muslim groups in Indonesia have already begun fasting to mark the holy month. (Antara Photo/Basrul Haq)

Jakarta. Even though the government has not officially announced the start of the holy month of Ramadan, followers of Tarikat Almufridun, a Muslim group in Langkat, North Sumatra, began fasting on Tuesday.

According to Metro TV, the group conducted their first tarawih (evening prayers) on Monday.

Besides Almufridun, around 1,000 followers of Tarekat Naqsabandiyah, another Muslim group in Padang, West Sumatra, began fasting on Monday.

Makmur Syafri, head of the group, told RCTI, a television station, that they had determined the start of Ramadan by date.

“Our method is by calculating the date or Hisab Munjid. According to our calculations, Ramadan started on Sunday night so we started fasting on Monday,” he said.

The An Nadzir religious group in South Sulawesi also started fasting on Monday.

Hundreds of the followers, who live on the banks of Lake Mawang in Gowa district, South Sulawesi, held evening prayers on Sunday.

Lukman Bakri, leader of the group, told mediaindonesia.com that they had determined the start of Ramadan by observing the signs of nature.

“We observed the movement of the moon during high tide and based on what we saw, we’re confident that Ramadan started on Monday,” Lukman said.

The Ministry of Religion is expected to announce the official start of Ramadan today.

Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, is a time of introspection for Muslims and a time to seek God’s mercy and forgiveness. During the month, fasting Muslims are not allowed to eat, drink or have sex, among other things, from dawn until sunset.

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Ramadan: Suddenly religious

P.J. Leo, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 08/06/2010 9:05 AM

It’s good: Jetty Pribadi (center), the owner of
Alda JP Design, talks to a prospective buyer.

Ramadan fasting month will come in the next few days and Muslim people from various walks of life have begun to welcome the holy month.

Some Indonesian singers have released religious albums. Many, including celebrities, become suddenly devoted — at least, seen from wearing different cloth styles, such as wearing jilbab or a headscarf. TV stations have promoted their buka (breaking the fast) and sahur (predawn meal) programs. Mosques are full of people performing tarawih prayers.

Sharp-sneezing businesspeople see Ramadan as an opportunity to sell their products: Garments, claimed to be free-alcohol cosmetics, foods and beverages, Islamic CDs and DVDs, umrah [minor haj pilgrimage], for example.

Never give up: Amalia, who is deaf, from Amy Ibrahim
Atmanto Creative House, sews sequins onto a dress.

A recent event, “Fashion and Accessories Expo 2010”, which took place at the Small and Medium Enterprises and Coopertive building in South Jakarta, is an example of Ramadan welcoming.

Held from July 28 to Aug. 1, the annual event with the theme “Cosmos Muslim Fashion” offered a variety of products from local designers and small and medium enterprises.

It also organized creative competitions, workshops and talkshows which were considered ways to attract visitors, mostly women. In religion and capitalism, women are a favorite target.

Haute gown: Long dresses and headscarves
are among choices of Muslim fashion.

Muslims around the world will end Ramadan after a month-long fasting and celebrate Idul Fitri holidays on Sept. 10 and 11.

Idul Fitri is supposed to celebrate the rebirth of Muslims by forgiving each other.

As people get ready for their homecoming to celebrate the Idul Fitri with the big families, many of us put on our best and new clothes for the celebration.

— Text and photos by JP/P.J. Leo