Reading Time: 5 minutes Starting at 11:05 p.m. on October 11, 2002, three terrorist bombs detonated in quick succession on the picturesque Indonesian island of Bali, killing 202 people, mostly Western tourists, in the teeming bar district. Historians said it had been a very long time coming—119 years, by some estimates. One precursor to the 2002 massacre was the […]
Indonesia
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Indonesia’s Religion Transformed under Saudi Arabia’s Influence
Reading Time: 6 minutes Indonesia, as the world’s most populous Muslim country, is a source of great interest for those looking to see how it evolves in the context of the globals cultural milieu of the 21st century. It has traditionally been a pretty tolerant place, relatively speaking, with other religions protected and coexisting. However, this appears to have […]
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Religion in Indonesia: An Insight
Reading Time: 9 minutes This piece is a guest article from an Indonesian reader whom I asked to provide some insight to religion in their country. Thanks so much to Wan Kun Sandy for the time spent putting this together. Enjoy. In the previous ATP article “The Chequered Picture of Religion Around the World“, there is a glimpse of a […]
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An Apology and a Pledge: An Open Letter to Alexander Aan
Reading Time: 5 minutes This letter will be sent to Alexander Aan via the Atheist Alliance International. Dear Alexander, Since we know you’re at least somewhat aware of some of the efforts being made on your behalf around the world by folks in the secular movement, I think I can safely assume you’ve been informed of the petition my […]
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Alexander Aan: Both a Symbol and a Real Person in Need
Reading Time: 3 minutes Many of the bigger secular and civil rights organizations have been making noise about the case of Alexander Aan, the 30-something civil servant of West Sumatra, Indonesia, who was beaten by an angry mob and then arrested and convicted… all for stating his atheism on Facebook. At the Center for Inquiry (where I work), Aan’s […]