Banda Aceh's Grand Mosque.

Islam is Indonesia's dominant religion with approximately 88%, over 200 million, of its population identifying as Muslims, making it the most populous Muslim-majority nation in the world. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion

The Indonesian Central Statistic Bureau (BPS) conducts a census every 10 years. The latest data available, from 2000, drew on 201,241,999 survey responses; the BPS estimated that the census missed 4. 6 million persons. The BPS report indicated that 88. 22 percent (210 million in 2004) of the population label themselves Muslim, 5. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion 87 percent Protestant, 3. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. 05 percent Catholic, 1. Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". 81 percent Hindu, 0. A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical 84 percent Buddhist, and 0. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices 2 percent "other," including traditional indigenous religions, other Christian groups, and Judaism. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut The country's religious composition remains a politically charged issue, and some Christians, Hindus, and members of other minority faiths argue that the census undercounted non-Muslims.

Most Muslims are Sunni, although some follow other branches of Islam, including the Shia, who number approximately 100,000 nationwide. Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. Sunni Islam is also referred to as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h (Arabic In general the mainstream Muslim community belongs to two orientations: "modernists," who closely adhere to scriptural orthodox theology while embracing modern learning and modern concepts; and predominantly Javanese "traditionalists," who are often followers of charismatic religious scholars and organized around Islamic boarding schools.

History

The spread of Islam (1200 - 1600)

Main article: The spread of Islam in Indonesia (1200 to 1600)

The first Indonesians to adopt Islam are thought to have done so as early as the eleventh century, although Muslims had visited Indonesia early in the Muslim era. Islam is thought to have first been adopted by peoples of the Indonesia n archipelago sometime during the Eleventh century, although Muslims had A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion The spread of Islam was driven by increasing trade links outside of the archipelago; in general, traders and the royalty of major kingdoms were the first to adopt the new religion. Dominant kingdoms included Mataram in Central Java, and the sultanates of Ternate and Tidore in the Maluku Islands to the east. Central Java ( Provinsi Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia. Ternate is an island and town in the Maluku Islands (Moluccas of eastern Indonesia, located off the west coast of the larger island of Halmahera. Tidore is an island in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia, just west of the larger island of Halmahera. The Maluku Islands (also known as the Moluccas, Moluccan Islands, the Spice Islands or simply Maluku) are an Archipelago By the end of the thirteenth century, Islam had been established in North Sumatra; by the fourteenth in northeast Malaya, Brunei, the southern Philippines and among some courtiers of East Java; and the fifteenth in Malacca and other areas of the Malay Peninsula. Through assimilation Islam had supplanted Hinduism and Buddhism as the dominant religion of Java and Sumatra by the end of the 16th century. Java (Jawa is an Island of Indonesia and the site of its Capital city Jakarta. Sumatra (also spelled Sumatera) is the sixth largest island in the world (approximately 470000 km² and is the largest island entirely in Indonesia (two At this time, only Bali retained a Hindu majority and the outer islands remained largely animist but would adopt Islam and Christianity in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Bali is an Indonesian Island located at, the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system

Despite being one of the most significant developments in Indonesian history, historical evidence is fragmentary and generally uninformative such that understandings of the coming of Islam to Indonesia are limited; there is considerable debate amongst scholars about what conclusions can be drawn about the conversion of Indonesian peoples. ^[1] The primary evidence, at least of the earlier stages of the process, are gravestones and a few travellers' accounts, but these can only show that indigenous Muslims were in a certain place at a certain time. This evidence cannot explain more complicated matters such as how lifestyles were affected by the new religion or how deeply it affected societies. It cannot be assumed, for example, that because a ruler was known to be a Muslim, that that the process of Islamisation of that area was complete; rather the process was, and remains to this day, a continuous process in Indonesia. Although it is known that the spread of Islam began in the west of the archipelago, the fragmentary evidence does not suggest a rolling wave of conversion through adjacent areas; rather, it suggests the process was complicated and slow.

In the late fifteenth century, the powerful Majapahit Empire in Java was at its decline. Majapahit was an Indianized kingdom based in eastern Java from 1293 to around 1500. After it had been defeated in several battles, the last Hindu kingdom in Java fell under the rising power of Islamized state Sultanate of Demak in 1520. A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical The Sultanate of Demak was Muslim state located on Java 's north coast in Indonesia, at the site of the present day city of Demak. Islam in Java then began to spread formally, largely influenced by the Wali Songo (or the Nine Saints). In Indonesian and particularly Javanese beliefs, Wali Sanga (the nine saints (also transcribed as Wali Songo are the founding saints of Islam in Java ^[note]

European colonization

Post Independence

When Indonesia declared independence in 1945, it became the largest Muslim-majority nation in the world. The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. Independence is the Self-government of a Nation, Country, or State by its residents and population or some portion thereof generally exercising Today it has about 88% of the population of 245 million people following Islam. In recent years there has been a trend toward a more orthodox interpretation of Islam. In 2006 poll, 58% of people surveyed believed adulterers should be stoned, as is mandated by Islamic law, up from 39% five years before. ^[2]

Demographics

Muslims constitute a majority in most regions of Java, Sumatra, West Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi, coastal areas of Kalimantan, and North Maluku. Java (Jawa is an Island of Indonesia and the site of its Capital city Jakarta. Sumatra (also spelled Sumatera) is the sixth largest island in the world (approximately 470000 km² and is the largest island entirely in Indonesia (two West Nusa Tenggara ( Nusa Tenggara Barat) is a province in south-central Indonesia. Sulawesi (formerly known as Celebes, ˈsɛlɛbiz is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the In most languages in the world the term Kalimantan refers to the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo, while for Indonesians the name "Kalimantan" North Maluku ( Maluku Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, which are split between it and Muslims form distinct minorities in Papua, Bali, East Nusa Tenggara, parts of North Sumatra, most inland areas of Kalimantan, and North Sulawesi. Papua is the largest province of Indonesia, comprising a majority part of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands (see also Bali is an Indonesian Island located at, the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to East Nusa Tenggara ( Nusa Tenggara Timur) is a province of Indonesia, located in the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, including North Sumatra (Sumatera Utara is a province of Indonesia. Its capital is Medan. North Sulawesi (Sulawesi Utara is a province of Indonesia. It is on the island of Sulawesi, and borders the province of Gorontalo to the Together, these non-muslim areas originally constitute more than one third of Indonesia prior to the massive transmigration effort sponsored by the Suharto government and recent spontaneous internal migration. Suharto, also spelled Soeharto (June 8 1921 &ndash January 27 2008 was an Indonesian military leader and the second President of Indonesia, holding

Internal migration has altered the demographic makeup of the country over the past 3 decades. It has increased the percentage of Muslims in predominantly Christian eastern parts of the country. By the early 1990s, Christians became a minority for the first time in some areas of the Moluccas. The Maluku Islands (also known as the Moluccas, Moluccan Islands, the Spice Islands or simply Maluku) are an Archipelago While government-sponsored transmigration from heavily populated Java and Madura to less populated areas contributed to the increase in the Muslim population in the resettlement areas, no evidence suggests that the Government intended to create a Muslim majority in Christian areas, and most Muslim migration seemed spontaneous. Madura is an Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. Regardless of its intent, the economic and political consequences of the transmigration policy contributed to religious conflicts in Maluku, Central Sulawesi, and to a lesser extent in Papua. The Maluku Islands (also known as the Moluccas, Moluccan Islands, the Spice Islands or simply Maluku) are an Archipelago Central Sulawesi ( Sulawesi Tengah) is a province of Indonesia located in the heart of Sulawesi. Papua is the largest province of Indonesia, comprising a majority part of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands (see also

Organizations

The leading national "modernist" social organization, Muhammadiyah, has branches throughout the country and approximately 30 million followers. Muhammadiyah (full name Persyarikatan Muhammadiyah) is an Islamic organization in Indonesia. Founded in 1912, Muhammadiyah runs mosques, prayer houses, clinics, orphanages, poorhouses, schools, public libraries, and universities. A "mosque" in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated for Islamic worship although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller privately owned mosque and the larger On February 9, Muhammadiyah's central board and provincial chiefs agreed to endorse the presidential campaign of a former Muhammadiyah chairman. This marked the organization's first formal foray into partisan politics and generated controversy among members.

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest "traditionalist" social organization, focuses on many of the same activities as Muhammadiyah and indirectly operates a majority of the country's Islamic boarding schools. Nahdlatul Ulama (also Nahdatul Ulama or NU) is a conservative Sunni Islam group in Indonesia. Claiming approximately 40 million followers, NU is the country's largest organization and perhaps the world's largest Islamic group. Founded in 1926, NU has a nationwide presence but remains strongest in rural Java. The Islam of many NU followers has heavy infusions of Javanese culture, and followers tend to reject a literal or dogmatic interpretation of Islamic doctrine. Many NU followers give great deference to the views, interpretations, and instructions of senior NU religious figures, alternately called "Kyais" or "Ulama. " The organization has long advocated religious moderation and communal harmony.

Membership of the Indonesian Islamic Propagation Institute(LDII) continues to grow. Lembaga Dakwah Islam Indonesia ( Indonesia Institute of Islamic Dawah) or LDII is an independent social organization for study and research on Alqur'an ^[3]

A number of smaller Islamic organizations cover a broad range of Islamic doctrinal orientations. At one end of the ideological spectrum lies the controversial Islam Liberal Network (JIL), which aims to promote a pluralistic and more liberal interpretation of Islamic thinking. Jaringan Islam Liberal (JIL or the Liberal Islam Network is a loose forum for discussing and disseminating the concept of Islamic liberalism in Equally controversial are groups at the other end of this spectrum such as Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), which advocates a pan-Islamic caliphate, the Indonesian Mujahedeen Council (MMI), which advocates implementation of Shari'a as a precursor to an Islamic state, and the sometimes violent Front Pembela Islam (FPI). Hizb ut-Tahrir (حزب التحرير Party of Liberation is an international Pan-Islamist, Sunni, vanguard political party whose goal is to combine all Muslim The Caliph is the Head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the leader of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah The Majelis Mujahideen Indonesia ( MMI) or Indonesian Mujahedeen Council, is an umbrella organisation of Indonesian Islamist groups Sharia ( Arabic: ar شريعة) is the body of Islamic Religious law. The Islamic Defender Front ( Indonesian: Front Pembela Islam/FPI) is a hard-line Islamic group in Indonesia well known for their violent Countless other small organizations fall between these poles.

Separate from the country's dominant Sunni Islam population, a small minority of persons subscribe to the Ahmadiyah interpretation of Islam. Ahmadiyya ( احمدیہ Ahmadiyya) is a movement that arose out of mainstream Islam towards the end of the 19th century However, this group maintains 242 branches throughout the country. In 1980 the Indonesian Council of Ulamas (MUI) issued a "fatwa" (a legal opinion or decree issued by an Islamic religious leader) declaring that Ahmadiyah is not a legitimate form of Islam.

In addition there are small numbers of other messianic Islamic groups, including the Malaysian-affiliated Darul Arqam, and the syncretist Indonesian Jamaah Salamulla group (also called the Salamulla Congregation or The God's Kingdom). Its leader, Lia Eden, is currently facing charges of disdaining Islam and many Islamic organizations in Indonesia consider them as a heretic form of Islam.

Islam in Indonesian society

To a significant degree, the striking variations in the practice and interpretation of Islam — in a much less austere form than that practiced in the Middle East — in various parts of Indonesia reflect its complex history. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. Introduced piecemeal by various traders and wandering mystics from India, Islam first gained a foothold between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries in coastal regions of Sumatra, northern Java, and Kalimantan. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country See also The spread of Islam in Indonesia The evidence available on the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia is reliant on tombstones and scattered evidence Sumatra (also spelled Sumatera) is the sixth largest island in the world (approximately 470000 km² and is the largest island entirely in Indonesia (two Java (Jawa is an Island of Indonesia and the site of its Capital city Jakarta. In most languages in the world the term Kalimantan refers to the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo, while for Indonesians the name "Kalimantan" Islam probably came to these regions in the form of mystical Sufi tradition. Sufism ( تصوّف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفی‌گری sufigari, Turkish: tasavvuf, Urdu: تصوف Sufism easily gained local acceptance and became synthesized with local customs. The introduction of Islam to the islands was not always peaceful, however. As Islamized port towns undermined the waning power of the east Javanese Hindu/Buddhist Majapahit kingdom in the sixteenth century, Javanese elites fled to Bali, where over 2. Majapahit was an Indianized kingdom based in eastern Java from 1293 to around 1500. Bali is an Indonesian Island located at, the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to 5 million people kept their own version of Hinduism alive. Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Unlike coastal Sumatra, where Islam was adopted by elites and masses alike, partly as a way to counter the economic and political power of the Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms, in the interior of Java the elites only gradually accepted Islam, and then only as a formal legal and religious context for Javanese spiritual culture.

These historical processes gave rise to enduring tensions between orthodox Muslims and more syncretistic, locally based religion — tensions that were still visible in the early 1990s. On Java, for instance, this tension was expressed in a contrast between the traditionalist santri and abangan, an indigenous blend of native and Hindu-Buddhist beliefs with Islamic practices sometimes also called Javanism, kejawen, agama Jawa, or kebatinan. The Santri are a cultural 'stream' of people within the population of Javanese who practice a more orthodox version of Islam, in contrast to the The Abangan are the population of Javanese Muslims who practice a more syncretic version of Islam than the more orthodox Santri. A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices Javanese beliefs ( Kebatinan or Kejawen) have principles embodying a "search for inner self" but at the core is the concept of Peace Of Mind Javanese beliefs ( Kebatinan or Kejawen) have principles embodying a "search for inner self" but at the core is the concept of Peace Of Mind Javanese beliefs ( Kebatinan or Kejawen) have principles embodying a "search for inner self" but at the core is the concept of Peace Of Mind The terms and precise nature of this opposition were still in dispute in the early 1990s, but on Java santri not only referred to a person who was consciously and exclusively Muslim, santri also described persons who had removed themselves from the secular world to concentrate on devotional activities in Islamic schools called pesantren--literally the place of the santri.

In contrast to the Mecca-oriented philosophy of most santri, there was the current of kebatinan, which is an amalgam of animism, Hindu-Buddhist, and Islamic — especially Sufi — beliefs. Javanese beliefs ( Kebatinan or Kejawen) have principles embodying a "search for inner self" but at the core is the concept of Peace Of Mind This loosely organized current of thought and practice, was legitimized in the 1945 constitution and, in 1973, when it was recognized as one of the agama, President Suharto counted himself as one of its adherents. Suharto, also spelled Soeharto (June 8 1921 &ndash January 27 2008 was an Indonesian military leader and the second President of Indonesia, holding Kebatinan is generally characterized as mystical, and some varieties were concerned with spiritual self-control. Although there were many varieties circulating in 1992, kebatinan often implies pantheistic worship because it encourages sacrifices and devotions to local and ancestral spirits. These spirits are believed to inhabit natural objects, human beings, artifacts, and grave sites of important wali (Muslim saints). Illness and other misfortunes are traced to such spirits, and if sacrifices or pilgrimages fail to placate angry deities, the advice of a dukun or healer is sought. Kebatinan, while it connotes a turning away from the militant universalism of orthodox Islam, moves toward a more internalized universalism. In this way, kebatinan moves toward eliminating the distinction between the universal and the local, the communal and the individual.

Another notable views is the division between traditionalist and modernist Islam. The nature of these differences was complex, confusing, and a matter of considerable debate in the early 1990s, but traditionalists generally rejected the modernists' interest in absorbing educational and organizational principles from the West. Specifically, traditionalists were suspicious of modernists' support of the urban madrasah, a reformist school that included the teaching of secular topics. Traditionalists also sought to add a clause to the first tenet of the Pancasila state ideology requiring that, in effect, all Muslims adhere to the sharia. Pancasila, (pronounced panʧaˈsila is the official philosophical foundation of the Indonesian state Sharia ( Arabic: ar شريعة) is the body of Islamic Religious law. ^[4] On the other hand, modernists accused traditionalists of escapist unrealism in the face of change; some even hinted that santri harbored greater loyalty towards the ummah (congregation of believers) of Islam than to the secular Indonesian state. Ummah (أمة is an Arabic word meaning Community or Nation. It is commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or (in the

Despite these differences, the traditionalist [[Nahdlatul Ulama, the progressive Consultative Council of Indonesian Muslims (Masyumi), and two other parties were forcibly streamlined into a single Islamic political party in 1973--the United Development Party (PPP). The United Development Party ( Indonesian: Partai Persatuan Pembangunan / PPP; sometimes translated as Development Unity Party) is a Political Such cleavages may have weakened Islam as an organized political entity, as demonstrated by the withdrawal of the Nahdlatul Ulama from active political competition, but as a popular religious force Islam showed signs of good health and a capacity to frame national debates.

There is some period when the Islamic Defenders Front, a radical group based in Jakarta, emerged. The Islamic Defenders Front stages "raids" on nightclubs and bars in the city to punish proprietors and patrons who do not adhere to Islamic mores, and has also attempted to barge into foreign-owned hotels for the purpose of expelling Americans and Israelis. The Islamic Defenders Front and similar groups have no official support from the government, but a large number of Indonesian citizens and even lawmakers are sympathetic to at least some of their goals.

Religious freedom

The Constitution provides "all persons the right to worship according to their own religion or belief" and states that "the nation is based upon belief in one supreme God. " The Government generally respects these provisions; however, some restrictions exist on certain types of religious activity and on unrecognized religions.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs extends official status to six faiths: Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism. Religious organizations other than the six recognized faiths can register with the Government, but only with the Ministry for Culture and Tourism and only as social organizations. This restricts certain religious activities. Unregistered religious groups cannot rent venues to hold services and must find alternative means to practice their faiths.

Although it has an overwhelming Muslim majority, the country is not an Islamic state. Over the past 50 years, many Islamic groups sporadically have sought to establish an Islamic state, but the country's mainstream Muslim community, including influential social organizations such as Muhammadiyah and NU, reject the idea. Proponents of an Islamic state argued unsuccessfully in 1945 and throughout the parliamentary democracy period of the 1950s for the inclusion of language (the "Jakarta Charter") in the Constitution's preamble making it obligatory for Muslims to follow Shari'a. During the Suharto regime, the Government prohibited all advocacy of an Islamic state. With the loosening of restrictions on freedom of speech and religion that followed the fall of Suharto in 1998, proponents of the "Jakarta Charter" resumed advocacy efforts. This proved the case prior to the 2002 Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), a body that has the power to change the Constitution. The nationalist political parties, regional representatives elected by provincial legislatures, and appointed police, military, and functional representatives, who together held a majority of seats in the MPR, rejected proposals to amend the Constitution to include Shari'a, and the measure never came to a formal vote. The MPR approved changes to the Constitution that mandated that the Government increase "faith and piety" in education. This decision, seen as a compromise to satisfy Islamist parties, set the scene for a controversial education bill signed into law in July 2003.

Shari'a generated debate and concern during 2004, and many of the issues raised touched on religious freedom. Aceh remained the only part of the country where the central Government specifically authorized Shari'a. See also Sultanate of Aceh Aceh (ʔaˈtɕɛh generally anglicized as ˈɑːtʃeɪ is a special territory ( daerah istimewa) of Indonesia Law 18/2001 granted Aceh special autonomy and included authority for Aceh to establish a system of Shari'a as an adjunct to, not a replacement for, national civil and criminal law. Before it could take effect, the law required the provincial legislature to approve local regulations ("qanun") incorporating Shari'a precepts into the legal code. Law 18/2001 states that the Shari'a courts would be "free from outside influence by any side. " Article 25(3) states that the authority of the court will only apply to Muslims. Article 26(2) names the national Supreme Court as the court of appeal for Aceh's Shari'a courts.

Aceh is the only province that has Shari'a courts. Religious leaders responsible for drafting and implementing the Shari'a regulations stated that they had no plans to apply criminal sanctions for violations of Shari'a. Islamic law in Aceh, they said, would not provide for strict enforcement of "fiqh" or "hudud," but rather would codify traditional Acehnese Islamic practice and values such as discipline, honesty, and proper behavior. Fiqh ( Arabic: فقه, fɪqəh is Islamic Jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the Sharia Islamic law—based directly on the Hudud ( Arabic حدود also transliterated hadud, hudood; singular hadd, حد They claimed enforcement would not depend on the police but rather on public education and societal consensus.

Because Muslims make up the overwhelming majority of Aceh's population, the public largely accepted Shari'a, which in most cases merely regularized common social practices. For example, a majority of women in Aceh already covered their heads in public. Provincial and district governments established Shari'a bureaus to handle public education about the new system, and local Islamic leaders, especially in North Aceh and Pidie, called for greater government promotion of Shari'a as a way to address mounting social ills. The imposition of martial law in Aceh in May 2003 had little impact on the implementation of Shari'a. The Martial Law Administration actively promoted Shari'a as a positive step toward social reconstruction and reconciliation. Some human rights and women's rights activists complained that implementation of Shari'a focused on superficial issues, such as proper Islamic dress, while ignoring deep-seated moral and social problems, such as corruption.

There were no reports of forced religious conversion, including of minor U. S. citizens who had been abducted or illegally removed from the United States, or of the refusal to allow such citizens to be returned to the United States. This coincided with a continuing de-escalation of violence in the country's main areas of interreligious conflict: the eastern provinces of Maluku, North Maluku, and Central Sulawesi.

Between July 1, 2000, and June 30, 2001, extremists forced thousands of Christians and hundreds of Muslims to convert in these provinces. Between July 1, 2001 and June 30, 2002, most of the individuals reverted to their former faith. During the current reporting period, others who had not yet reverted to their original faith did so. Meanwhile, some, such as former Christians on the island of Bula, made the decision to remain members of their new faith. In a few areas, such as the Seram village of Tamher Warat, Christians who had been forced to embrace Islam were reportedly still afraid to revert to their former faith, and were still using their Muslim names. The Government and religious leaders took steps to promote religious freedom among residents and former residents of Kasui island, some of whom had been forcibly converted. An Ambon-based Christian group said some Muslim residents were angry that former Kasui Christians who had been forced to convert had publicized their experience. There were unconfirmed reports that local government officials, largely village heads, were complicit in some of the mass conversions in 2000 and 2001. ^[5]

Some Muslim, Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist holy days are national holidays. Muslim holy days celebrated include the Isra and Mi'raj, Idul Fitr, Idul Adha, the Islamic New Year, and the Prophet's Birthday. In Islamic tradition the Isra and Mi'raj (الإسراء والمعراج) are the two parts of a journey that Muhammad took in one night around the year 620 Eid ul-Fitr or Id-ul-Fitr (عيد الفطر ‘Īdu l-Fiṭr) often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim Holiday that marks the end of Eid al-Adha ( Arabic: عيد الأضحى ‘Īd ul-’Aḍḥā, Urdu: بقرعید or the Festival of Sacrifice is a religious festival celebrated The Islamic New Year is a cultural event which Muslims observe on the first day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar. Mawlid ( Eid Milad an Nabi ( Turkish:Mevlid ( Qur'anic مَوْلِدُ آلنَبِيِّ mawlidu n-nabiyyi, “Birth of the Prophet” National Christian holy days are Christmas Day, Good Friday, and the Ascension of Christ. Good Friday, also called Holy Friday or Great Friday, is the Friday preceding Easter Sunday ("Pascha" The general and most common understanding of the Christian Doctrine of Ascension holds that Jesus bodily ascended to Heaven in the presence Three other national holidays are the Hindu holiday Nyepi, the Buddhist holiday Waisak, and Chinese New Year, celebrated by Confucians and other Chinese. Nyepi is a Balinese "Day of Silence" that falls on Bali's Lunar New Year ( March 7, 2008) Vesak is an annual holiday observed by practicing Buddhists in many Asian countries like Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Chinese New Year is the most important of the Traditional Chinese holidays. On Bali all Hindu holy days are regional holidays, and public servants and others did not work on Saraswati Day, Galungan, and Kuningan.

The Government has a monopoly on organizing the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, and in February, following the latest hajj, the Department of Religious Affairs drew sharp criticism for mismanaging the registration of approximately 30,000 prospective pilgrims after they had paid the required fees. The Government unilaterally expanded the country's quota of 205,000 pilgrims, claiming it had informal approval from the Saudi Government, an assertion that proved incorrect. Members of the House of Representatives have sponsored a bill to set up an independent institution, thus ending the department's monopoly.

See also

• Religion in Indonesia
• Islam by country
• Tabuik

References

Notes

• This article contains material from the Library of Congress Country Studies, which are United States government publications in the public domain. The Country Studies are works published by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress ( USA) freely available for use by researchers The federal government of the United States is the central United States Governmental body established by the United States Constitution. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone