Recently, U.S. Freedom House’s Centre for Religious Freedom released a report analyzing the syllabus and textbook of Islamic studies courses used in Saudi schools. One of the important findings is that ideology of hatred and enmity toward Christians, Jews and Muslims who do not subscribe to the Wahhabi doctrine remains in this area of the public school system.
Source: Islamlib.com, 20/11/2006
30/11/09 07:28 AM
Wadud deserves our support. Her case is ultimately not about gender and prayer, but about religious tolerance. In order to appreciate the fundamental values of liberty and democracy, Muslims need to learn to accept that specific visions and interpretations of religion are open to change – that religious traditions are not static.
Source: Islamlib.com, 07/04/2005
19/11/09 07:00 AM
Terror and violence may be declining in Indonesia, but there is another development that Indonesians, particularly the non-Muslims and the secular Muslims, are following with concern. This is the emergence of religious bylaws. Coming on the back of new regional regulations known as “Perda” (peraturan daerah), such religious bylaws have now been adopted by no less than 35 Indonesian regions. The Perda themselves are a response to the regional autonomy law that was enacted in 1999. This regional autonomy law stated that local governments at the district level are entitled to have their own implementation regulations. The central government will no longer interfere in the local administration. The law that introduced Perda itself was part of the reform agenda put forward in 1998 following the fall of the Suharto regime.
Source: The Straits Times, 2 April 2007
15/11/09 01:49 PM
Liberal democracy is a political notion introduced by the Western political philosophy in the nineteenth century. The roots of liberal democracy could be traced to the early seventeenth century when rationalism and enlightenment began to spread over the intellectual tradition of the Europeans.
Source: Melbourne, 23/11/2004
10/11/09 07:00 AM
The last minute cancellation of an international inter-faith conference in mid-May is the culmination of the crisis of religious freedom in Malaysia, and itself is a manifestation of the paradox of the oft-campaigned “Islam Hadhari”. Over the past two years, the Malaysian government (under Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi) has promoted the concept of civilized Islam, or Islam Hadhari, emphasizing that Malaysia is a moderate Muslim country which should become a role model for other Muslim countries in promoting harmony, progress and economic development.
Source: The Jakarta Post, 08 July 2007
06/11/09 09:22 AM
Copyright © 2006 Luthfi Assyaukanie, otherwise noted all rights reserved.
