A bill that would ban 'obscene public acts' such as sunbathing has provoked angry protests, writes John Aglionby
Tuesday March 21, 2006
Indonesia's burgeoning conservative Islamic movement, which had been on a fairly steep upward trajectory over the last few years, has encountered its first significant roadblock. How the situation is resolved is likely to shape socio-political dynamics for the next few years in the world's most-populous but largely moderate Muslim nation.
Causing ructions is not some aspect of theology, but an attempt to enact a wide-ranging anti-pornography bill.
The legislation has sparked such a vehement backlash that its proponents, the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and a slew of Muslim organisations, are having to beat a somewhat undignified retreat. By Indonesian standards, where building consensus and not causing loss of face are fundamental social tenets and few people outside a liberal minority dare challenge the Islamic establishment, the strength of feeling is almost unprecedented.
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