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Tuesday 29 May 2012

Is Indonesia becoming less tolerant?


Protesters against Lady Gaga in Indonesia

Indonesian account manager Putri Nuraini, 28, is devastated. She had been praying that US popstar Lady Gaga's show would go ahead as planned.

Putri says she does not understand why Islamic groups are so against Lady Gaga.

But the performer's management team on Sunday called off the show, citing security concerns after hardline Islamic groups threatened to cause "chaos" if she was to enter the country.
"I'm a Muslim myself - but I don't get what their point is," she says heatedly. "It just doesn't make sense. Is Lady Gaga going to make love on the stage? No, she's going to perform. It's ridiculous."
But her sentiments are not shared by Effie and her nine-year-old son, Ade.

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At an anti-Lady Gaga rally organised by conservative Islamic groups, little Ade was busy carting around a poster almost as big as his body with the words "Reject the Devil Lady Gaga" emblazoned on it.
"I've been bringing him to these sorts of protests since he was in my womb," his proud mother said. "It is good for him as a young Muslim to stand up for his faith."
I asked her why she was so incensed by a popstar - if she didn't like the music, then surely she didn't have to go to the concert? Why not let other Indonesians enjoy the event?
"Everyone always says Indonesian Muslims are so tolerant," the young mother said firmly. "We are, but we also don't want to be stepped on all the time. We have to stand up for Islam."
'Paltry sentences'
The Lady Gaga fiasco is just the latest in a series of incidents that observers say show a rising trend of religious intolerance in Indonesia.
Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation but it is also secular.
It has a long tradition of religious tolerance enshrined in its constitution and has been held up by the We

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