What? The FPI Have A Problem With Tera Patrick...

The FPI make it too easy for me to find reasons to post pictures of porn stars. The fact that none of the pictures I post are technically porn in any other sense than the FPI one, it is still worth writing about the FPI and the free advertising they provide for porn movies and porn stars.

The beauty of this latest spat is that the FPI have not been the erstwhile premature ejaculators they have been in the past. These white robed hoodlums missed the boat on this one until after the horse bolted. It sort of reminds me of that nasty little phrase that one might hear in their youth of "have you cum yet?", to only hear in response "I have already been! What's holding you up?" Boys, Miss Patrick has been and gone or came and went, whichever you prefer.

The film is scheduled for release on 14 October 2010. This, if I am not mistaken, is tomorrow. Hmmm, so how did Ms. Patrick get into the country shoot the film and get out again without anyone knowing?

I am not quite sure what the attraction is between local movie producers, horror movies and international porn stars outside of the controversy and free advertising that the FPI and other hardliners are likely to bring. Nevertheless, a film titled Rintihan Kuntilanak Perawan (or the Moans of a Virgin Ghost) is undoubtedly going to pique the interest of the white-robed initiators of violence in the name of Islam (aka embarrassment plus plus).

The title gets the imaginative juices flowing in trying to work out exactly why a virgin ghost is moaning anyways. And, how do we know she is a virgin? And, how could Tera Patrick ever play a virgin? Maybe she is not in the lead role. Can the other stars, Catherine Wilson or Angelique, of this horror flick play virgins either? Just thinking that Angelique has a role is too funny for words. I wonder how her former husband, the King of Dangdut, Mr. Rhoma Irama, is handling the good news.

But even funnier than the prospect of a Rhoma Irama meltdown is the response of Habib "Hey Baby" Salim Alatas, the Head of the Jakarta Branch of the white-robed hoods, who is stressed because he did not even know that Ms. Patrick had come into the country and shot a film. It appears Hey Baby is stressed because the film producers had been so covert. Let me say this Hey Baby, Film Producers = 1 and FPI a big fat 0!


On the scary front though, Hey Baby is threatening to bring out the FPI masses in protest. This is not good. When the FPI get into large groups they have more trouble than a 14-year-old with a Hustler magazine with respect to the self-control stakes. The FPI seem to get off on violence and scaring the crap out of people.

Now, you really do have to give it to the film production house responsible for this little film coup, K2K. According to them, the negotiations to get Tera Patrick to do this here horror flick was a 16-month process that involved four or five approaches before agreement was secured. It was a hell of a job to go that long, seal the deal, shoot the film, and get Ms. Patrick out of the country without anyone being any the wiser over at FPI-ville. How do you keep a secret like this one from not being outed on Twitter or Facebook or somewhere?

Getting back to the funny. It would seem that while Tifatul Sembiring was talking up the shutting down of all porn sites coming into or operating out of Indonesia, one of the world's biggest porn stars had come into J-Town in the weeks before Ramadan and shot a film and departed again. Mr. Minister, how does that happen?

Well, it seems that the international porn actress shooting low-budget horror films will continue...it is time for the FPI to loosen up a little and let Miyabi come back and shoot her horror film!

The only decision I had with respect to this post was should the pictures be at the front-end or the back-end of the post...the back-end!

Laws on the Building of Houses of Worship -- Indonesia...

One way of ensuring that the whittling down, and perhaps removal, of certain constitutionally guaranteed rights, such as the right to worship freely, is to put the decision making process to a committee of one's peers. In this case, a joint ministerial regulation on the building of houses or places to worship is set to be formalised into a law.

In essence, the regulation requires the approval of a majority of residents for a house of worship to be built in a specified area. In a country that is predominantly Muslim, this means that getting the requisite approval for a mosque is a real no-brainer. Besides, if the community did not approve a mosque it is almost certainly going to see large-scale protests take place, perhaps even violent confrontations as the FPI crazies are bused in under  the guise of being representative of Indonesian Islam. However, the flip side of this coin is that it is difficult to get houses / places of worship approved for minority religions such as Christianity (various sects) and other recognised religions in Indonesia such as Buddhism and Hinduism.

The recent trials and tribulations that have unfolded in Bekasi as a Christian group seeks to formalise the permitting process for its house of worship is testament to the difficulties minority faiths can endure at the hands of a minority of the local population who vocally and violently oppose the construction of a Church.

Yet, it must be noted that this is not exclusively a Muslim vs. Christian scenario. Let's face it, the declaration that the Ahmadiyya sect is a deviant Muslim sect has seen Muslim against Muslim occur on an ever-increasingly frequent level. And, Muslim vs. Muslim does not entail any polite courtesy as the "real" Muslims burn down the "deviant" Muslim's house of worship, in this instance a Mosque. Tolerance, or lack thereof, is an interesting thing.

The regulation is illuminating as it to all intents and purposes forces the ghetto-isation of minority religions. How so? The regulation requires that any proposed house of worship be approved by at least 60 of the households in the immediate vicinity of the site. Therefore, the best way to ensure your proposed house of worship gets the nod of approval is to ensure that all like minded believers live in close proximity to each other and therefore the land set aside for the house of worship will be surrounded on all sides by the "true" believers. Simply, if you permit interlopers of questionable commitment into your midst then they could conceivably derail your plan for a house of worship. Hence, we have the ghetto-isation of religion.

Is it too extreme to then ponder whether it is possible that Indonesia is moving towards becoming an Islamic state? To avoid confusion, Indonesia is a democratic and sovereign state, so if the majority of the people want the Republic to be an Islamic state, then so be it. Moving from the secular to the non-secular will require a constitutional change at least in my opinion. Maybe I should pose this question to a former student of mine Pan Mohamad Faiz who is now a recognised expert on Indonesian constitutional law.

It is sad that the president has not been pro-active on promoting tolerance in any significant and substantial way beyond, "yo, my fellow Indonesians, chill out!" If you are wondering what I mean by pro-active, I mean take a firmer and more hard line stance against groups like the Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI) who are nothing more than thugs in robes whose modus operandi is to enforce compliance through violence.

If this regulation becomes law then it is likely that there will be an immediate move towards ghetto-isation and walled compounds for minority faiths, and increasing levels of communal violence as the white-robed hoodlums of the FPI try to prevent the construction of any place of worship that is not an approved mosque.

Islamic Defenders' Front & Playboy...

The Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI) has an uncanny knack for knowing how to garner a headline and, most would argue, ridicule.

For some reason, the Supreme Court has decided that Erwin Arnada, the former Editor of Playboy Magazine Indonesia, needs to do two years in prison for violating Indonesian decency laws. This begs the question, "have you ever taken a sneak peek at Indonesian Playboy?" If you have, then you will know that it is the only edition of Playboy Magazine that you really do buy for the articles. The pictorials were so tame that the magazine did not need to be sealed in a plastic bag nor did it need like a "R" or even an "M" rating.

There are clearly more tabloids and magazines being sold on street corners throughout Indonesia today that are more graphic and show more skin than playboy ever did. Yet, that said, for a bunch of hard up Muslim clerics and their supporters like those in the FPI then Indonesian Playboy would have been their entry into pornographic heaven; no need to wait for the 72 virgins!

Based on the Supreme Court verdict to jail Arnada, Habib "Hey Baby" Rizieq has called on all members of the FPI to arrest Arnada wherever they find him. What? I thought that Indonesia had law enforcement agencies to do that kind of work. There is absolutely no need for a bunch of hard up thugs to be effecting citizen arrests. The police, for all their faults, are more than capable enough to get a hold of Arnada and get him to jail without the intervention of the FPI.

The criminalisation of the Indonesia press can wait for another post. I have already written a few about criminalisation of the press through archaic criminal defamation laws. But, specifically, how these relate to Arnada will be the basis of a future post.

It is always amusing in the saddest of ways that the FPI considers itself to be judge, jury, and executioner on all things moral. God must be pissing himself (or herself) laughing up there in heaven. God is having this little chuckle about the fact that we are born showing more skin than there is in Indonesian Playboy. Yet, in any event, I have always been taught to believe that God was going to be doing the judging at some point in the future and that we should content ourselves with taking care of our own personal houses.

It is probably a good idea that people who live in glass houses not throw stones.

As it turns out, a recent raid on FPI headquarters has turned up a stack of Playboy magazines. According to Hey Baby, these magazines were for evidentiary purposes. However, I can see God on Judgment Day now: "So, Hey Baby, care to explain how come (no pun intended) all the pages of these pieces of evidence are stuck together?"

It is time that the Indonesian government shows some testicular fortitude in dealing with the FPI.

Government of Jakarta, huh?

I have read some stupid things today, but this takes the cake. What is the Government of Jakarta thinking when it states that it thinks working cooperatively with the Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI) during the holy month of Ramadan to "secure" entertainment venues. Secure in this context must mean compliance as opposed to safeguard. Unfortunately, this news story I read in Indonesian (here, so if you can read it...if not, then you will have to take my word for it).

At this stage it is supposedly only a plan, but the fact that it has been suggested shows some serious lack of foresight by the government and a real lack of understanding. The Government of Jakarta has sufficient law enforcement resources at its disposal that it just does not need to make use of the thugs at the FPI to do quasi police work.

As I said, this is the stupidest thing I read today. The FPI is the same bunch of goons that go round each Ramadan and forcibly close entertainment venues irrespective of whether the venue is operating pursuant to the rules and regulations.

These closures are done using extreme violence and are designed to damage as much property as possible, they are designed to inflict physical harm on patrons at these venues, and they are designed to strike fear into the general populace. So, I ask again, what is the government thinking by seemingly granting the FPI legitimacy to break the law and harm the citizens of Jakarta?

The Governor of Jakarta, Fauzi Bowo, really needs to think again on this one. If he stays this course it only serves to provide ammunition to his critics who have already nicknamed him Fuzzy Bodoh (bodoh in Indonesian means stupid).

The plan to use the FPI is just a stupid, stupid, stupid idea!

The Face of Indonesian Islam?

Is this the future face of Indonesian Islam?

Perhaps, it is time the good men and women of Indonesia stood up to this band of thugs and said, "enough is enough!"

If I am not mistaken, Edmund Burke once said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men [and women] to do nothing".

Just a thought...

FPI, Violence, Protest, Tolerance & Respect...

This is the Islamic Defenders' Front in action (as opposed to inaction). The photo is a 'file photo' that I found floating around on The Jakarta Globe website. The photo is of the FPI demonstrating in front of the US Embassy.

I have always been one for supporting the right to protest. I am also very much for non-violent protest, and this includes acts of civil disobedience. In that respect, I much admire the determination of men like Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr, both of whom paid the ultimate price in the pursuit of their ideals.

I guess the point of this very short post is to say something about tolerance and respect. If "we" as people are going to move forward to a more peaceful, harmonious and prosperous existence then we are going to have to become more tolerant and respectful of out differences. Quite simply, violent protest that results in the destruction of people and property is not going to advance our causes and out beliefs over the long term.

Perhaps it is time for others to take the lead? Perhaps those others are those that are committed to peaceful co-existence based on mutual tolerance and mutual respect.

Always the eternal optimist, but you just never know...maybe one day the world will become the place that I desire it to be (at least in the little part of it that I inhabit). I guess when it is all said and done, it is about being the change that you want to see in the world.

The FPI Strikes Again...

The Islamic Defenders' Front or Front Pembela Islam (FPI) has been out and about in the Eastern Javanese town of Banyuwangi doing its thing. That thing, as usual, is making a mockery of Islam and of Indonesia in a more general sense. This is sad because Indonesia is a wonderful place with wonderful people. But, like anything else it is the old cliche that tends to ring true: one bad apple will always spoil the box.

It seems that Commission IX on Health matters was holding a meeting in Banyuwangi as a means of 'socialising' the free health care components of current government policy to those living in the area. This led the FPI to claim that this was nothing more than a clandestine and covert attempt to resurrect the Indonesian Communist Party (Partai Komunis Indonesia / PKI). And, consequently, this was a meeting that needed to be stopped at any cost. There is nothing quite like the opportunity to make a little bit of cash on the side, get a free meal, and be part of some gratuitous violence in order to get the rent a thugs out and wearing some white robes and t-shirts and other pieces of clothing to obscure their faces. I wonder how many Indonesians really believe that Communism is making a comeback in Indonesia when they consider great bastions of Communism such as China have already adopted a more capitalistic economic model?

As it turns out the Head of the Commission is in fact the daughter of a former communist or at least her identity papers used to say she was. Dr Ribka Tjiptaning Proletariati is the Head of the Commission, and even knowing nothing about her, her name might suggest that at least one of her parents had sympathies for the working class.

Nevertheless, the bigger issue here is that the meeting participants bowed to the FPI thug tactics and disbanded the meeting. This is sad. It is sad because the people that are most likely to suffer from the fallout of these events of thuggery in the name of religion or national pride are the 'little people'. These are the people that cannot afford to miss out.

The only thing more disturbing about this is the continual lack of interest and seriousness shown by law enforcement agencies and the government to rein in these thugs and shut them down. The longer law enforcement and the government resist the need to address the issue of FPI thuggery the more opportunities that those who want to criticise the government have to criticise the government and those agencies. These criticisms will inevitably question Indonesia's commitment to a plural society, the deradicalisation of fringe elements, and perhaps even to issues of good governance and corruption.

The FPI in its current form is not only giving Islam a bad name but it is giving Indonesia a bad name as well.

For a government that has proven skilled at spinning just about any news piece to make the president look like he is on top of things should have no trouble in spinning a crack down on the FPI as something that is overdue and necessary and not something that is construed as being anti-Islam.

Then again, maybe not.

Ho hum...

Islamic Defenders Front -- Giving Islam a Bad Name...

Now, I am not usually one for the conspiracy theories. However, I often wonder how an organisation like the Front Pembela Islam or the Islamic Defenders Front can be so naive with the manner that they go about promoting their brand of radical violent Islam gives rise to serious questions about who they act for. It sometimes reaches a point where one has to wonder whether there is a conspiracy at play here. One where particular interests are using the highly gullible and easily influenced in order to give Islam a bad name. And, let's face it the FPI gives Islam a bad name.

The FPI and their most recent cause saw them storming a hotel in Depok, West Java, to disband a transsexual lingerie contest. Unfortunately, the FPI had been had. It was not a lingerie contest but rather a seminar on human rights. A seminar that in fact was teaching Indonesia transsexual and transgender individuals about their human rights. There was not a lingerie-clad transsexual in sight (probably much to the disappointment of the FPI thugs in attendance).

The seminar itself was supported by the Indonesian National Commission for Human Rights and had the requisite approval to proceed. This approval was granted by the Indonesian police force among others. Unfortunately, it seems no one bothered to get the approval of the local chapter of the FPI. The failure to get the FPI's approval is seemingly a sin against Allah and undoubtedly against Allah's Prophet, Muhammad.

The perversely funny thing here is that by raiding the seminar the FPI has given the Indonesian transsexual and transgender community a profile it might not have had, particularly if they had been left alone to go about their business of attending a seminar on human rights. So, one has to wonder about the agenda of the FPI here. If the FPI is really all about ridding Indonesia  of such "perversion" then why bother helping promote acknowledgement, and perhaps acceptance, of the fact that there are different parts to the broader Indonesian community. In my mind, it is the FPI that is the perversion and needs to be shut down and not my brothers and sisters in the transsexual and transgender community that are pursuing their right to learn about their human rights in an approved forum.

Alternatively, the FPI could show that they have learned a little but about tolerance and accepting difference (my guess is that the FPI will never come to appreciate difference) then they can continue to exist. However, if their continued course is one of violence and intolerance then they must be punished to the full extent of the law and shut down. Any failure to punish the FPI and to shut them down which allows them to continually and unashamedly break the law and violate other individuals human rights begs the question as to why the police and the Indonesian government tolerate them. One would seemingly have to ask: "does the government and do the police approve of the FPI actions?" Should silence and failure to act be construed as support for the FPI agenda?

Ultimately, respect is a two-way street. If you want to be respected then you must respect others. In very simple terms, respect is earned. FPI has not earned respect and is undeserving of respect because of its repeated failures to respect others.

Rizieq Shihab -- FPI

Rizieq Shihab, the head of the FPI (Front Pembela Islam / Islam Defenders Front), gets 18 months jail for his role in the violence that took place at Monas this past June.

There is likely to be an appeal as Rizieq's legal team will have issues with whether the procedural law was followed as it must be and that some of those that were interviewed and provided testimony have since withdrawn their testimony.

FPI -- The Ahmadiyya Issue

My first post this month was about the FPI. So, it seems fitting that my 100th post this month return to what got the month started, the FPI.

Wednesday saw many thousands of Muslims demonstrating in front of the Presidential Palace demanding that the Government stop pretending to restrict Ahmadiyya and their practices but rather issue an absolute ban. The President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono or SBY as he is popularly known, has a problem!

The recently issued joint decision has done nothing to stem the rhetoric against Ahmadiyya by hard-line proponents of Islam who consider Ahmadiyya as a dangerous heretical sect that has the potential to undermine the "true" teachings of Islam. This is kind of like saying that the Mormons have the potential to undermine the true teachings of Jesus and the Christian God, rubbish!

Yet, this is the problem that SBY must face. And, for a President who currently relies on the support of minor Islamic influenced parties and for a man seeking re-election, he has some maneuvering to do in order to keep things pacing along as he would want them to.

The joint decision falls way short of a ban and to all intents and purposes probably does not even restrict the practice of the Ahmadiyya's take on their interpretations of Islam. The joint decision does prevent the Ahmadiyya's from proselytizing under the threat of 5 years prison but otherwise it is as weak a response as it seems that the Indonesian Ulemas Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia / MUI) would permit.

The plot thickens!

Islamic Defenders Front

It is unlikely the government will step up to the plate and disband Front Pembela Islam. The reason this is unlikely is two-fold; the government does not want to be seen as being anti-Islam and secondly the government thinks the law is on its side.

It would seem that the Department of Law and Human Rights is of the opinion that because FPI is not an incorporated entity (berbadan hukum) then it is impossible to disband it. The Department then goes further to wash its hands of this by suggesting this is a simple law and order issue and therefore it is up to the law enforcement authorities to decide how to move forward. However, the Department does not consider the FPI and Hizbut Tahrir attacks to be crimes against humanity or genocide (rocket scientists one and all) but rather ordinary crimes.

Now, I do not think anyone was seriously considering that a crimes against humanity or genocide prosecution was on the cards here. However, it is clear some prosecutions need to take place because the criminal code prohibits assault of this kind!

Some members of Parliament will try and exploit this to extract more law and order reforms and also reform within the police force itself; good luck with that. That aside, the question is why are the police not doing what they are supposed to be doing? Is there a bigger and more sinister conspiracy of destabilization going on in the lead up to the General Election?

Some members of Parliament are suggesting that the AKKBB provoked the response by claiming that the AKKBB were proclaiming something that the Constitution already guarantees, freedom of religion. Perhaps someone ought to tell the Parliament that the government is looking to ban a sect on suspect legal grounds. Freedom of religion only works for one of the approved religions!

A particular party has gone as far as to say that it is clear that the AKKBB do not understand Islam or its teachings because any resolution of the Ahmadiyya question is an internal matter for Islam and will be resolved by the vested interests of the MUI. If I am not mistaken some major league Islamic scholars were party to the AKKBB declaration. I wonder who does not understand the true teachings of Islam?

The same party has said that it is too extreme a response to disband the FPI because it is individuals and not the organization that are to blame. So, I guess the idea of an FPI leader standing in front of a blood thirsty crowd and advocating violence and murder is not representative of the organization but merely the individual. I think that some re-thinking needs to be done on that one!

To suggest that it is individuals and not the organization is akin to suggesting that the Nazis or the Fascists as organizations were not evil just the people in them. When an organization advocates violence, mayhem, and murder, then it is the organization that is bad. I would go so far as to say that the organization is rotten to the core and needs to be disbanded. If people truly believe that the FPI represents the core values of Islam then there is merit in criticizing Islam as not being a religion of peace and tolerance as many claim.

One political party has gone as far as to say that FPI is in fact not anti-Pancasila and not anti-diversity, which means that they are in reverse pro-Pancasila and pro-diversity. I wonder how many people believe that after witnessing the most recent violence perpetrated by these thugs in robes?

If the President as the representative of the government is the person most likely to drive any response to this thuggery, then Indonesians should not expect much to change. The President's response to the violence is most aptly described as lame, maybe even weak, and here it is:

"I am deeply concerned with what happened yesterday afternoon, by the attack carried out by a certain organisation and certain people, the law has to be upheld against them."

I do not know about you, but this hardly inspires me with any confidence that there is to be a comprehensive response! FPI is a black mark on Indonesia and a black mark on Islam!

FPI -- Thugs in Robes

The Islamic Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam / FPI) has been beefing up its credentials as thugs earlier this afternoon. In so doing it is providing the government all the necessary proof and evidence that this organization needs to be disbanded. The fact that it has been allowed to exist for as long as it has and be allowed to commit a long list of breaches of the law should be an embarrassment to a government that is trying to sell Indonesia as a peaceful and tolerant destination to spend your hard earned cash. Not only is it an embarrassment it is a joke and makes a mockery of not only Pancasila (today is the commemoration of the Five Principles philosophy as the State ideology).

It is being reported that earlier today at about 14.30 the National Alliance for the Freedom of Faith and Religion (Aliansi Kebangsaan untuk Kebebasan Berkeyakinan dan Beragama / AKKBB) was set upon by a couple of hundred thugs from the FPI at Monas (Soekarno's phallic ode to himself and his manhood -- photo by someone named Murbiyanto) close to the Gambir railway station. There are seven people seriously injured including Syafii Anwar (Director of ICIP) and Muhammad Guntur Romli (an activist from Liberal Islam Network) both of whom are being treated in RSPAD Gatot Subroto. The list of injured also includes Ahmad Suaedy (the Executive Director of the Wahid Institute).

The AKKBB were holding a rally at Monas to mark the birth of Pancasila on 1 June. This was to be marked with a joint prayer in recognition of diversity and tolerance among other things.

It is high time the government acted against thugs and others seeking to impose their will through violence and intimidation. Any failure to act is nothing more than condoning the violence and condoning the methods used to suppress free expression. If Indonesia is truly a tolerant country then now is the time for the government to step up to the plate by clearly and unequivocally stating that this thuggery perpetrated by the FPI or their supporters will not be tolerated and then prosecute anyone breaking the law to the full extent possible under the prevailing laws.

Unfortunately, I am not an optimist on this front. Indonesia has so much potential and there are so many of us who hope for her to achieve that potential. Yet, the government's record to date has been woeful. We have just commemorated 10 years of reformation but the truth be told, reformasi will never be fully achieved until their is justice. Justice not only for all of the victims of the New Order's excesses but for more recent excesses as well such as the killings at Trisakti / Semanggi and the violence of May 1998 and more recently the mud flow disaster at Sidoarjo.

I live with hope because for where there is no hope there is only death!

Merdeka!!!

Ahmadiyah - A Dilemma of Qur'anic Proportions

The Indonesian government is between a rock and a hard place in an area with convoluted laws, regulations, and decrees seemingly in direct opposition to guarantees provided under the Constitution and Pancasila. No where to turn and much to lose!

The simply reality is the government would seem to have the power to ban heretical sects of any religion under the auspices of maintaining public order and harmony, particular where the views of a group where counter to those of the mainstream. Ahmadiyah tends to hold views that are not within the mainstream of Indonesian Islam and perhaps Islam in general and have been deemed blasphemous and heretical.

If Sunday was any indication the ability of hard line groups like the FPI (Islamic Defenders Front) and the HTI (Hizbut Tharir Indonesia) to get thousands out into the street means that the government has one of two choices; be seen to be pandering to hardline views of Islam and ban Ahmadiyah or put in place protections that allow Ahmadiyah to continue unimpeded by those that would seek to destroy it!

This is a dilemma for many reasons. In a cynical sense, there is a general election coming up and being seen as being soft on issues like this will mean that swinging votes will tend to go towards parties seen with strong Islamic credentials. PKS (Prosperous Justice Party) seems more likely to benefit from this shift than any other parties.

Further, the legal implications and the test that this conceivably poses for judicial independence and reform. If the Constitution does provide protections in terms of freedom of religion then this will be a stern test of whether the government is able to live up to this constitutional ideal.

Finally, law and order; is the government going to have the commitment to ensure that law and order is maintained. The tone of the Sunday protest included suggestions that if the government did not dissolve Ahmadiyah by government decision then the protesters would take the law into their own hands and dissolve it themselves. This is a nightmare waiting to happen particularly if the police try and enforce the law and in doing so shoot those seeking to forcibly disband Ahmadiyah contrary to prevail laws and regulations or where police are seen to be complicit in allowing any kind of forcible disbanding to occur.

One of the more novel moments of the protest was a comment to the effect that Ahmadiyah had interfered with the human rights of the protesters by disturbing their tranquility in the practice of their faiths. This is novel for a number of reasons but none more important than highlighting some key points of human rights and democracy, namely: you cannot please all of the people all of the time. But taking this argument to the logical extreme then the practice of any faith that did not concur with the faith as practiced by the FPI and HTI must be deemed to be impinging on their human rights.

The NU (Nahdlatul Ulama) approach is to enter into dialogue with deviant sects, explain the error of that sects ways, and then encourage them back into the fold--back to the true path of God.

This seems destined to get messier before a final resolution is found!