When vigilantes are morality police

By: Endy Bayuni

Posted: 1:00 AM

Source: Winnipeg Free Press.
JAKARTA, Indonesia — The stage was already set for battle between the 52,000 Indonesian fans of Lady Gaga, who bought and paid for tickets to see her perform, and the 30,000-strong Islamic Defenders Front, who promised to disrupt her concert in Jakarta scheduled for June 3.

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FPI has also targeted religious minorities such as the Ahmadiyah and Shiah communities, claiming that their versions of Islam blaspheme against mainstream Sunni Islam. More than 100 Ahmadis are still living in shelters after FPI attacked and razed their homes, schools and mosques in 2006. One Shia community in East Java is living in constant fear after the local chapter of the Indonesian Ulema Council issued a fatwa (religious injunction) declaring Shiism to be heretical, and it should be banned.

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While almost everyone dismisses FPI and its radical views as a small group that does not represent the majority of Muslims in Indonesia, many are wondering about the government’s failure to stop the group from committing violent and criminal acts. In turn, the police’s failure to act has only emboldened the FPI, and its attacks have become more frequent and more violent. And FPI is casting its net ever wider.

Original News can be seen here:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/westview/when-vigilantes-are-morality-police-152470315.html