http://www.religionnewsblog.com Religion news about religious cults, sects, world religions, and related issues Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:15:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23782/ahmadiyah-attacked-by-muslims http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23782/ahmadiyah-attacked-by-muslims#comments Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:37:59 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23782 In Indonesia, a series of attacks on followers of the Ahmadiyah sect by fanatical Muslims -- who consider the movement to be a cult of Islam -- continues to draw criticism.

Alfred C. Stepan, director of the Center for the Study of Democracy, Toleration and Religion at Columbia University in New York, an expert in religion and democracy urging the government to exercise its authority when there are violations of human rights.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23782/ahmadiyah-attacked-by-muslims/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23564/indonesia-christians-reject-sharia http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23564/indonesia-christians-reject-sharia#comments Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:36:46 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23564 The Indonesian Council of Churches (PGI) has called for the rejection of two bills inspired by sharia (Islamic law).

The Halal Product Guarantee Bill and the Zakat Obligatory Alms Management Bill, both under consideration in the Indonesian parliament, cater to the needs of one religious group at the expense of others, violating Indonesia’s policy of pancasila or religious tolerance, said the Rev. Dr. A.A. Yewangoe, director of the PGI.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23564/indonesia-christians-reject-sharia/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23199/indonesia-islamic-body-to-mull-ban-on-smoking-and-yoga http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23199/indonesia-islamic-body-to-mull-ban-on-smoking-and-yoga#comments Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:47:33 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23199 Officially secular, Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, accounting for roughly 85 percent of the country's 226 million people. Most follow a moderate form of Islam, although there is vocal radical fringe.

About 700 people, including Muslim clerics and theological experts, are due in West Sumatra for the National Edict Commission meeting, which has the power to issue fatwas.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23199/indonesia-islamic-body-to-mull-ban-on-smoking-and-yoga/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/22660/group-of-muslim-scholars-gains-political-clout-in-indonesia http://www.religionnewsblog.com/22660/group-of-muslim-scholars-gains-political-clout-in-indonesia#comments Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:09:52 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=22660 In a sign of its growing prominence, the Council of Ulemas in Indonesia has moved its headquarters from the basement of a major mosque here into an expensive new office tower in the heart of the capital.

The council was established in 1975 by Suharto, the country's leader for three decades, as a quasi-governmental body of Muslim scholars, partly as a tool to keep politically minded Islamic organizations in check.

But in the decade since the dictator's fall, the group - whose leaders have increasingly espoused a radical form of Islam - has worked to establish itself as an assertive political force.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/22660/group-of-muslim-scholars-gains-political-clout-in-indonesia/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/21288/ahmadiyya-3 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/21288/ahmadiyya-3#comments Sun, 20 Apr 2008 09:26:12 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=21288 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/21288/ahmadiyya-3/feed 0