Indonesia is not an Islamic state

An important statement by the Vice President of Indonesia, Boediono, Saturday at the opening of the Global Peace Leadership Conference, organized by Nahdlatul Ulama, a traditionalist Sunni Islam group:

"Although Islam is the religion of the majority of people, Indonesia is not an Islamic state," he said.

Meanwhile, it is noted, the President of Indonesia has himself never strongly addressed the issue of the nation's Islamic radicalism.

As Burhanuddin Muhtadi, an analyst from the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), states it,
“He (President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) is too focused on his own image. He doesn’t want to be considered antagonistic toward Islamic hard-liners.”

The Religious Affairs minister is also chided by Ulil Abshar Abdalla,  founder of the Liberal Islam Network and a Democratic Party politician, for not coming to the defense of the minority Islamic sect, Ahmidiyah, which has been called upon for banishment in "several Islamic gatherings."

Read the full Jakarta Globe article here.

Ahamdiyah was almost banned 2 years ago and the "level of intolerance" has more than doubled during the six years of Yudhoyono’s rule according to results of a recent survey in this other Jakarta Globe report.

And why does it seem that messianic movements are always persecuted?