Steven it is also not new and not just that country.
Some practitioners of the Muslim religion do seem to show it in a bad light.
Primitive controlling and inhuman, SOME not all.
This is not new in the worlds biggest Muslim country, or many under developed ones.
Christians are subject to real horrors in India too.
Proving only this, religion is indeed the drug of the masses.
Keeping many under control.

From Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch.

No Model for Muslim Democracy (NY Times 21/05/2012)

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/opinion/no-model-for-muslim-democracy.html

Excerpts:

>>IT is fashionable these days for Western leaders to praise Indonesia as a model Muslim democracy….

…Asia Lumbantoruan, a Christian elder whose congregation outside Jakarta has recently had two of its partially built churches burned down by Islamist militants. He was stabbed by these extremists while defending a third site from attack in September 2010.

….While Indonesia’s Constitution protects freedom of religion, regulations against blasphemy and proselytizing are routinely used to prosecute atheists, Bahais, Christians, Shiites, Sufis and members of the Ahmadiyya faith … By 2010, Indonesia had over 150 religiously motivated regulations restricting minorities’ rights.

In 2006, Mr. Yudhoyono, in a new decree on “religious harmony,” tightened criteria for building a house of worship. The decree is enforced only on religious minorities

…Mr. Yudhoyono’s government is reluctant to take them [Islamic "militants"] on because it rules Indonesia in a coalition with intolerant Islamist political parties.

..he[Yudhoyono] has actively courted conservative Islamist elements … even granting them key cabinet positions. These appointments send a message to Indonesia’s population and embolden Islamist extremists to use violence against minorities.

In August 2011, for example, Muslim militants burned down three Christian churches on Sumatra. No one was charged and officials have prevented the congregations from rebuilding their churches.

…In June 2008, the Yudhoyono administration issued a decree requiring the Ahmadiyya sect to “stop spreading interpretations and activities that deviate from the principal teachings of Islam,…The government said the decree was necessary to prevent violence against the sect. …

In the deadliest attack, in western Java in February 2011, three Ahmadiyya men were killed. A cameraman recorded the violence, and versions of it were posted on YouTube. An Indonesian court eventually prosecuted 12 militants for the crime, but handed down paltry sentences of only four to six months. …

….Even the Suharto dictatorship allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit political prisoners, yet the Yudhoyono government has banned the I.C.R.C. from working in Papua.>>

Peter Mac

Indonesians are not "monsters" any more than, say, North Koreans, Sudanese or Iranians. But the regime, as distinct from the people, seems to be turning into something monstrous.

Maybe Islam and democracy can co-exist but Indonesia, contrary to the assertions of people like Hilary Clinton and David Cameron, is not SO FAR turning out to be a good example.

What the future holds I don't know but the trends do not augur well.

csteele,

What is happening in Indonesia goes well beyond Lady Gaga and a concert.

Furthermore, what happens in Indonesia is rather more important, from the Australian perspective, than events in South Korea or the Philippines. A "Jihadi" Indonesia would pose challenges for Australia that a Christian fundamentalist South Korea would not.

However, that being said, there does seem to be a global rise in religious militancy.

This weirdo cow Gaga should be banned everywhere not just in Islamic countries. It just goes to demonstrate that some islamic countries have more sense then all western countries combined.
If I had my way people like her would be cleaning for a living. It's appalling how many morons there are who pay to see this crap

Y'know individual, the essence of democracy is not merely the right to do those things that meets your or my approval.

Democracy specifically includes the right to say and do things you or I may find stupid or disgusting. Part of democracy, part of what makes Australia a great place to live, is "live and let live." I would not voluntarily attend a Lady Gaga "concert." But if some people want to that's their business. It's not mine. It's not yours. And it certainly is not the business of some religiously inspired thugs.

However, as I have been at pains to point out, the "anti-Gaga" demonstrations are only a tiny part of what appears to be the beginnings of a rather nasty Islamic tyranny in Indonesia.

Hopefully this will prove to be just a blip on Indonesia's journey to democracy. If not Australia may be in for a rough time.

stevenlmeyer,

I think democracy is relative … If the majority, who are Islamic are satisfied, then they will perceive Indonesia as democratic.

These are pertinent reading.

Written by Pitan Daslani a senior political correspondent. The comments by readers are also interesting.
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/ethnic-and-religious-criteria-still-steer-indonesian-democracy/519231

“By 2010, Indonesia had over 150 religiously motivated regulations restricting minorities’ rights.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/opinion/no-model-for-muslim-democracy.htm