ARTICLES

2017 witnessed major political events related to religion, including the defeat of the former (Chinese, Christian) governor of Jakarta in the election there in April;  the dissolution of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia in June; and the October Constitutional Court ruling on the recognition of indigenous religions. We review  them here and provide links to related articles posted over the year at the CRCS website. (Indonesian)

After the Constitutional Court nullified articles of the Civil Administration Law that were discriminatory toward followers of indigenous faiths, some Muslim leaders objected to the ruling, saying that indigenous faiths are not religions. In this piece, originally published at New Mandala, Azis Anwar makes a counter-argument to those Muslim leaders.

Dr. Izak Lattu argues that Christmas constitutes God’s presence in the world: with the birth of Jesus  into a specific historical context, God joined in solidarity with humanity, a truth that Lattu shows can be a basis for solidarity between Muslims and Christians in Palestine resisting together the US President's recent declaration concerning Jerusalem. (Indonesian)

The Reformation led to more than a century of war between Protestants and Catholics in Europe, but it also brought about some results that significantly formed the modern world. Prof. Hans-Peter Grosshans pointed out eight such transformations in a special Wednesday Forum commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

Muhammadiyah has been the most successful and long-lasting modernist Muslim organizations in Muslim-majority countries. However, it has never grown outside its land of birth, except with a notable exception in Singapore. Here is a coverage on this topic presented by Dr. Mark Woodward at CRCS-ICRS Wednesday Forum.

In October, CRCS hosted a public lecture and 3-day workshop featuring Imam Ashafa and Pastor James, both from Nigeria, as well as Maria “Deng” Gigiuento from the Philippines and Jacky Manuputty from Ambon.  Reports written by CRCS students have been compiled into a small book that can now be downloaded for free. (Indonesian)

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