Indonesia continues to impose medieval Islamic rules on Muslims and non-Muslims alike. It is not willing to allow citizens to choose or reject the values of their religion on things like gambling. Rather, they will flog Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
There is growing pressure by Islamic groups to further push country toward even harsher Islamic rules and courts. There is a move targeting homosexuals and cohabiting adults by these extreme elements. Indonesia and Turkey were once viewed as a tolerant nations — relatively rare secular systems among Muslim-majority nations. Islamic groups have changed that.
If is not enough to argue that Muslims are the majority and thus have a right to the laws of their choosing. This are not Indonesian rights but human rights. Muslims are a small minority in the United States, but their right to faith and association is strictly protected. Indonesia is slipping into Islamic orthodoxy — a move that will likely arrest and reverse its progress as a modern and free society.
By the way, as this photo reminds us, flogging (as well as pillories) was a common practice in this country into the 20th Century. While not based on religious edicts, it was a barbaric practice that was eventually found to be unconstitutional.
