A BIG MESSAGE for an upside down world » Indonesia

Polls Says More Americans Now Think President Barack Hussein Obama Is Muslim

yessir — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:12:08 +0000

“I’ve Always Been A Christian . . . I’ve Never Practised Islam”

Poor Barack Obama. He is the President of the United States of America. And he has a middle name that people tend to associate with a Muslim. So President Barack Hussein Obama has been fighting a perception battle to tell fellow Americans (and the world) [...]

Indonesia – Why Are Muslims Still Vulnerable To Being Radicalized?

yessir — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 20:12:25 +0000

“This is not the Indonesia I once knew”

A recent survey has thrown up an interesting answer to this age long question: Why are Indonesian Muslims still vulnerable to being radicalized? Though not exactly unexpected, the result is nevertheless a reconfirmation that Indonesia – the world’s most populous Muslim nation – is susceptible to Islamic radicalization. Indeed [...]

What Happens When Mosques Give Wrong Direction of Mecca For Prayer?

yessir — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:12:52 +0000

Indonesian Muslims In Dilemma

Indonesian Muslims now have an unique problem. They have been faithfully praying in the wrong direction. Instead of facing Mecca, they are facing somewhere else. What happens now? Were their prayers heard by Allah? Do they need to knock down their mosques to build new ones with the correct alignment to Mecca?

MUI’s Mistake

Indonesian [...]

Smoking Fatwa – Minister To Muhammadiyah: “Act More Wisely”

yessir — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:52:29 +0000

Earlier this week, Indonesia’s second largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, issued a fatwa against smoking and it immediately ran into a flak of criticisms and protests. Now Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali has stepped into the fray, calling on Muhammadiyah not to cause “public restlessness” by acting “more wisely.”

Interestingly, both the Nahdlatul Ulama (Indonesia’s largest Muslim [...]

Indonesia – Controvesy Over Smoking Fatwa

yessir — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:19:12 +0000

Muhammadiyah, Indonesia’s second-largest Muslim organization, probably expected opposition from smokers and tobacco-related businesses when it issued a fatwa against smoking recently. It compared smoking to suicide which is forbidden in Islam. But now controversy and opposition surround that fatwa.

Opposition to the smoking fatwa came from Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, and the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI). [...]

Valentine’s Day Without The Roses

yessir — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 20:29:19 +0000

Think of Valentine’s Day and inevitably we conjure up an image of lovers eating a romantic candle lit dinner and red roses galore. Valentine’s Day falls on February 14 each year. Although it probably had its origin in a Roman Catholic religious context, like Christmas it has become commercialized to such an extent that the origin [...]

Malaysia – Judge Rules Allah Name Not Exclusive To Islam

yessir — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:48:56 +0000

The High Court in Malaysia has just ruled that a government ban on the Roman Catholic’s publication, The Herald, for using the word “Allah” is unconstitutional. Judge Lau Bee Lan said the Home Minister’s decision to ban The Herald is illegal, null and void. In effect the judge agreed with Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur Murphy Pakiam, [...]

Remembering The 2004 Asian Tsunami

yessir — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 20:58:03 +0000

Trust the Japanese to come up with the name “tsunami”. In Japanese, it means “harbor waves”. And that’s quite appropriate description indeed. Tsunami waves are caused by undersea tremblors or landslide. In the depths of the oceans, such tidal waves have relatively small wave heights. If you are sailing on the surface of the oceans you [...]

Indonesia – Revisiting Polygamy Club

yessir — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:18:28 +0000

It’s almost 2 months since Jakarta’s newest club – the Global Ikhlwan polygamy club was set up. Let’s revisit this polygamy club and see how they are doing.

First, the club is said to have its origin in Malaysia, and it has 1,000 members worldwide – including in places like Australia and the US. Since the Jakarta [...]

Manohara’s Mother A Fujitive

yessir — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:46:46 +0000

This story is not new, but since I am on a series about teenage Indonesian model Manohara Odelia Pinot who ran away from her Kelantan prince husband, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Sultan Ismail Petra, I might as well blog on it. It seems that Daisy Fajarina, the mother of Manohara Odelia Pinot, had a brush with the [...]