Indonesian yoga teachers disputed on Monday that the practice was damaging for Muslims after the country’s top Islamic body issued a fatwa banning followers from yoga that includes chanting, mantras or mediation. The weekend meeting of Indonesia’s Ulema Council, known as MUI, had discussed whether Muslims should avoid yoga because of a view it uses Hindu prayers that could erode Muslims’ faith. MUI issued a fatwa, but stopped short of a full ban and said Muslims could practice it as long as it was only for physical exercise. “To me, yoga is not something that can be regulated by clerics. It’s up to the individual how they practise it,” said Pujiastuti Sindhu, a Muslim and the owner of the Yoga Leaf Studio in Bandung, south of the capital Jakarta. “The clerics are afraid that people who practice yoga are worshipping another god but we are not. It’s only because they don’t understand what yoga is and they feel it’s a threat. They should go to yoga class and try it,” she said, adding that the purpose of chanting mantras was not to pray but to focus thoughts and had no relationship with worshipping. (January 27th 2009, Reuters)
Indonesia Issues Fatwa against Smoking
The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has issued an edict forbidding children, pregnant women and MUI members from smoking. The edict, which was issued in a meeting here last Sunday, also bans smoking in public places. Antara News Agency quoted the council’s Edict Commission chairman Amin Suma in West Sumatera Monday as saying that MUI decided in the meeting that smoking for Muslims was between haram (forbidden) and makruh (objectionable). He said that MUI would later formulate the form of sanctions against council members who smoked. Suma said that the MUI meeting agreed on two rulings, namely one which banned smoking for children, pregnant women, in public places and MUI members, and the other which states that smoking was between haram and makhruh. He said the adoption of the edict was based on the emergence of differences in opinions on whether smoking for Muslims was allowed or forbidden. (January 27th 2009, Indonesia News.Net)
Indonesian Buddhists want Buddha Bar Closed
Indonesian Buddhists on Thursday urged authorities in Jakarta to close a newly opened Buddha Bar restaurant, saying the name was sacrilegious. Buddhists in the North Sumatran city of Medan met on Thursday to discuss the presence of the Buddha Bar, the hip Paris-based franchise of restaurants. ‘We urge the Jakarta administration to take strong action against the use of the name Buddha to avoid angering Buddhists,’ Brilian Moktar, head of the Buddhist association in Medan said. Parlindungan Purba, a member of the Regional Representatives Council, said he would convey the Buddhist community’s objection to the Jakarta administration. ‘I’m concerned about this. Names related to religion must not be used for purposes other than religious,’ he said. Jakarta became the first South-east Asian city to have the Buddha Bar in December, joining major international cities like London, New York and Dubai. (January 22nd 2009, Monster and Critics)
Human Head in a Box Mystifies Authorities
A human skull found in a parcel by authorities when they X rayed the packet at the Ngurah Rai Post Office on January 28th continues to mystify authorities. A spokesman from the Sanglah forensic department said that it appeared that the skull was not a fossil, or intended for medical science or study, but appeared to be part of some sort of ritual as the skull had some kind markings etched into the bones. An attempt to trace the sender of the parcel failed as the documented address was found to be false information. (January 30th 2009, Denpost)
Indonesian Open Golf Tournament 2009 to be Held in Bali
The Indonesian Open Golf Tournament (TGIT) is to be held in its resort island of Bali from Feb. 26 to March 1, chairman of Indonesian Golf Association (PGI) Nyoman Djintji said. The TGIT would invite international golfers from Asia and Europe to play in the tournament, Antara news agency on Saturday (31/1) quoted Djintji as saying. Djintji said in Bali on Friday that this year’s event was expected to make Bali an international tourist destination for golfers from around the world. (January 31st 2009, Xinhua)
Indonesian Hard-line Muslims Stage Obama Protest
About 100 Indonesians from a hard-line Muslim group rallied outside the U.S. embassy in Jakarta on Friday (30/1), some criticizing U.S. President Barack Obama over suspected U.S. missile strikes in Pakistan. “Obama has promised maintaining a mutual respect with the Muslim world but the position that the U.S. shows when it attacks Pakistan and Afghanistan means it has not changed,” said Heru Binawan, head of the Jakarta branch of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia. While there is a radical fringe, most Indonesian Muslims follow a moderate form of Islam. There is also a lot of pride in Indonesia over the four years Obama spent in Jakarta as child. The suspected U.S. missiles were fired into Pakistan last week, killing at least 14 people. It was the first strike since Obama took office. Some of the protesters from the Muslim group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia also held banners saying “Obama is similar to Bush”. Indonesia has been a key ally in the U.S.-led “war on terror” and looks to America for trade and investment. But many of President George W. Bush’s policies, especially in the Middle East, have been unpopular in the predominantly Muslim nation. (January 30th 2009, Reuters)
Denpasar Police Crack Down on Shirtless Motorcyclists
As well as issuing tickets to motorcyclists lacking driver’s licenses, vehicle title and helmets, NusaBali reports that Denpasar’s traffic police will soon also be taking actions against drivers, presumably male, cruising Bali’s roads bare-chested. Declared “Operation Sympathetic” and focused primarily on the streets of Kuta, a police official confirmed that special attention would be given to foreign male tourists driving motorcycles while not wearing a shirt. Insisting that Bali’s streets and highways were in great need of a “standard of ethics and normative behavior” for motorists, the police spokesman also said a failure to wear a shirt can result in greater injuries when cyclist fall and make contact with asphalt road surfaces. During the first several days of the “wear a shirt” operation, police were presenting t-shirts as gifts to those caught in the operation. (January 31st 2009, http://www.balidiscovery.com)
Indonesian Hardliners Seek to Ban Rotary, Lions clubs
Indonesian hardliners have called for a ban on international organizations the Rotary Club and the Lions Club, saying they are part of a Zionist conspiracy, reports said Monday (2/2). The People’s Ulema Forum (FUU) said the clubs were “infidel” fronts for Freemasonry and the world Zionist movement and threatened Islam in the country. “They gather funds and give them to America and the Israeli Zionists,” FUU chairman Atian Ali Mohammad Da’i was quoted as saying in The Jakarta Globe daily. “We urge all Muslims to renounce membership in the Rotary Club and the Lions Club. Otherwise they can consider themselves infidels.” He called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to ban the groups. Indonesian Muslims are overwhelmingly moderate but a vocal hard-line fringe regularly succeeds in influencing policymakers despite opposition from secularists, civil society groups and religious minorities. The FUU is an ultra-conservative group that has used force to stop Christian services and in 2002 issued a death fatwa (Islamic ruling) against a Muslim scholar who had criticized conservative Islam, the Globe reported. Raja Juli Antony of the Maarif Institue, a moderate Islamic group, told The Jakarta Post there was no evidence that the Lions or Rotary clubs posed a threat to Islam. He said they had made positive contributions to Indonesia’s development through their charity works. A senior member of the Indonesia Ulema Council said it was not considering a ruling against the Lions or Rotary clubs. The public service clubs were banned in Indonesia in 1962 for nationalist reasons but were allowed to reopen in 2000. (February 3rd 2009, AFP)
Eight Pilot Whales Beached at Serangan Mangroves
Eight short finned pilot whales have beached themselves in the mangrove swamps of Serangan beach on Monday (2/2). According to a spokesman for the Nature Conservatory Association Mr. Made Adnyana, this is the most whales that have beached themselves simultaneously in recent years. The whales had become entangled in mangrove bushes five hundred meters from shore at low tide and had little chance to free themselves. No attempt was made to rescue the whales as they were already dead when found by authorities. (February 4th 2009, Radar Bali)
First Holiday Inn Resort in Indonesia to Open in Bali
Bali will become the first location in Indonesia to have a Holiday Inn resort. The beachfront Holiday Inn Resort Baruna Bali in Tuban is named after Baruna, the Balinese God of the Ocean. Located on three hectares of beautifully terraced tropical gardens and set to open in March, this contemporary, Balinese-inspired resort features 195 guest rooms and suites along a perfect stretch of white sandy beach. General Manager Stéphane Varoquier has spent the last nine years as IHG Regional Director, Hotel Finance & Business Support, Southern Asia & Korea. His team includes Fiona Redman, Executive Assistant Manager (EAM) for Food and Beverage and Mayoshi Diah, Director of Sales and Marketing who was previously working at InterContinental Jakarta MidPlaza for eight years and was holding title of Director of Sales for three years. The opening of Holiday Inn Resort Baruna Bali signifies IHG’s (InterContinental Hotels Group)’s commitment to growing its brands in Indonesia. IHG has five other properties in Indonesia - InterContinental Jakarta Midplaza, Inter Continental Bali Resort, Crowne Plaza Jakarta, Holiday Inn Bandung and Holiday Inn Batam. (January 28th 2009, hospitality.net)
Rabies Outbreak Now Linked to 6-7 Fatalities in Bali
Rabies is suspected in yet another death in Bali’s at Sanglah General Hospital. Officials report that a 45-year-old woman, Ni Made Ruken, died on Wednesday, January 28, 2009. The woman, reportedly bitten by a dog that entered her home 3 months ago, was admitted to the isolation unit of the hospital shortly after midnight on Wednesday complaining of breathing difficulties and displaying clinical symptoms consistent with a rabies diagnosis. The woman died some 12 hours later. The specially trained “rabies team” of physicians working at the Sanglah hospital cautioned that a definite linkage of the woman’s death to the current rabies outbreak can only be confirmed after the results of laboratory tests are received. To date, 6-7 deaths have been linked to the rabies outbreak prompting the massive inoculation program now underway in Bali. On Wednesday, January 28, 2009 officials at the Gilimanuk Sea-Port in Northwest Bali seized and euthanized 17 pedigree puppies discovered on board a local tourist bus. The animals were part of a group of 19 dogs hidden away on the bus in plastic containers. Two of the dogs had already died of heat exhaustion. The remaining dogs were destroyed by officials shortly after their confiscation who injected the animals with strychnine.On Monday, January 26, 2009, officials at the Gilimanuk Port managed to thwart the illegal entry of another 20 pedigree dogs hidden in baskets on a Bali-bound tourist bus. According to the Jakarta Post, Bali Animal Husbandry officials are requesting 50,000 additional doses of rabies vaccines from the Health Ministry in Jakarta to allow mass inoculation of Bali’s dog population to continue. To date an estimated 35,184 dogs have been given the vaccine. Animal Health officials indicate that for dogs to obtain a complete immunity from rabies a series of three inoculations are required over the course of one-year. (February 2nd 2009, http://www.balidiscovery.com)
