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In reply to the discussion: Slain policeman’s family warns against confusing extremists with Muslims [View all]Violet_Crumble
(36,379 posts)You also have religious extremists trying to fuck things up.
Some facts, that I'm positive you'll ignore. Indonesia made the transition from an authoritarian regime to democracy back in 1998. Prior to that, Islamist parties were banned from participating in politics. After the transition to democracy they were allowed to, but have always fared poorly in the general elections. All three general elections since the transition have been won by secular parties and there's no sign of that changing.
Indonesia's generally a stable but young democracy. It has challenges like those from extremists, an economy that's not exactly a powerhouse, and corruption. But it's issues haven't been, and aren't now that it's some Muslim state with religious law. Its issue was pretty much the same as the US and other countries - wanting to control territory that doesn't belong to it (East Timor and West Papua). It finally gave up on East Timor which finally gained independence, but still occupies West Papua. So there's plenty of criticism to be aimed at Indonesia without having to make up some bullshit about it being some Muslim theocracy...