The Jakarta Post
A joint congress of Muslim organizations demanded the Bekasi regency and municipality administrations immediately implement Islamic sharia law to deter the growth of Christianity in the area.“We will urge the [Bekasi] regency and municipal administrations to pass more sharia-based bylaws and regulations to limit apostasy and squeeze out attempts to weaken Muslim unity in the city,” Sulaiman Zachawerus, the chairman of the Bekasi branch of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), said Sunday at the conclusion of a congress of more than 500 participants at Al Azhar mosque. Apart from hard-line Muslim groups in the area, the congress, which was held on the past two Sundays, was also attended by local branches of two mainstream Muslim organizations, Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama. “[Christians] have gone too far,” Abdul Rouf, the head of the Bekasi branch of Muhammadiyah, said.The...