SMH: JAKARTA: Indonesia’s national police are considering banning a performance next month by pop diva Lady Gaga amid threats of violence by Islamic extremists.
It follows an attack by religious hardliners on lesbian Muslim author Irshad Manji prompted deep soul searching in a country regarded as the Islamic world’s most moderate.
The threats and attacks are part of a trend in Indonesia for extremists to bully and intimidate anyone who does not subscribe to their hard line doctrine. Police rarely act against them. A book launch by Ms Manji, a Canadian author and Islamic reformist, was stopped by police in Jakarta this month for security reasons, and then, last Wednesday, in the university town of Yogyakarta, thugs violently broke up a discussion and attacked its 150 participants.
Ms Manji’s associate, Emily Rees, was bashed with an iron bar by men wearing motorcycle helmets and masks. She was among three women hospitalised.
Ms Manji was discussing her latest book, Allah, Liberty and Love, which urges reformist Muslims to show ”moral courage” in the face of intimidation. She said she was shielded from the attackers by ”a pyramid of women”.
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