I remember the first time I went to Indonesia, back around 2005 or so, a work trip to the small island of Batam, a ferry ride from Singapore.<p>When Indonesian colleagues there met me for the first time, they would almost always ask what religion I practiced, in the same sort of casual way as people in the Western world might ask where you lived. I thought it was a bit weird!<p>Anyway, I'd always say "no religion", since I don't practice or believe in any gods, afterlife etc - but this was totally incomprehensible! Heads would tilt, and I'd get baffled looks like I was mad - "uh... no, but what god you you follow?". No matter how many times or ways I said it, they just didn't seem to believe me.<p>Someone later explained that in Indonesia you legally had to tell the government what religion you followed, and "none" was not an option.
> Indonesia has banned public schools from making religious attire compulsory, after the story of a Christian student being pressured to wear a headscarf in class went viral.<p>A small victory for liberty to offset the setback in Myanmar. The other ASEAN [1] countries have an opportunity to improve liberty as the rest of the world backslides into protectionism and authoritarianism.<p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASEAN" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASEAN</a>
It's a good ruling, but framing it as good news masks the fact that the law is only necessary because intolerance and religious coercion is growing at the social and local level. It was passed in direct response to a videotaped incident.
This is good news. Indonesia has been on a road to become quite intolerant of other religions over the past years with some very tragic outcomes like lynchings. I have little hope that this is a sign of that process slowing down or halting or even reversing, but a win is a win I guess.
The framing is odd though describing it as "forced" instead of simply the school's dress code. Especially when comparing it to a case in Britain a few weeks ago where a girl was threatened [1] with legal action because her skirt was 'too long'. Or how france forces girls to remove their hijabs [2]. One can always find rhetoric to justify one's decision, what I find odd tho is how a group of people will use words like "forced" in one case but will bend over backwards to justify the same forced rulings with more euphemistic language when it's in favor of their own worldview. You'll hear "it's just the law" kind of excuses, while not realizing that their own arguments could easily be used to justify the opposing case as well.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jan/12/school-threatens-legal-action-muslim-girl-siham-hamud-skirt-too-long" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jan/12/school-thr...</a><p>[2] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_scarf_controversy_in_France" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_scarf_controversy_in_F...</a>
Are we allowed to force kids to a curriculum? If you say "yes", then what is wrong with forcing kids to a dress code? Why is force ok in one sense and not in another?
I'd like to recommend this book: The Jakarta Method[0].<p>Essentially, the US aided in the dismantling of a free democratic society in favor of a coup and a military dictatorship. Examples of the same being done in other countries are also provided. This was in service of obtaining natural resources.<p>Disclaimer: It's politics are very left of center.<p>[0] <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Jakarta-Method-Washingtons-Anticommunist-Crusade/dp/1541742400/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1PLL9SMILHCXZ&dchild=1&keywords=jakarta+method&qid=1612655186&sprefix=jakarta+%2Caps%2C211&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Jakarta-Method-Washingtons-Anticommun...</a>
This has absolutely nothing to do with hacking and Indonesian school uniform regulations hardly count as "intellectually gratifying".<p>Even if I wanted to learn more about school uniforms in a country I've never been to, whose language and culture I know nothing about, why the hell would I read about it coming from the state media of a another country I've never been to, whose journalists also know nothing about the language, culture, and political situation there?