A protester brings a poster during a rally in front of the US embassy in Jakarta on Friday, as they protest against Innocence of Muslims movie.

Dan Baer: Freedom of expression and freedom of religion are mutually reinforcing

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – The US Deputy Assistant Secretary from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Dan Baer, said that the government did not restrict offensive speech pertaining any religion. “There are some countries that do.  And one of the things that we’ve seen, not only do we think that that’s inconsistent with freedom of expression, but we’ve also...

Hindus perform their religious ritual in Bali. (illustration)

Sudiana: We build harmony among Hindus and Muslims

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DENPASAR – Bali has its own story about harmony among religious people. The Chairman of Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia (PHDI) of Bali, Prof I Gusti Ngurah Sudiana, said Balinese Hindu had the custom on bringing food in Eid al-Fitr for Muslim and Galungan for Hindu. The interfaith kinship is also seen on some temples in Bali. One of them is...