Muslim group urges religious crackdown

JAKARTA: A group of Muslim hardliners called on the House of Representatives on Wednesday to begin work on a bill that would limit the construction of other religions' places of worship.

The activists, from the Muslims Forum, said the regulation would serve to prevent unchecked proselytization by each of the religions in the country.

"The existing joint ministerial decree on the construction of places of worship is not enough. It must be turned into law," leader of the group and popular dangdut singer Rhoma Irama said during a meeting with House speaker Agung Laksono.

Rhoma claimed that even in Western countries, religious communities had to secure a permit from a particular neighborhood before building places of worship.

Many groups have said the joint decree issued in 1969 by the then minister of religious affairs Mohammad Dahlan and home affairs minister Amir Machmud, was against human rights and the principles of religious freedom. -- JP