Word: indonesia
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...called B99 biodiesel, or fuel derived 99% from plants. The U.S. government subsidizes such exports to the tune of up to $300 a ton. Yet in some cases, the bulk of the fuel doesn't even stem from U.S. inputs, but is cheaply imported from countries like Indonesia or Malaysia...
...Indonesia's government is caught between its constitutional obligation to protect religious freedom, and the demands of hardline Muslim clerics for the banning of the Ahmadiyah sect. An alliance, including the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), demanded on Tuesday that the government outlaw the Ahmadiyahs, warning that any delay would result in conflict. While falling short of calling for attacks on the group's mosques or followers - many of whom are now in hiding - the clerics threatened to enlist the help of other Muslim countries to pressure Jakarta into issuing an official decree forbidding Ahmadiyah followers from calling themselves Muslims. "They...
...last prophet, and that the sect's founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was the Mahdi or Messiah. The sect is banned in Pakistan, although it has coexisted peacefully with Indonesian Muslims since being established in the country in 1925. The group is estimated to have around 200,000 adherents in Indonesia today...
...Indonesian officials had been expected to issue an official ban this week, but delayed the announcement pending further study. Civil liberties groups argue that the Ahmadiyah are protected under Indonesia's Constitution, which guarantees the right to religious freedom. "The case should be taken to the Constitutional Court because any ban would violate their right to practice their religious beliefs," proposed Hendardi, a lawyer and head of the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace. "It also reflects decreasing religious tolerance in society worsened by the government's interference in people's private lives...
...With Indonesia due to vote in new elections in 2009, most political parties are reluctant to take any steps that would hinder their efforts to court the all-important Islamic vote. And the government hopes to avoid another hot-button issue in a time of rising food and fuel prices. Those factors weigh against the political establishment standing up to pressure from religious bodies to act against the Ahmadiyah, even if Indonesia's tradition of religious pluralism is at stake...