When Dani bin Misra was released from prison last week after serving just three months for smashing in the skull of a member of a Muslim sect, (the conservative Indonesian town of Cikeusik) let out a triumphant cry. (Niniek Karmini, Associated Press/Inquirer News)

“He’s a hero!” Rasna bin Wildan said of the teenage killer.

The ferociousness of the attack, captured on video and circulated widely on the Internet, guaranteed no one from the Ahmadiyah group would dare set foot in Cikeusik again, the 38-year-old farmer said as others nodded in agreement.

Their reaction is part of a wider wave of intolerance against religious minorities that is challenging Indonesia’s image as a beacon of how Islam and liberalism can coexist.

Once the preserve of hard-line preachers, the hatred of Ahmadis now seems to be spreading among ordinary people in pockets of the world’s most populous Muslim nation. Whether the government can check this and other intolerance could be key to how Indonesia, home to 240 million people and one of the world’s fastest growing economies, evolves in the 21st century.

There are reasons to worry, analysts say.

FULL STORY

No shame for religious killings in Indonesian town (Inquirer News/AP)

RELATED COVERAGE

Accepting Others Is Indonesia’s Homework (The Jakarta Globe)

PHOTO CREDIT

Rudy Herman on Flickr

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