From The Far Eastern Economic Review
Indonesia 's constitutional guarantee of religious freedom is coming under fire from a growing number of the country's autonomous provincial and district governments. Christian leaders recently met with Yusuf Kalla, the coordinating minister for social affairs, to complain about attempts by some local governments to skirt around the constitution and implement Islamic law, or sharia. Kalla comes from South Sulawesi, where the sharia movement seems to have the strongest hold. But other local governments giving it serious thought include the neighbouring districts of Garut and Tasikmalaya in West Java province, Banten province, West Sumatra and Central Kalimantan. The troubled northern Sumatran province of Aceh, where 17 churches have been closed in recent months, is the only place where the government legally permits sharia law. But it might be difficult preventing other provinces from following suit, even though they are not authorized to interpret the constitution.