The question is as old as the nation: What role is Islam supposed to play in society and, more importantly, in governing Muslim Indonesia. While having a paramount Muslim majority, the country is, after all, a multi-cultural and multi-religious country. Its Muslim majority traditionally embraces values of tolerance and understanding towards those who practice another faith.The authors of Indonesia’s constitution saw this as a constitutive principle of the Indonesian society as well as a prerequisite for the unity of the nation. They intended to protect the legitimate interests of all faiths through article 29 of the constitution which stipulates that “the state guarantees the freedom of all residents to embrace their own religion and to worship according to the own religion and beliefs”.
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