Indonesian president says he believes in witchcraft

Vishal Arora
WASHINGTON, DC

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono may be the first Indonesian president to acknowledge publicly he believes in witchcraft. In a recently published memoir, he describes a “horror movie” style encounter with black magic at his residence.

“Suddenly, my wife screamed,” writes Yudhoyono in the 900-page book, “Selalu Ada Pilihan” (There is Always a Choice). “There was this thick dark cloud hovering beneath the ceiling, trying to enter my bedroom. I then asked everybody to pray to seek Allah’s help. I closed the door to my room but left others wide open. The revolving clouds eventually headed out of my house.”

Witchcraft is prohibited in Islam. However, the practice is widespread in Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population. A 2012 survey by the Pew Forum showed that 69 percent of Indonesian Muslims believe witchcraft is real.

“Many people in Indonesia, including its top leaders, turn to soothsayers to consult about their careers, fortunes and marriages,” said Endy Bayuni, senior editor at The Jakarta Post.

However, a president sharing this information publicly is unprecedented, Bayuni added. Yudhoyono’s second — and last — presidential term is ending this year.

Yudhoyono lives in his private residence, not at the 19th-century presidential palace in Jakarta, which is considered haunted, Bayuni said. Only two presidents, Sukarno from 1945-1965 and Abdurrahman Wahid from 1999-2001, made the palace their residence.

In September 2010, Yudhoyono skipped a meeting of the U.S. and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, partly because of “rumors of rampant witchcraft in the palace,” according to a WikiLeaks cable.

Yudhoyono believes in witchcraft, but perhaps only as a menace. His government last year proposed amendments to the 1918 Criminal Code, adding a clause that states using black magic to cause “someone’s illness, death, mental or physical suffering” is an offense with a punishment of up to five years in jail or 300 million rupiah ($25,000) in fines.

The Washington Post
January 22, 2014

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/indonesian-president-says-he-believes-in-witchcraft/2014/01/21/5f07fec4-82c3-11e3-a273-6ffd9cf9f4ba_story.html

http://www.republika.co.id/berita/nasional/politik/14/01/23/mzuc0a-kepercayaan-sby-pada-klenik-diungkap-di-harian-the-washington-post

http://www.republika.co.id/berita/nasional/umum/14/01/23/mzuaiw-sby-mengaku-ditawari-banyak-benda-keramat

Three men plead guilty to stealing money from donation boxes of 28 mosques in Brunei

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

THREE men have pleaded guilty to all 28 mosque theft charges before the High Court yesterday.

The defendants, Hj Jumat Hj Jaya, 39, Shari Jarudin, 45, and Mohammad Sedikan Bujang, 32, admitted to breaking into 15 mosques in the Brunei-Muara, Tutong and Belait districts, and stealing money from donation boxes.

The series of thefts were committed during the late hours between November 30, 2013 and January 9.

The court document stated that the trio stole from Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque in Kg Katimahar; Belimbing Mosque in Kg Subok; Kg Serdang Mosque; Pengiran Muda Abdul Mateen Mosque in Kg Mulaut.

Other mosques that were broken into were Pintu Malim Mosque; Tanah Jambu Mosque; Lumapas Mosque; Perpindahan Lambak Kanan Mosque; Pg Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’datul Bolkiah Mosque in Kg Sg Akar; RIPAS Mosque in Kg Rimba; Kg Kapok Kanan Mosque; and Beribi Mosque in Jalan Bunga Jasmin.

In the Tutong district, the defendants stole from Kg Bukit Udal Mosque and Hj Abdul Azim Mosque in Kg Luagan Dudok.

The defendants also committed theft at Zainab Mosque in Lumut on December 31, 2013.

Theft under Section 380 of the Penal Code is punishable with a jail term of five years, while causing damage to property is an offence which carries a seven-year imprisonment, and not less than two strokes of the cane.

For the offence of house-breaking with the intention to commit theft, the defendants could face up to 15 years in jail with whipping.

During the proceedings yesterday, the prosecution indicated that they will be preparing the statement of facts which will be read in open court on January 27, before the presiding High Court judge, Justice Dato Paduka Hairol Arni Hj Abdul Majid.

The trio has been ordered to be remanded at Jerudong Prison pending next week’s hearing of the case.

The Brunei Times
Thursday, 23 January 2014

http://www.bt.com.bn/news-national/2014/01/23/three-men-plead-guilty-stealing-mosques

The greatness of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

Hamza Yusuf is an American Islamic scholar, and (with Zaid Shakir and Hatem Bazian) is co-founder of Zaytuna College in Berkeley, California, United States. He is one of the leading proponents of classical learning in Islam and has promoted Islamic sciences and classical teaching methodologies throughout the world.

He is an advisor to Stanford University’s Program in Islamic Studies and the Center for Islamic Studies at Berkeley’s Graduate Theological Union. He also serves as a member of the board of advisors of George Russell’s One Nation, a national philanthropic initiative that promotes pluralism and inclusion in America. In addition, he serves as vice-president for the Global Center for Guidance and Renewal, which was founded and is currently presided over by Abdallah bin Bayyah, one of the top jurists and masters of Islamic sciences in the world.

He is a convert to Islam, and is one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding. The Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom reported that he “is arguably the west’s most influential Islamic scholar. — Wikipedia

HAMKA: Renown Indonesian Muslim scholar, novelist, philosopher and political activist.

Prof. Dr. Haji Abdul Malik Karim Amrullah or better known by the nickname Hamka, which stands for his name, born in Batang River, Tanjung Raya, Agam Regency, West Sumatra, Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) on February 17, 1908 and died in Jakarta, Indonesia on July 24, 1981 at the age of 73 years is a renowned Indonesian ulama, as well as a novelist, philosopher and political activist. — Wikipedia

Sjafruddin Prawiranegara: Forgotten Indonesian President

This video was made in the centennial commemoration of Mr. Sjafruddin Prawiranegara (1911-2011), a national icon who has served as President, but ‘forgotten’ in Indonesian history .

Sjafruddin Prawiranegara (born in Banten, February 28, 1911 and died in Jakarta, February 15, 1989) had led the Republic of Indonesia when it was located in Bukit Tinggi, West Sumatra.

This fact cannot be denied when Soekarno-Hatta on December 19, 1948, as a result of the Dutch Military Aggression II, issued a statement which ordered Mr. Sjafruddin who at the time served as Minister of Welfare to establish and all at once chaired the Pemerintah Darurat Republik Indonesia (Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PDRI/ Emergency Government).

But in its development, the name of Mr. Sjafruddin as if sank, and many people do not know him, neither personally or his gait as a statesman .

State positions he once held was Deputy Prime Minister of the Cabinet of Hatta, Minister of Finance, Minister of Welfare, the Minister of Defense, Minister of Information and Foreign Affairs, and of course the Prime Minister/Chairman of the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PDRI) which Bung Hatta called him as President of the Emergency State. (AM Fatwa in A Century of Mr. Sjafruddin Prawiranegara 1911-2011: A glance Notes)

http://www.hidayatullah.com/video/sjafruddin-prawiranegara-presiden-ri-yang-terlupakan.html