The Jakarta Globe reported that some 100 members of the hardline Islamic Defenders Front arrived at three foreign-run venues participating in Indonesia’s gay and lesbian film festival at mid-day on Tuesday to demand that the venues stop participating in the festival.
The report quoted Q! Film Festival director John Badalu who had confirmed the demonstrators had moved from the Centre Culturel Francais (France) to the GoetheHaus (Germany) and on to the Erasmus Huis (Holland), where films and other events are also expected to be take place. The group had also written to other venues including theatres, bars and galleries to protest their participation.
According to the Jakarta Post, Salim Alatas, chairman of the Jakarta chapter of FPI, said organisers of the festival have 24 hours to cancel the festival.
"We do not want this place to be set on fire because of the moral decadence," Salim was quoted by kompas.com as saying during the rally at the Goethe Institute on Jl. Sam Ratulangi in Menteng.
The Islamic Defenders Front or Front Pembela Islam (FPI) was also responsible for disrupting the ILGA ASIA conference in Surabaya and Human Rights training event at Depok near Jakarta earlier this year.
The FPI warned in a statement on its website that it was fighting to stop the campaign of "adultery, homosexuality and lesbianism in Indonesia" disguised as the gay and lesbian film festival. It added that they deemed the film festival to be a tool to convert Indonesian youth to become gay and lesbian.
It further said that should foreign venues and organisations parties continue to cooperate with liberal groups to make a mockery of the tenets of Islam, the defenders of Islam would have to do what they can to defend their morals and their country.
Organiers cannot be reached for their comment at press time but the official Twitter update at 4.40pm on Tuesday says the event tonight would go ahead as planned.
Meanwhile, Vivanews reported that the Jakarta Police said it would take stern measures against FPI's threat to burn and destroy the venues that are hosting the festival.
The Q! Film Festival, which kicked off last Friday, is expected to run till October 3 in Jakarta before travelling to Surabaya, Malang, Yogyakarta, Bali and Makassar (South Sulawesi) in October.
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So look for good in people but never in institutions.
& even more sadly, the goverment still wont do anything about FPI, eventhough it is widely known already for their aggressiveness of promoting Hatred & Violence, hiding behind Islam religion!!!
When will Indonesia move forward, instead of keep falling behind
:-(
Sounds like a direct threat to burn it down, police action please????
So they want to burn these cultural places down while burning the American flag coz some US Pastor with less than 100 followers threatens to burn the Koran. That is a lot of flames and incitement to hatred and all in the name of religion, sad so sad.
If it was not so serious I would have a good laugh at their costumes, just like that fake Mexican Wrestling movie with Jack Black – Nacho Libre. Except this is not amusing at all.
They are masked bullies just like the racists that persecuted blacks in America for the last hundred or so years.
Sadly they do not act according to Indonesia's multicultural philosophy. They just want everyone to be like them. Dull and boring with nothing to do but bully others!
7. 2010-09-24 10:24
I hope this film festival goes off without any disruptions or protests like we've seen in Indonesia before. I love that country, and its people, so it's encouraging to see this sort of progressivism!
Clearly that wish will remain only a wish.
Let's see... no bacon, no cocktails, can't even pet or cuddle a dog, and absolutely no gay sex. Why the hell would anyone sign up for such a religion?? :P
Stand strong, Indohomos. Don't let 100 KKK wannabes push you around.
7. 2010-09-24 10:24
I hope this film festival goes off without any disruptions or protests like we've seen in Indonesia before. I love that country, and its people, so it's encouraging to see this sort of progressivism!
Clearly that wish will remain only a wish.
Let's see... no bacon, no cocktails, can't even pet or cuddle a dog, and absolutely no gay sex. Why the hell would anyone sign up for such a religion?? :P
Stand strong, Indohomos. Don't let 100 KKK wannabes push you around.
Imagine conducting similar festival in the Vatican City ?? or at the foot of the Buddhist Lama temple? Or in the similar angle, eating cow meat in front of Hindus or Buddhists. Its just plainly offensive, as simple as that.
As gays, we should learn to be more sensitive of other people's cultures, habits and religions. Stop condemning others and learn our differences and many weaknesses. The more we push for what we call our 'human rights', the more aggressive reactions will we receive from people who belong to the 'straight/normal' group. What we perceive as our own rights are often viewed as social decadence in most societies. Remember, we are just a minority. Just learn to accept and live within our own limitations.
Recently, lots of western societies are pushing for gay rights to marriage and adopt children. Somehow, I dont see the logic of pushing for these rights. What do we expect the children that we adopt to be when they grow up? Another gay ? Or are we merely adopting children to pursue our own selfish interest to keep our gay relationship going strong. Same too for marriage.
After all my days and years as a gay, I just realise we are pushing too much for our own self interests often forsaking the interests of others. Isnt that what being gay all about ? Reflect.
It's just a lazy, lazy excuse to say: "Oh, this offends my religion..." and then try to ban or bully something. What, exactly, is so offensive about the relationship between two PEOPLE, whether they happen to be two men, two women, a man and a woman, or - well, after that, I run out of alternatives?
Am I missing something, or isn't that/this the whole point of homosexuality - how two people (who, generally, are of the same sex) connect to each other - and religion is entirely irrelevant to that connection? If you're gay And a Muslim - so what? Do Roman Catholics care what the Pope/Church says about them? Not a damn.
If you're an atheist - like Me - then no religion matters, and you can't do 'wrong' by acting in a way a religion would dislike. Equally so, if you Have a Faith - and some of my religious friends very much do - then God, by whatever name, knows you intimately and accepts you as you are, with sexuality being as important as whether you're left or right-handed, or what your favourite colour is, etc. As someone else said: "God can fight His own battles - He doesn't need a bunch of ants on some planet getting angry and vengeful on His behalf."
Now, if you had a bunch of militantly secular gays announcing that they were going to set fire to the Koran, and then piss all over it to put it out - THAT, I could find offensive. (Although, in many parts of the world, that is also their Right to do so - just as the could with a Bible etc.) But a film festival with gay characters or related content is not offensive - except, perhaps, for those wish only Their way, Their religion and Their outlook to be followed.
Aren't there more important things to worry about? Shouldn't we be getting Angry at children picking over rubbish dumps looking for food, or old people freezing to death in wrecked homes, etc? And people want to shout and wear masks over someone's sexuality, and how it 'affects' Their religion?! THIS is more important than the lives of others, and how - why - we should be making this a better world, instead of just getting Angry and pious?! Tuh.
Honestly. This ant says: I don't know why people are buying so much gold, when Common Sense is a much rarer commodity...
I am not xenophobic. Seems you dont know what that word means... It means you hate other races. I dont hate a race I hate a relgion. I especially hate one that preaches peace with one face and violence and biggotry out of the other. And i hate people who sit on the fence and whine that everyone should be more tolerant but when does tolerance become ignorance and enabling these people?
I once heard a poem/verse by Martin Nimo about the nazi's and people who thought the same way you do:
"They came first for the communists, and I did not speak up because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the jews and i didn't speak up because I wasn't a jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists and i didnt speak up because I wasnt a trade unionist.
Then they came for the catholics and I didnt speak up because I was a protestant.
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak up."
They always brings out the name of the GOD, but do they know what they are doing is against the GOD's will? Burning places, torturing people.
Sometimes they even fighting with their own religion. I really don't know how their minds works.
Every single things they are protesting. The clubs, the bar, the porns, everything.
They always acting as they are the 'police' of GOD.
I would really want to ask them, whether they watch porn and do casual sex ? do they have any gay member inside of the organization?
I live in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia and I really tired of hearing and sometimes sees what they are doing to the people.
To tell you the truth, my moslem friends also very tired and sick of what they are doing to this city and make it unsafe.
and probably in their mind, globalization is also taboo thing.
the govt. here tried to ban this organization, but i don't know what they are doing and it is still everywhere, protesting something that is really not important and there are some facts that i know about them and it really making me sick of these two faced people.
and I completely agree with those who commented before me.
: fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign but normally assigned to fear or hatred of a particular race.
If people want to put my words out of context and acuse me of being a racist thats fine. In some way everyone is a little racist. Islam is a religion SOME people pervert and pollute while EVERYONE else just sits back and lets them do it under the pretence of tolerance.
And as for odd78, let me state for everyone here.... i hate all religion, HATE ALL religion. As many of the most intellegent and remarkable figures in history have said over and over again:
"This would be the best of worlds without religion in it."
There have been more wars in the name of god than any other single figure.
And again, you have no right to speak to me about religion, hatred and acusations of 'Xenophobia'. I am fine with them believing what they believe and I am fine with them being who they are. What I am NOT fine with is the way they constantly, CONSTANTLY bully others to get their way. And if you are willing to allow that than you are no better than them. Call me a biggot if it makes you feel good about your shallow self but I suggest you first look in the mirror before giving me half truths and facts you probably read somewhere. Did you know Islamic people killed Theo van goh for simply making a low budget film about women and domestic violence. You want me to stand here and put my hand on my heart and say "Its ok to kill somone just because they dissagree with your view"
Tolerence works both ways so I suggest you know what you are talking about before opening your mouth.
Come talk to me when YOU have religious symbols forceably carved into your skin to make you "repent" and we'll see how religious you want to be. Until than, feel free to have an opinon in general but in relation to myself - shut your mouth before you put the other foot in.
We have gays in the community and we have Muslims in the community and gays don't go to mosques and protest, so Muslims don't have the right to go and protest about other groups of people doing their own quiet, personal things. Thanks to Mohammed that their are more gays in Indonesia than members in the Islamic Defenders Front!!
ya other religions may feel offended by certain issues but never act like terrorist to kill or burn.
Another case, news said most US not happy abt a mosque being buildup near ground zero, then y certain muslim in US insist want to build? Muslim always want others to suit them.
They are a bunch of inspiring people as i wrote on my blog (http://orgasmingorganism.blogspot.com .... unfortunately, the blog is written in Indonesia language...).
Q! Film Festival itself was already held for 9 times including this year. It's definitely not a bad idea as mentioned by ShawS. As part of the cultures itself, gay people in Indonesia have rights to live, to express, to be happy, just like the other str8 brother.
It's very pity in such country - my country, ironically - that with motto of "unity in diversity", some extremist are playing God, and destroying other people rights.
Good thing, friends in Q! Film Festival said that the show must go on. They are not afraid. They stand strong.
This may be a small step, but small step is what it take for a big leap.
I remember that in the opening ceremony of Q! Film festival couple days ago, I asked the founder, John Badalu, "How many audiences are the target for this year festival?"
He said, "It's not about how many audiences. I don't put target for my fellows. It's more about how many people are inspired after leaving the cinema...."
I was speechless.
Assuming you can read, you would notice I did not swear in any of my entries. I also did not accuse anyone of anyting. I stated a fact. The fact that letting this group get away with what they are doing and than to justify turning a blind eye under the guise of 'tolerance' makes someone no better than them. This is a fact.
If you saw a man raping a women and than, instead of helping her you simply walked away because its not your place to speak up, because you want to show the rapist tolerance.... than you are no better than the rapist.
Lastly, your pathetic attempt to insult me is disgustingly transparent and someone like you is in no position to try talk down to me. Insult me again and I will take it up with the moderators of this site. As I said, feel free to dissagree with my opinon on THIS TOPIC but you dont know me so dont try make your pathetic, emotionally stunted and poorly learned self look taller by trying to talk down to others.
P.S.
Anyone else thinking of leaving me a reply, dont bother. because 1) I dont care - and 2) I REALLY dont care.
I have lived in Muslim and Islamic nations over the years and the way men treat women, as 2nd class citizens, but yet will sleep with their fellow man, just confirms the stupidity behind these zealots.
you need to add more information about this islamic community.
they also mention during the demonstration, "they dare to kill anyone who ever coming or running the event, in the name of ALLAH" its everywhere in the media.
a few weeks ago, they tried to close one church that has been there for years. the media brought the news, laughed at those caveman and they were unhappy, and those islamic community stab 2 christian people, 1 of them is the priest. and believe me, none is in jail till today.
a few months ago, they demonstrate the screening of 2012 movie. they also tried to ban hair treatment, reflexology, simply because its a good to be massage.
but they dont ban dangdut their music with their sexy dancers.
Who are they? where is the president? where is the police? none seems bother with this kind of organization.
but, if the president want to disban them all, its simple, just tell them to off they will. but may be our president is too busy with corruption, and forgot with human rights.
this islamic community, dares to kill, dares to burn, they have their law in their hand, qur'an. they have islamic law in their hand, and whoever who arent agree with them, its their right to kill and burn.
thats what they says.
I saw Q-Festival in Riau, Bali and Batam few years back. Got no problem, people there dont even care and some officials came to see it. So please understand Jakarta issues is not an Indonesia's problem.
Not like my country.
I believe Indonesian doesn't rob dead body someone too or force someone to be muslim in marriage.
Of all the bad mouthing on Indonesia and Muslim countries, you will be surprised that the majority of the people living in these countries are relatively more tolerant to gays and lesbians. It has been in the age old culture of the Malays and Indonesians to consider gays/transvestites as part and fabric of society although their existence are not officially recognised, they have lived peacefully alongside straight communities. But instead we prefer to condemn such societies when such news came out. What a big shame to us gays. We ought to see things in a rationale fashion rather than making outright condemnation whenever 'gay related' events are cancelled.
Similar things can happen in China, in Singapore or in the Philippines. Different people have different agendas to oppose certain events.
Are you suggesting that the Indonesian gay film festival be held in another country? What's the point of that?
and many of them, owns the media, big restaurants, fashion houses, and even franchisee for branded luxury goods. not counted, many international designers from indonesia as well.
if you never been to jakarta, you wont know how high is the life style in here. dont think, just because its 80%muslim population, we're sick and poor. you can find one of the most rare car in the world is in Jakarta.
the Q film festival has been running for years, and none destructing it, but around this 3 years, ever since the muslim this and that organization is there, they always try to sucking everything.
What I am trying to say is that having such a film festival is not a good idea in a dominant muslim society like Indonesia, thats all. And the fact this is one of the biggest gay/lesbian festival in Asia. Isnt it an irony ? The biggest gay/lesbian event in the world's largest muslim country. Greatest joke of all times.
And set aside your comments that gays own rich establishments or franchises...these have no merits or relation to this article. Materialistic wealth should not decide lifestyle or political decisions in any country.
Religion is the opium of the masses, indeed. But Islam deserves an appellation all of its own. Islam is a morbid gangrene gnawing away at society. Just what sort of brainwashing is needed to get people to buy into this appalling excuse for a religion, is beyond my comprehension. Muppets.
For your information, being gay and eating beef is not a "sin" in Buddhist.
A gay film festival in Indonesia is not a bad idea at all. Just because the majority of its 230 million citizens profess some degree of Islam is meaningless. No rights were ever bestowed on any group of people because they took the easy, comfortable way out. I applaud the organizers of this festival. LOUDLY. To suggest that they should go to where it's more socially acceptable to have gay films just for the sake of ease and acceptance... that's not going to help gays gain any rights at all, is it?
It's like saying, "Oh, having a Qur'an study session in the US is a really bad idea because there are so many people there professing Christianity." Then you get a small band of nutjobs in Florida threatening to burn the Qur'an and similarly, you get a small band of nutjobs in Indonesian threatening to protest and cause problems for a gay film festival.
In both instances, people of conscience stand up to these ignorant thugs, they don't back down!
Good Americans came out in DROVES to condemn the planned burning of the Qur'an. They weren't Muslim apologists, they certainly weren't Muslim, they just knew it was wrong. I would wager that there are plenty of Indonesians who, although they wouldn't ever attend a gay film festival themselves, would be against this small group who are trying to shut it down.
no, xenophobia means the fear of foreigners or 'strangers, especially when it comes to race, but the word can refer to the fear of different religions as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophobia
I wasn't saying that you are xenophonic, but saying something like "stay the hell out of our country thanks." sounds rather xenophobic, no?
Also, I wasn't telling you how to think, but again, obviously saying xenophobic remarks and generalisations don't help the situation.
Also, I am well aware of the poem (by the way its actually written by Pastor Martin Niemöller). I'm not quite sure what the correlation to the poem you are trying to make. Is it that Muslims are like Nazis? Or is that people who have tolerance towards Muslims are like Martin Niemoller?
You speak how you"hate of people who sit on the fence and whine that everyone should be more tolerant..."
So are you saying that you hate people who are tolerant?
Secondly, tolerance doesn't mean "ignorance and enabling these people." It seems that you have an 'us vs them' attitude and if that is the case, I'd like to point out that there are many gay Muslims who practice their religion and have no problem with their sexuality. My former boss is one of them.
As a gay person I am protesting Islamaphobia, not because I am religious or because I am Muslim, but because I believe that the generalisation of a group of people is not tolerance. I also believe that generalising all muslims into a catagory of 'backward, homophobic, barbarian people' hurts the cause and the brilliant work that many Muslim Gays, Bisexuals, Transgenders and Lesbians have done thus far in promoting tolerance in both the Muslim and Western World. As Judith Butler said in her speech when she refused the Civil Courage Prize in Berlin:
"We all have noticed that gay, bisexual, lesbian, trans and queer people can be instrumentalized by those who want to wage wars, i.e. cultural wars against migrants by means of forced islamophobia and military wars against Iraq and Afghanistan. In these times and by these means, we are recruited for nationalism and militarism. Currently, many European governments claim that our gay, lesbian, queer rights must be protected and we are made to believe that the new hatred of immigrants is necessary to protect us. Therefore we must say no to such a deal. To be able to say no under these circumstances is what I call courage. But who says no? And who experiences this racism? Who are the queers who really fight against such politics?"
The rest of her speech can be found at this link
http://www.egs.edu/faculty/judith-butler/articles/i-must-distance-myself/
and a video of her speech can be found on youtube.
I understand where you anger towards religious zealousness comes from. My father is a Conservative American Prostestant reverend and I grew up with the whole 'fire and brimstone' environment.
I'm sorry that you were a victim of a hate crime, but with all due respect, that doesn't give you the right to generalise that all religious people are going to act in the same fashion and no emotive poem of Nazis will lend credibility to that.
You wrote 'when does tolerance become ignorance and enabling these people?"
As someone who generalises all of Islam as "not mean[ing] peace... It means small minded closet gay men with homoboic complex's circle jerking and getting off on being bullies" shouldn't you ask yourself that?
as an atheist, I don't even hate religions — I just think they are Man's worst invention to inflict suffering and misery upon himself. And I feel sorry for all those who still chain themselves up willingly.
————————————
Now on the issue of a gay festival in Jakarta, I would say that no one is forced to attend it, right ?
And concerning Islamisc extremists, who allegedly ARE a very small minority... Why don't other Muslims get up and voice their disapproval instead of just sitting quiet and letting things happen that bring disrepute and hatred against their "religion of tolerance and understanding bla bla bla..." ?
not only is your country (and, by and large, all western countries) much less religious than they used to be — they also consider that TOLERANCE is one of the hallmarks of their democratic system, which took hundreds of years to establish itself and is probably one of the most unstable of all political systems, requiring day-to-day fine tuning & adjustment.
Therefore don't be surprised that things can happen in our part of the world but are impossible in other parts...
If every muslim were to raise up and protest over the Islamic Defenders Movement, this will create a no end to tension in Indonesia. Already we have enough problems of Christian priests trying to convert muslims in poor Indonesian villages with an exchange of food and assistance. And this doesnt work well even creating tensions among religious groups in Indonesia.
As such, the best policy is the policy of non interference. Let those who have their specific agendas protest for that agenda as long as they dont make violence or attack the venues. And we have no right to criticise a group for their agendas. When we (gays) ourselves too have our own agendas for organising such events in muslim soil.
Religion is still useful to bind societies on moral grounds. Without religion i can bet humans will be degraded down in morals equivalent to beasts. Have you not known that the current system of administration, charities, hospitals, ethics, cultures are all built around a religious foundation ? It is naive to claim that being non religious will bring the world peace when so much wars in past history were caused by barbarism (PAGANS) like the Mongols who were mostly atheists, Anglo Saxons (pagans) etc needless for me to mention the whole list. And needless for me to mention these pagans' belief in withcraft, adultery, satanism, torture and sacrifices.
Other than the Romans, religions like Christianity and Islam also brought itself a new civilization to the world together with the advent of Science, Law, Mathematics,Hospitals, Aroma (Fragrances) and perhaps about everything that there is. Just read your history books. Dont forget the perfume and cosmetics that you wear, the carpet on your floor, mathematics, liquor (surprisingly), coffee (Kaffe), cheese as well as the hygiene principles are contributions from the Muslim civilization of which the Crusaders (Christians) brought back to Europe in the 15th century without which we could still be living in the Bronze Age.
I guess ignorance itself is the cause of all evils.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inventions_in_medieval_Islam
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