Talking Indonesia Podcast: Regulating Islamic Preachers

Image via Indonesia at Melbourne

Growing religious conservatism in Indonesia has turned some Islamic preachers into minor celebrities and influential political power-brokers. The government has expressed concern about these developments, especially after conservative preachers took leading roles in the protests against former Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama in late 2016 and early 2017.

 Are these concerns warranted? What role do preachers actually play in local communities? And how realistic are proposals to regulate preaching in Indonesia? In today’s podcast, Dr Dirk Tomsa discusses these and other questions with Professor Julian Millie, an anthropologist and Professor of Indonesian Studies at Monash University in Melbourne.

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