A Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace Inspired by the Bountiful Love of God

Rev. Dr. Henriette Hutabarat Lebang, a pastor of Toraja Church in Indonesia, is chair of the advisory board of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia and one of the presidents of the World Council of Churches, representing Asian churches. The following post is based on her remarks during the panel “Religious Perspectives on Religious Freedom and Peace” at the ICLRS 31st Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, 7 October 2024.

Can we experience religious freedom and peace in these challenging times of our modern age? This is the question that is often raised, especially in the midst of war, escalating conflicts, and violence in the world today. These conflicts are rampant, not only in the relationship between or among countries but also between different communities within one country, which, more often than not, are triggered by our failure to respect the pluralistic backgrounds of our people in the communities or regions in which we live.

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Indonesia’s Religious Freedom Landscape

Alwi Shihab is a senior fellow at the Leimena Institute and is the Indonesian president’s special envoy to the Middle East and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. The following post is based on his remarks during the panel “Understanding Religious Freedom: Why Does It Matter?” at the ICLRS 31st Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, 7 October 2024.

Religious freedom in Indonesia is a complex and nuanced issue. While Indonesia officially promotes religious diversity, and its constitution guarantees the right to worship, unfortunately, the reality on the ground is often more complicated.

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Sharia Court Adjudication: Gendered Perspective

Kyriaki Topidi is head of Cluster on Culture and Diversity/senior researcher at the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI, Germany).

Background: Application of Sharia in Greece

The intensified presence of Muslim groups in Western Europe resulting from recent migration has largely overshadowed reflection, in both political and research terms, on legal pluralist scenarios involving historical Muslim minorities in European countries. In Western Thrace, at the northeastern tip of Greece bordering Turkey, Muslim groups have enjoyed special legal status connected to the legacies of the Ottoman Empire, captured in the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne.[1] State-endorsed Muslim autonomy in Greece has entailed, in particular, government-appointed muftis with (until 2018 legislative amendments) compulsory jurisdiction in certain family matters.

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