Last week there was a heavy police presence around churches, at the bishop's palace and Sunday Masses.

Both uniformed and plain-clothed officers armed with machine guns were in evidence

"I got an order from my commander in relation to a terrorist threat, so I went to Dili's Cathedral and some other churches in Dili to observe the situation surrounding Bishop Dili's residence," Dili's deputy police commander Euclides Belo said.

"I have told the security members to inform the National Police immediately if they see strange people near the bishop's residence," he said.

The concern about a terrorist attack emerged ahead of the dismissal by the country's top court of a petition by Fretilin, the political party which lost power in the May 12 general election, to have the votes in four districts recounted.

This has paved the way for the court to officially declare the result that saw the Alliance of Change and Progress (AMP), led by the revolutionary hero, Xanana Gusmão, win a majority with 34 seats in the 65 seat legislature allowing it to govern in its own right.

The election result remains unofficial until it is published in the country's national gazette, the Jornal da República and, once it is, parliament has 15 days to have its first sitting.

National TV network TVTL has announced that the sitting will take place on 12 June.

Gusmão is a former president and prime minister of Timor Lesté .

AMP, a coalition made up of three parties, has yet to reveal who will lead the country once the court signs off on the result, but sources close to three party group have indicated that Gusmao will serve a third term as prime minister.

Source

• ucanews.com
• sea-globe.com
• Source: José Fernando Real

It was launched by the Prelature of St. Mary in Marawi City on the 100th day of the Marawi conflict, even as families awaited word on the fate of some 40 hostages, including the prelature's vicar-general, Father Teresito Soganub.

Towns around the main war zones remain dangerous, but more than a hundred Christian and Muslim volunteers showed up for the first phase of the aid and rehabilitation programme, a partnership between the prelature and Redemptorist missionaries.

"We couldn't wait for the Maute group to be defeated before beginning the process of healing peoples and communities; bridging the gaps, sharing our dreams and reconstructing our lives," Marawi Bishop Edwin dela Pena said.

"Duyog" is a Visayan term for accompaniment, often understood as the act of playing a musical instrument for songs and dances and the basis for choral harmonies.

The Duyog Marawai Facebook page speaks about their hope:

"... the people will look at this experience of losing everything as an opportunity to start anew and build Marawi City to become a model community of sustainable collaboration among Maranaos of all classes and clans and peaceful co-existence between Muslims and Christians.

"We are given that rare opportunity to prove to the world that it is possible - difficult, arduous, and exhausting maybe, but possible!

"And we will document it at every step of the way and tell that story to the rest of the world especially to the Christians."

Duyog Marawi will focus on health and wellness, healing and reconciliation, communication and protection of vulnerable sectors.

The programme will involve ulamas (Islamic scholars) and imams (religious leaders) in line with the thrust of the Catholic Church to promote interreligious dialogue, said dela Pena.

"We heard a different mission calling us to definitive action — to ensure that people's faith and culture are paid attention to and factored into the rebuilding process of Marawi and to ascertain that people's rights are protected and upheld.

"We are conscious that the mission of rebuilding the city belongs to the people of Marawi," he added.

"We, as the representative of the universal Catholic Church, are here to support and accompany them all the way."

Source

• UCAnews
• Facebook
• Image: Facebook

In the letter Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, (Ahok) thanked supporters and those who were praying for him, or sending flowers, letters and books.

"It is not right to protest against each other in the process I am going through now," he added, saying he was concerned that his supporters could be involved in clashes with parties opposing him.

Ahok is withdrawing an appeal against his controversial jailing to allow prosecutors to appeal the sentence and calm protests, his family and lawyers say.

His two-year term was harsher than the suspended sentence the prosecution sought.

Purnama's lawyers said withdrawing his appeal could give prosecutors space to appeal.

"We don't want to intervene with the prosecution. They can go ahead," said one of the lawyers, I Wayan Sudirta,

He added that Purnama's legal team had requested he be moved from prison to city or house confinement.

It would not be the first time prosecutors had appealed against a tougher sentence than sought in the indictment, said another of his lawyers, Teguh Samudera.

President Joko Widodo said on Wednesday that authorities would "clobber" any group threatening to destroy Indonesia's tradition of pluralism and moderate Islam, and called for unity ahead of presidential elections in 2019.

Hardline Islamist groups, banned under the authoritarian regime of president Suharto, which ended in 1998, have gained ground in recent years, though they are usually small and on the fringes of society.

Source

• channelnewsasia.com
• channelnewsasia.com
• channelnewsasia.com
• Image: screenshot channelnewsasia

Indonesians abroad also held vigils in cities including Amsterdam, Toronto and Melbourne, Australia.

Months of huge protests against Ahok by Islamic hardliners and the unexpectedly severe sentence have undermined Indonesia's reputation for practicing a moderate form of Islam.

But a strong backlash has also emerged, led by moderate Muslims who worry that conservative Islamists are wrecking Indonesia's tradition of religious tolerance.

While most people in Indonesia practise a moderate form of Islam, the influence of radicals has been growing - particularly after mass protests last year against Ahok which were led by hardliners.

"Islam is different from how the Islamic Defenders Front portrays it," said Mr Mohammad Nuruzzaman, head of strategic research for Ansor, a moderate Muslim youth movement that has been working with the police to break up hardline Muslim gatherings.

Nuruzzaman compared the radical groups to the Indonesian Communist Party, a bogeyman from Indonesia's past.

"The goal of communists and those who support the caliphate are similar - both want all countries in the world to be run under one system," he said.

In another move last week, police in East Java, apparently acting on the urging of moderate Muslims or nationalists, shut down a planned university event featuring Mr Felix Siauw, a Chinese Indonesian convert to Islam who has become a major hardline preacher.

Source

• www.stuff.co.nz
• straitstimes.com
• Image: a.abcnews.com

After sentencing Purnama, known as Ahok, was taken to Cipinang Penitentiary in Jakarta, which houses criminals including drug dealers and rapists.

The sentence was harsher than what prosecutors had asked for.

They had recommended two years' probation on a lesser charge, which would have spared Purnama prison time.

"We respect the decision but we can't accept it,"said Purnama's defence lawyer I Wayan Sidarta.

"We understand the pressure surrounding this case, but we're disappointed."

"We will file an appeal to challenge the decision,"

According to a Jakarta Post report, Wayan also questioned the judges' decision to detain Purnama as he had been cooperative during the hearing.

"Why should Ahok be detained? Ahok will still be governor, so he won't escape."

Under Indonesia's procedural code, he was not eligible to remain free during his appeal because he had faced a possible sentence of five years or more, according to legal experts.

Blasphemy is a crime in Indonesia, a secular democracy with the world's largest Muslim population.

The allegation of blasphemy is thought to have played a major part in Purnama's defeat, last month, by Anies Baswedan, a former minister of education and culture, in an election for Governor.

His deputy is expected to take over until Baswedan takes office in October.

A day before the verdict, the security minister, Wiranto announced that legal action would be taken to disband the Indonesian chapter of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an ultra conservative Islamic political movement that had participated in some of the protests against Purnama.

Hizb ut-Tahrir rejects democratic governance and says it aims to create a Pan-Islamic state, by force if necessary.

Source

• nytimes.com
• channelnewsasia.com
• Image: channelnewsasia.com

In a surprise move, the 39 Islamic extremists who opposed the construction of a replica of the Lourdes grotto in the Yogyakarta province have withdrawn their complaint.

The Muslim group had sought legal means to stop the building of the shrine because it was built in an area prone to natural disasters and was also seen as a way to spread Christianity.

In mid-July fundamentalists had requested the revocation of the building permit granted by the authorities in February.

The Catholics says that the decision to drop the charges was made "to avoid the climate of tension that has been created between those for and against."

"We see the move is part of an effort to maintain the religious harmony," Agnes Dwi Rujiastuti, spokeswoman of an advocacy team for the Marian shrine, told ucanews.com on Aug. 8.

"We tried to find a solution outside of the trial process," said Dwi Rujiastuti, which she said was fruitful.

"We realised that the issue wasn't about a conflict between local Muslims and Catholics. It was about the existence of intolerant groups. We agreed that intolerance is our enemy," she added, recalling that a number of Muslim hardliners from other regions always attended the court hearings related to the shrine.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Catholics number seven millions or about 3 per cent.

In Jakarta, they are about 3.6 per cent. They play an active role in society, the country's development, and emergency situations.

Source

• asianews.it
• asianews.it
• ucanews.com
• Image: asianews.com

Hardline Muslims demanded their closure, citing a lack of building permits, and following religious violence.

Local government security officers used sledgehammers to raze two small Protestant churches and a Catholic church - modest buildings of wood, concrete and tin - in the southern district of Aceh Singkil, as Christians looked on and wept.

Authorities say that seven more churches will be torn down in the coming days, following meetings between the Muslim and Christian communities about the issue.

In the previous week a hundreds-strong, stick-wielding mob razed a church in the district to the ground, and then fought with Christians in clashes that left one dead and four other people injured.

The only province in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country allowed to implement Islamic law, Aceh has been introducing more sharia regulations in recent years, and critics say minorities are being increasingly targeted.

Source

• channelnewsasia.com
• Image: channelnewsasia.com

According to the extremists, the Protestant group was not authorised to organise any public activity, especially, they claimed, since Ramadan had begun on 18 June, and public activities that violate the sacred nature of the holy month are not allowed.

Elsewhere an Indonesian born Muslim has gained worldwide recognition for his dedication to peace and tolerance.

Imam Shamsi Ali is an Indonesian born Muslim who says "I've been known informally as the face of moderate Islam in the west."

He is the founder of the New York based Nusantara Foundation.

Nusantara is an Indonesian word for archipelago.

The Indonesian archipelago, or cluster of islands is composed of six thousand islands.

Indonesia hosts three hundred ethnic groups and seven hundred and forty languages all under one flag.

Raised in rural Indonesia, Ali studied in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia before immigrating to the United States in 1996 at age 29, whereupon he earned a PhD in political science.

"We are committed to promoting a peaceful and moderate of Islam….Islam Nusantara is the form of Islam that reflects the deep, universal characteristic of Rahmatan lil-alamin, or 'merciful blessing for all humankind,'" he says.

"Islam Nusantara emphasizes friendship, peace, and love."

"We firmly believe it is time to replace the rigid, narrow, obsolete, and cruel public images of Islam with an alternative — the Islam that is friendly, sociable, rational, visionary, and capable of advancing friendship and cooperation above antagonism and conflict."

Source

• asianews.it
• israelnationalnews.com
• Image: scout.org

League president Hafizud Khan said Muslims around the country shared the same concern that, as Fijian troops were serving in a peacekeeping capacity under UN mandate, any harm or hostile captivity of such personnel should not have happened.

"The Fijian peacekeepers have served gallantly and peacefully over the years in many locations and their dedication to peacekeeping a neutral science, in the line of their duty is depictive of the kindness, friendliness and generosity for which Fijians are recognised all over the world," he said.

Mr Khan said Fiji Muslims would pray that good sense prevailed and all efforts being made by responsible bodies would yield positive results.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at Fiji's national secretary Aleem Shahhas also expressed deep sorrow and sadness at the act of terrorism in Golan Heights.

Mr Shah said the formation of terrorist groups such as al-Nusra, taking peacekeepers as hostage and killing innocent people was not condoned by Islam.

He said it was neither the teaching of Islam as preached and practised by the Prophet Muhammad.

"All the members of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at Fiji are reminded to pray for the safety of our countrymen in their daily prayers," he said.

On Sunday of the Then India Sanmarga Ikya Sangam had a special nationwide prayer today for the 45 Fijian soldiers held captive in Syria.

The prayer was held in all three of the Sangam temples in Suva, Nadi and Labasa.

Last Thursday Fiji's army chief Brigadier-General Mosese Tikoitoga dismissed as "sick" a suggestion by former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka that the Pacific nation's Muslim minority will face a backlash if 45 UN peacekeepers taken hostage by Islamic rebels in the Golan Heights are harmed.

On Wednesday, in an interview on Radio New Zealand International Rabuka had said Fiji's Muslim community could face a serious backlash if the peacekeepers were harmed by al-Nusra.

Rabuka subsequently insisted that his comments about a possible backlash against Muslims over the fate of captured UN peacekeepers had been misinterpreted.

"If (General Tikoitoga) had listened to the full interview, he would know that I was calling for firm and compassionate leadership at this difficult time," he told Radio Australia.

On Saturday Tikoitoga confirmed that the al-Nusra front had pulled out from negotiations with the United Nations after giving its demand.

On Tuesday Tikoitoga said the al-Nusra Front has made three demands for the release of the peacekeepers:

• It wants to be taken off the UN terrorist list;
• That humanitarian aid be delivered to parts of the Syrian capital of Damascus
• Compensation for three of its fighters who, it claims, were killed in a shootout with UN officers.

He said the UN is expecting the rebels to come back to the table very soon.

Source

• The Fiji Times
• Radio Australia International
• Radio Australia International
• The Fiji Times
• The Fiji Times
• The Times of Israel
• Image: Sydney Morning Herald

It was reported that about 500 people attended.

Nawadra says the incident has gripped the country and many people are worried.

"To be captured like this and moved to a place where we do not know, this is a new thing for us. But as of now, the dark cloud of not knowing is difficult."

Forty-five candles were lit by wives, children and family members of the soldiers.

Nawadra said the lighting of the 45 candles and the prayers are to reflect on the safe return of soldiers, be in solidarity with their families and pray for all who serve the cause of the people.

The Roko Tui Dreketi Ro Teimumu Kepa is pleading with the public to continue praying.

In her plea at the Grand Pacific Hotel on Tuesday, Ro Teimumu said: "I wish to thank the people of Fiji for their continuing prayers for our sons who are facing trying times in the Golan Heights."

"I again appeal to the people of our beloved Fiji - please pray and fast for our sons the members of the RFMF who have been arrested by the al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra."

"Whilst we plead with greater respect to the Commander of the RFMF that he places his faith and trust in the professional skills of the UN negotiating team."

Source

• Radio New Zealand International
• Stuff.co.nz
• FijiTimes
• Image: FijiLive

Christian groups and those supporting other religious groups who have been brutally attacked by the Islamic State, are calling on the Iraqi community in New Zealand and others to take part in the peaceful march.

Auckland's Catholic Bishop Patrick Dunn, and Anglican Bishop Ross Bay, as well as other Iraqi Christian leaders, will take part.

The Parish Priest of St Addai Chaldean Catholic Church, Father Fawzi Hanna, says people in Auckland are very concerned.

"There is a big Iraqi community in New Zealand, especially in Auckland, and we are all terrified for our friends and family in Iraq."

The march will follow a meeting that will take place from 2-4pm at St Patrick's Cathedral, 43 Wyndham St.

The event also happens to coincide with a similar march organised by Assyrian youths, from Civic Square to Parliament in Wellington.

For those who cannot attend but would still like to show their support, donations can be made to the "Hope for Iraq Fund" - ASB 12-3026-0469396-51.

Source

• Scoop.co.nz
• Image: CatholicSun.org

Additional information: Confirmed with Bishop of Auckland's office that the march is on Saturday 30 August.

The court president decided to revoke the permit to avoid sectarian violence.

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