On Friday 6 July, UNSW Law will host Dr Benjamin Schonthal to speak on “Why Religious Supremacy Clauses Don’t Work: Buddhism, Secularism and the Pyrrhic Constitutionalism of Sri Lanka” Recent scholarship on religion and constitutional law tends to characterize religious supremacy clauses – clauses that give special status or protections to one or more religionsContinue reading “Why Religious Supremacy Clauses dont work: Seminar”
Category Archives: RELIGION
What do the blasphemy allegations against Ahok mean?
Indonesian police last week declared Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, or Ahok, a suspect for blasphemy, over a speech he gave in which he quoted a verse from the Qur’an. In the wake of the police decision, Indonesia at Melbourne spoke to Dr Melissa Crouch, who has published widely on Indonesia’s Blasphemy Law(link is external) (Law No.Continue reading “What do the blasphemy allegations against Ahok mean?”
Book launch: 3 Nov 2016
Jokowi’s Islamist challenge: curbing terrorism and religious intolerance
In Indonesia, an attempted bomb attack on a church on Sunday has again left religious minorities deeply shaken. Allegedly linked to Islamic State (Isis), the attack by a lone man may be more symptomatic of historic trends in terrorism against minorities in Indonesia. In fact, the area near Medan, a city of over two million people, has beenContinue reading “Jokowi’s Islamist challenge: curbing terrorism and religious intolerance”
Religion in Times of Crisis
On 28 June 2016, the Asia Research Institute in Singapore will be hosting a seminar on “How to Study Religion in Times of Crisis”. The event is organised by the Religion and Globalisation Cluster Fellows Giuseppe Bolotta, Catherine Scheer, Nurfadzilah Yahaya and Amelia Fauzia. The conference program is available here, or the abstract is below: Continue reading “Religion in Times of Crisis”
The Indonesian Constitutional Court
Aspecial issue on The Indonesian Constitutional Court has been published in the Australian Journal of Asian Law 2016, and is available online at SSRN. It includes the following articles: Rosalind Dixon, Simon Butt and Melissa Crouch, The First Decade of Indonesia’s Constitutional Court Theunis Roux and Fritz Siregar, Trajectories ofCurial Power Simon Butt, The Constitutional Court and Indonesian Electoral Law StefanousContinue reading “The Indonesian Constitutional Court”
RSIS Seminar Series on Muslim Societies in Asia
Understanding Religious Diversity in MyanmarWednesday, 24 February 2016, 3:30-5:00pmDr Melissa Crouch, Lecturer, Law Faculty, University of New South Wales, Sydney Moderator: Associate Professor Farish (Badrol Hisham) Ahmad-Noor, Coordinator of PhD Programme, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Venue: LHS Lecture Theatre, level 1, The HiveNanyang Technological University52 Nanyang Avenue Singapore 639816. Click here for location map Click here to register onlineAbstract: The anti-MuslimContinue reading “RSIS Seminar Series on Muslim Societies in Asia”
Burmese translation of Journal Issue on Religion
ABurmese translation of a journal issue on Religion, Law and Society in Myanmar has recently been made available online. You can find the Burmese text of the issue of The Review of Faith & International Affairshere.The volume includes the following articles Melissa Crouch, “Constructing Religion by Law in Myanmar” Tharaphi Than, “Nationalism, Religion, and Violence: Old and NewContinue reading “Burmese translation of Journal Issue on Religion”
Interview on religious freedom in Indonesia
Indonesia has struggled with religious violence in the democratic era. The problem was highlighted once again in October, with an attack on a Christian community in Aceh Singkil(link is external). Following the attack, Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin acknowledged that there were problems with current regulations on the construction of houses of worship and said thatContinue reading “Interview on religious freedom in Indonesia”
Human Rights Resource Centre study on religion in ASEAN
I was recently interested to learn of some of the new research being done in ASEAN countries by The Human Rights Resource Centre. The centre is based at the University of Indonesia, Jakarta, and is affiliated with ASEAN.Its most recent publication is a series of country reviews of judicial training in ASEAN countries. In early 2015, itContinue reading “Human Rights Resource Centre study on religion in ASEAN”
Melissa Crouch 