AMESSAGE appeared on Ulil Abshar-Abdalla’s cellular phone screen when he was heading off for Rembang, Central Java, for the post-Ramadan holiday season two weeks ago. A friend in Surabaya had sent the message. Ulil didn’t immediately understand what was meant by the message. It read: “What do you think about the fatwa (Islamic ruling on religious issues) put out by the ulema (Muslim scholars) in Bandung?”

After arriving