Profess friendly Islam (a friendly Islam)a poster in Jakarta, June 2006

WHENEVER the word Islam is mentioned, uncertainty emerges.

You may utter the two-phrase confession of the faith, faithfully follow the five prayer times, fast during the month of Ramadan, dutifully pay the religious tithe, even go on the haj, and yet the possibility of being called non-Muslim will always remain. For it is never clear who actually has the right to bestow upon or