Everyone on Bali respects Nyepi, the Hindu Day of Silence, regardless of religion. The annual celebration highlights an example of religious tolerance and interfaith co-existence.
Proponents question whether girls younger than 18 are mentally, physically, psychologically and economically ready for marriage and child-bearing.
With Muslim vacationers seeking a holiday experience that accords with their values, the archipelago could become a top destination for this niche market.
Authorities say the suspects were followers of Abu Umar, a notorious smuggler and Jemaah Islamiyah operative who is currently behind bars.
Muslim and Christian leaders are welcoming Pope Francis's reign, hoping he will foster religious harmony and tolerance among different faiths.
The programme's architects hope to sow seeds of tolerance and fellowship amid the nation's diversity.
An innocent request ends in tragedy as militants kill a young boy in Pattani, who had gone with his mother to buy ice cream.
Community leaders belonging to different religions want to see perpetrators brought to justice, but police efforts have been frustrated by a lack of witnesses.
Malaysia has played a key role as peace broker between the Philippines government and the rebel MILF. Will the siege on Sabah undermine that?
Local residents band together to keep insurgents and drug dealers out of their village.
Indonesia is putting significant effort into securing APEC 2013, to be hosted in Bali in October.
Malaysian Hindus set sights on a new house of worship in their country's seat of government.
Religious leaders, academics and regular citizens call for increased dialogue in order to foster co-existence and better relations among the country's faiths.
People from the insurgency-torn Deep South province are urging those responsible for the violence to lay down their arms.
Hundreds are escorted home by Indonesian and Malaysian troops as the bloodshed continues.
Future leaders of the region spent five days pondering challenges and solutions, exploring cultural diversity and building friendships across the region.
Diplomats are welcoming universal ratification of ASEAN's counterterrorism convention. But one analyst says the pact is long overdue.
The weekly campaign to share food with those in need is taking off in other cities, too.
Ancient history and the claims of a would-be sultan have led to a conflict that many Sabah residents find bewildering. A Malaysian news site, meanwhile, reports that arguments on the internet may have played a role in inflaming tempers.
Kuala Lumpur is taking a firm line against gunmen who arrived from the Philippines in an apparent bid to press a would-be sultan's historical claims.
The programme helps people, mostly women, to improve their skills in businesses and boost their livelihood.
Rapid urbanisation in Asia has led to vulnerability to inland and coastal flooding. Experts say Jakarta needs more green areas to prevent future flooding.
The OIC says Islam does not support the practice and the UN has condemned it. What stance will Indonesia take?
The city's green school programme is teaching kids to manage waste, plant trees and generally care for the natural environment.
Analysts, religious leaders and politicians discuss the significance of this week's accord on launching a dialogue between the Thai authorities and one of the main insurgent groups in the Deep South. Malaysia has offered to mediate the talks.
As voters wait for official results of the polling, the governor's last-minute deal with a hardline group raises questions.
Don't allow homecoming extremists to import their brand of jihad from Syria, cleric warns.
![Balinese Hindus carry effigies known as "Ogoh-Ogoh" in a procession in Denpasar on March 11th, one day before the Day of Silence. [Sonny Tumbleka/AFP].](/shared/images/2013/03/30/130330_YENNY1_ID_HINDUNYEPI-150_100.jpg)
![Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Said Aqil Siroj speaks at a February 12th meeting at NU headquarters in Jakarta with Sudibyo Alimoeso, chairman of the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) (right). The two discussed raising the minimum marriage age for girls from 16 to 18, among other topics. [Photos courtesy of BKKBN]](/shared/images/2013/03/29/130329_EMMY_ID_MARRIAGELAW-150_100.jpg)
![The Sofyan Betawi Hotel in South Jakarta received halal certification from the Indonesia Ulema Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia/MUI) in 2003. [Photos by Elisabeth Oktofani/Khabar].](/shared/images/2013/03/28/130328_FANI1_ID_SHARIATOURI-150_100.jpg)
![Police stand outside a building in West Java that was raided by Detachment 88 earlier in the day (March 15th). Five men found inside were involved in the recent robbery of a gold store to raise money for terrorism, authorities say. Two suspects were killed in the raid. [Stringer/Khabar].](/shared/images/2013/03/27/130327_ISMIRAYENNY2_ID_TERR-150_100.jpg)
![Newly-installed Pope Francis (right) meets with representatives of major world religions during a private audience in the Vatican on Wednesday (March 20th). The pontiff has spoken of "friendship and respect" for all faiths. Indonesian Muslim leaders and groups seek a harmonious relationship with the Vatican. [AFP/Osservatore Romano handout]](/shared/images/2013/03/26/130326-OKKY_ID_POPE1-150_100.jpg)
![Participants in the first-ever pluralism and citizenry course at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta pose for a group picture at the end of the programme. [Okky D. Feliantiar/Khabar]](/shared/images/2013/03/25/130325_OKKY_ID_PLURALISMSCO-150_100.jpg)
![Waeleemoh Jehloh, mother of a young boy killed by an insurgent bomb on Thursday (March 21st), lies in a Pattani hospital where she is being treated for severe internal injuries. Her son died instantly when explosives planted in a motorcycle went off outside a bakery and ice cream stand. [Photos by Bas Pattani/Khabar]](/shared/images/2013/03/23/130323-PATTANI_ICECREAMBOMB1_TH-150_100.jpg)
![Former vice president Jusuf Kalla (centre, in brown shirt) poses with local security and religious leaders in Makassar after a February 14th meeting to discuss attacks on churches in the city, and efforts to tighten security in the region. [Yenny Herawati/Khabar].](/shared/images/2013/03/22/130322_YENNY2_ID_MAKASSAR2_-150_100.jpg)
![Malaysian soldiers prepare March 14th for more operations to rout Filipino gunmen in the area of Sungai Nyamuk, in Sabah state. Over 60 people have died since early February, when armed followers of a would-be sultan landed in Malaysian territory. [AFP/Malaysia Ministry of Defence].](/shared/images/2013/03/21/130321_ANDHIKA1_ID_SABAHUNR-150_100.jpg)
![Narathiwat Governor Apinan Seutanuwong (centre in tan uniform) came to Gadeng, Narathiwat on February 18th to salute the villagers for its strategy to keep their area free of insurgent violence. [Rapee Mama/Khabar]](/shared/images/2013/03/20/130320_RAPEE_TH_MODEL-150_100.jpg)
![Indonesia police patrol near the memorial for the 2002 Bali bombing victims on October 11th, 2012. Bali is stepping up security ahead of October's APEC Summit [Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP]](/shared/images/2013/03/19/130319-OKKY_ID_BALISECURITY-150_100.jpg)
![Kanagaraja Raman, president of the Federal Territories Maha Mariamman Devasthanam Devotees Association, stands on the plot of land in Putrajaya where the association hopes to raise the first pillar of a Hindu temple in September. [Grace Chen/Khabar]](/shared/images/2013/03/18/130318_GRACE_MY_TEMPLE-150_100.jpg)
![Police keep angry, egg-throwing Muslim residents away from members of the Filadelfia Batak Christian Protestant church as they attempt to hold a Christmas mass on their property in Bekasi district, West Java on December 25th, 2012. Recent reports by watchdog groups have urged Indonesia to address intolerance towards religious minorities. [Adek Berry/AFP]](/shared/images/2013/03/16/130316_ANDHIKA_ID_RELIGIOUS-150_100.jpg)
![Residents and security officials gathered in Narathiwat on March 9th to stage a peace rally ahead of government negotiations with a Deep South insurgency group. [Rapee Mama/Khabar]](/shared/images/2013/03/15/130315_RAPEE_TH_RALLY-150_100.jpg)
![Malaysian police and army trucks pass each other in Lahat Datu in Sabah state on March 3rd. Thousands of Indonesians work on palm oil plantations in Sabah; hundreds have been evacuated since armed Filipino intruders triggered a security crisis there. [Mohd Rasfan/AFP].](/shared/images/2013/03/14/130314_OKKY_ID_TKISABAH_VG-150_100.jpg)
![Young people from Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines learn how to plant rice in Brayut Village, Central Java, on January 24th. The activity was part of Join Opinion Solving for Southeast Asia (JOSSEA), a forum for future ASEAN leaders. [Photos courtesy of JOSSEA]](/shared/images/2013/03/13/130313_CEMPAKA1_ID_ASEANYOU-150_100.jpg)
![Police guard the Ritz Carlton Hotel in South Jakarta after it and the neighbouring J.W. Marriott Hotel were hit by twin suicide bomb attacks on July 17th, 2009. All ASEAN members have now ratified the regional bloc's counterterrorism pact. [Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata/Khabar].](/shared/images/2013/03/12/130312_ISMIRA1R_ID_ASEANCT-150_100.jpg)
![Volunteers for the "Share Rice" campaign gather in the Sarinah Mall parking lot on February 14th. They distributed 1,234 boxes of food that night to the poor on Jakarta’s streets. [Photos: Zahara Tiba/Khabar].](/shared/images/2013/03/11/130311_ZAHARA1_ID_VALENTINE-150_100.jpg)
![Malaysian Police transport the bodies of fellow policemen killed in a mortar attack by armed Filipino invaders in Sabah on March 1st. The government in Kuala Lumpur says that 52 insurgents have been killed in clashes with security forces. Eight police personnel have also been killed. [AFP/Bernama News Agency]](/shared/images/2013/03/09/130309_ANDHIKA1_MY_SABAHSUL-150_100.jpg)
![A Sulu gunman lies dead after a gunfight with Malaysian soldiers in Simunul Village on Monday (March 4th). Malaysia has beefed up its security in the eastern state. To date, at least 60 people have reportedly been killed in the clashes. [Stringer/AFP].](/shared/images/2013/03/08/130308_SAMUEL1_MY_SABAHSULU-150_100.jpg)
![Parmi, Misriati, Parten and Katimah (from left to right) attend a June 2nd, 2012 entrepreneurship training in the Kebonagung district of Pacitan, East Java. They learned about product marketing strategies and how to manage their businesses. [Photos by Yenny Herawati/Khabar].](/shared/images/2013/03/07/130307_YENNY1_ID_TRAINING_V-150_100.jpg)
![The Hotel Indonesia roundabout and Jalan Thamrin in downtown Jakarta were left muddy and dirty on January 18th after a retaining wall of the West Flood Canal collapsed following days of non-stop monsoon rains. Experts say poor urban planning has set the stage for flooding. [Ismira Lutfia Trisnadibrata/Khabar].](/shared/images/2013/03/06/130306_ISMIRA2_ID_REGIONALCOOPERATION-150_100.jpg)
![G.K.R Hemas, the queen of Yogyakarta, has urged the government to revoke the 2010 Ministry of Health Regulation that legitimises the practice of female genital mutilation and authorizes medical professionals to perform it. [Elisabeth Oktofani/Khabar]](/shared/images/2013/03/05/130305_FANI1_ID_WOMANCIRCUM-150_100.jpg)
![Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak (right) shakes hands with his Thai counterpart, Yingluck Shinawatra (left), during their meeting on Thursday (February 28th). Leaders in Thailand's religious and academic communities are optimistic about Malaysia's agreement to mediate talks between Thailand and insurgents in the Deep South provinces. [Mohd Rasfan/AFP]](/shared/images/2013/03/02/130301-STEPHEN_TH_TALKS1a-150_100.jpg)
![A man casts his ballot in West Java's gubernatorial election in Tasikmalaya on February 24th. West Java residents are hoping their political leader will curb religious violence in the region. [Timur Matahari/AFP].](/shared/images/2013/03/01/130301_HANNY2_ID_WJELLECTIO-150_100.jpg)
![Iranians sit on a boat at Denspar's Benoa port on May 12th, 2013. They were among 95 asylum seekers from Iran arrested by Indonesian marine police while sailing through nearby Badung strait. [Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP]](/shared/images/2014/02/15/140215_ANDHIKA_SAMUEL_IRANIAN_VISA_VG1-100_67.jpg)
![Indonesia's Election Supervisory Committee (Bawaslu) opens a Jakarta forum involving religious leaders January 22nd. [Yenny Herawati/Khabar]](/shared/images/2014/02/14/140214_YENNY_MUSLIM_VOTING_VG1-100_67.jpg)
![Imlek Festival goers in Solo celebrate the Chinese New Year. The festival went from January 23rd through January 29th. [Yenny Herawati/Khabar]](/shared/images/2014/02/13/140205_YENNY_ID_IMLEX_VG1-100_67.jpg)
![Opposition forces prepare to storm the headquarters of the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant fighters in Aleppo, Syria on January 7th. Indonesian jihadists are among 8,000 foreigners fighting in the Syrian civil war. [Medo Halab/AFP]](/shared/images/2014/02/12/140203_ISMIRA_OKKY_ID_SYRIAN_JIHADIST_RETURNED_VG1-100_67.jpg)
![Typhoon Haiyan survivors prepare to board Australian and US C-130 aircraft departing storm-ravaged Tacloban on November 18th. [Photo courtesy of US Marines]](/shared/images/2013/11/26/131126-FORUM_TYPHOON2PE1_PP-270_180.jpg)