Indonesia was one of the few countries where Islam did not takeover purely by an invading military force. One feature of Islam that appealed to Indonesian's is that it does not have a caste system such as the system in the Hindu religion. Before Islam was introduced, the king had the power to take a man's wife and land. The people of Indonesia were told that in Allah's eyes all men are made o

At present Islam is being used as a vehicle for people to cause disruption and further their own ambitions and gain more power. They are using the uneducated and bigoted people in Indonesia's society. The people of Indonesia, from almost all religions, have forgotten the values that their respective religions are meant to uphold. The chaos is caused by religion and many religious leaders are doing little to stop and prevent the violence. Hostile groups send out bands of vigilantes to roam the streets, beat people and then flee to their respective churches or mosques. No matter what the violence and protest are for; it is almost always tinged with a religious purpose.

A Muslim's life in Indonesia is affected by what is known as Sharia law. Sharia law is a set of regulations, principles and values from which legislation is developed. It is the detailed code of conduct or the canons comprising ways and modes of worship, standards of morals and life, laws that allow and prescribe and that judge between right and wrong. Sharia can be amended according to changing social needs and this has occurred in Indonesia. Unlike other Muslim dominated countries, Sharia does not control every aspect of the Indonesian legal system. Property disputes are not settled under Sharia, neither are many other legal disputes. Secular courts have been given authority over all religious courts even at a district level. But Sharia does play a more significant role in smaller, more isolated villages. The power of Sharia in Indonesia has been tested. In 1952 a Christian male and a Muslim female petitioned the Jakarta district court to authorise their marriage. The two were not allowed to be married because it was forbid under Sharia. The court allowed them to be married effectively meaning that state law held power over Sharia.

Indonesia is currently in a state of turmoil, protest constantly break out into full-scale riots and looting. The major social problem facing Indonesia currently is the escalating violence. Political analysts, Frans Magnis-Suseno said in Asia Week "Indonesia has a tradition of violence" and in the current society this is becoming more evident. The trouble began to appear soon after Indonesia's economy collapsed and the people were looking to find someone to blame. They were led to believe that the Chinese minority who control much of the wealth caused the problems. The indigenous people (pribumi) felt discriminated against and in the post Suharto era they were more inclined to say so. Because the majority of ethnic Chinese were of a different religion to the majority, the violence developed into Muslim verses Christian conflicts and was a demonstration of the distrust that exists towards other ethnic groups and belief systems despite the presence of widely diverse groups that live in Indonesia.

Some common words found in the essay are:
God Muhammad, Ethnic Indonesian's, Allah Muhammad, Sharia Islam's, Week Indonesia, Christians Indonesia, Indonesia Indonesian, World Bank, Islam Islamic, Muslims Pribumi, ethnic chinese, muslims believe, believe allah, people indonesia, muslims believe allah, ethnic chinese population, full-scale riots, widely believed, power sharia, resentment towards, values islam, indonesia islamic,
Approximate Word count = 2147
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)