JAKARTA: Indonesia's top court has overturned a law that denied recognition and legal rights to followers of indigenous faiths in a surprise advance for religious freedom in the world's most populous Muslim nation. The Constitutional Court, in a unanimous ruling on Tuesday by its nine-judge panel, said articles in the Civil Administration Law (2013) were discriminatory and violated the principle of equality before the law. "These articles are not legally binding as they contradict the 1945 constitution,'' presiding Judge Arief Hidayat told the court. The ruling, published on the court's website, said the law caused injustice to followers of native faiths. Indonesia has for decades recognised only Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism as religions, but millions practice animism and other local faiths.

Source: Bangkok Post November 08, 2017 04:07 UTC