But several months ago, amid a sudden backlash against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, a local hardline group called Islamic Jihad Front forced the school to close. In recent times Islamic hardliners have halted a festival focusing on women’s issues and have targeted the Christian minority, seeking to close down churches and stop their community work. Cases of intolerance have escalated in Yogyakarta since 2011, when hardliners began targeting churches. But there has been a sharp increase in recent times as Islamic groups have grown bolder. In an alarming episode in April, Islamic hardliners and police together allegedly stopped a women’s arts festival from going ahead, with organizers claiming they were verbally harassed and some attendees briefly detained by authorities.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer October 09, 2016 05:14 UTC