Row over speakers on Indonesian ‘island of 1,000 mosques’ sparks debate on compromise

A confrontation between a foreign tourist and residents on a popular Indonesian holiday island has reignited debate over the regulation of mosque loudspeakers in the Muslim-majority country. The dispute, involving a New Zealand national on Gili Trawangan, has drawn fresh attention to whether related government guidelines on the use of such speakers should instead become a binding law. On February 18, the woman disrupted a Koran recitation night session at a musalla – a small prayer room – nea...

By Resty Woro Yuniar