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The show won't go on. Lady Gaga this weekend announced thatshe is canceling a sold-out concert in Jakarta because of threatsof violence from religious hard-liners. The gig, scheduled for June3, was staunchly opposed by conservative Muslim groups, includingthe Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), that earlier this month vowed tostop the "satanic" singer from setting foot onIndonesian soil. Some threatened to buy tickets and wreak havoc in the stadium. The police tried toderail the event by denying a crucial permit but quickly reversedits decision and promised to push ahead. Gaga's camp backed out on Sunday, saying it couldn't keep the singer or her fanssafe. Salim Alatas of the FPI called it a victory for IndonesianMuslims: "Thanks to God for protecting us from a kind ofdevil." There has been much talk of devil worship, much hand-wringing andfinger-pointing as the American pop star makes her way across Asia.Faithful Filipinos campaigned to ban the Born This Way Ball tourbut settled for a small-scale protest . Concerned Christians in Seoul deemed her show pornographic , successfully pushing to make it an "adult-only"event. There has since been weeks of worrying about thecorruption of Indonesian souls, so much so that the country'sReligious Affairs Minister, Suryadharma Ali, saw fit to commenton the canceled show. "I strongly believe this cancellationwill benefit the country," he offered. Entertainment shouldhave "moral values." We'd be foolish, though, todismiss what's happening in Indonesia as "kids thesedays" conservatism. What's happening in Indonesia isfar more worrisome and complex. ( MORE: Lady Gaga Named to the TIME 100 List ) The world's fourth most populous country prides itself onpluralism. When the 1997 Asian financial crisis triggered proteststhat helped topple the strongman Suharto, this majority-Muslimnation shattered the myth that Islam is antithetical to democracy.Many see Indonesia as a model for the postrevolutionary Arab world.But a permissive political climate has allowed extremism to festerat the edge of the moderate mainstream, giving rise to radicalgroups and religious vigilantes. Groups like the FPI hold outsizesway, particularly among provincial power brokers and, criticscharge, the police. "The police and courts have proved theycannot handle these issues fairly," Ismail Hasani of theSetara Institute for Democracy and Peace told AFP. They're often worried of a violent backlash if theypunish hard-liners." The concert crackdown is just the latest in a string of oftentimesviolent campaigns by radical groups acting in the name of Islam.Vigilante-style attacks on religious minorities are on the rise,rights groups say, and all too often, the aggressors go unpunished.The men found guilty of leading last year's lynch-mob-style attack on members of the Ahmadiyah sect were scarcely punished. Earlierthis month, Canadian author Irshad Manji and several of hercolleagues were physically attacked by hard-liners at an event in Yogyakarta. Manji and her team werein town to promote her new book, Allah, Liberty and Love, which praises Indonesia as a peaceful, progressive society. Fouryears ago, I [went] to Indonesia and experienced a nation oftolerance, openness and pluralism, she wrote. Things havechanged. Meanwhile, the Gaga-as-Satan rhetoric has done little to stem theenthusiasm of the singer's Indonesian fans, some of whomstaged a flash mob in her honor. The Wall Street Journal notes that search queries for Lady Gaga have jumped fivefold inIndonesia since early May, with phrases like "Lady Gagasongs" and download Lady Gaga now topping query lists.History tells us that banning pop stars does little to dull theirglow. Ignore them and they'll fade away. The same can'tbe said for the censors. MORE: 10 Questions for Lady Gaga. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as SKF Bearings , Thin-wall Bearing for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Angular Contact Ball Bearing .
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