JAKARTA - It's a make or break moment for Indonesian high schooler Puteri Ara and her hijab-clad friends as they rap about religious tolerance to a cheering TV studio audience. - 'Troubling preachers' -Indonesia's reputation for religious tolerance was once again tested last month by a series of church bombings that killed a dozen Christian parishioners during Sunday services. But the church killings by two suicide bomber families reignited fears about Indonesia's lurch toward religious conservatism, which has handed hardline groups unprecedented political power. Spotting this shift, TV producers have tapped a growing demand for religion-inspired shows and marketed them to huge audiences during Ramadan, pushing once-dominant soap operas and prank TV shows to the sidelines. They're not welcome on shows like The Country's Children Preach, however, and backers say the upbeat programmes could help push back against hardliners.

Source: Bangkok Post June 13, 2018 03:22 UTC