Summing up Lombok findings

Islam stays strong in Lombok. It is probably the island where Islam has the biggest influence compared with other islands we visited. Islam and politics stay close, and Islam has an impact on most parts of the community. We find numerous Islamic schools and hospitals, and in public schools they teach no other religion but Islam. Most people told us that all the religions are living in perfect harmony, but our findings tell something else.

Looking at Hindu and Christian communities in Lombok, it seems like most of them are aware of their status as minorities and they are scared to do anything that the Muslims would dislike.

We still find a direction within Islam called Wetu Telu in Lombok. This faith is a kind of syncretism between Islam and older Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Although it is an Islamic faith, other Muslims do not look at it as proper Islam.

The tourist industry in Lombok is growing again, after some years with few foreign visitors. But many Muslims are afraid of the tourist impact, especially the potential import of low western moral. Religious leaders want to control tourism by developing screened tourist areas. The point is not to protect the Western tourists from the local people, but to avoid that Western moral and attitudes will affect the pure Muslim faith in Lombok.

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