This is what happens when a society succumbs to the pressure of fanatic religious moralism to the point that the ethic of minding your own business is discarded. Granted, Indonesia does not have a profound cultural or political tradition of privacy. But what we see here is a case of a religious majority imposing its ethics on those who do not share their beliefs — and it is violent, cruel, and harmful to the society’s economic and political growth. We should remember that in a free society, moral repugnance is not a good enough reason to outlaw something.
