Tales of the politically and religiously incorrect

Author : Julia Suryakusuma Introduction :Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, Endy Bayuni Print Length : xxxviii + 526 pages Dimensions : 14 × 21 cm Paper Type : Book Paper SYNOPSIS : Does the proliferation of jilbabs (headscarves) in Indonesia since 1998 mean the nation has gone hardline? How did democracy happen in Indonesia, which has the largest population of Muslims in the world, and will it stick? Is the term ‘Muslim feminist’ an oxymoron? Do Muslims even like sex? Julia’s Jihad provides the answer to these questions and much, much more: how the nation struggles to maintain the ‘unity in diversity’ of its 300 ethnic groups; how it practices ‘political cannibalism’ to deal with to its human rights problems; how environmentally we ‘burn our own house down’, and a whole lot of the other weird and wacky things that make Indonesia the fascinating bundle of contradictions it is. EXPERT OPINION : Julia is not just a critical feminist, but also a true humanist. She moves us to sincerely respect our fellow human beings and the plurality of culture and religion as certainties, and even sources of peace. – Musdah Mulia, Professor, postgraduate studies at UIN Jakarta Julia’s Jihad is jihad in fourth gear in the struggle for openness, rationality, humanity and, naturally, woman—all spiced with a big dose of humor and wit that shakes up the reader. Reading Julia, you keep on laughing until you suddenly realize that what she is writing about is not funny but very, very serious. – Frans Magnis Suseno, professor, Driyakara School of Philosophy