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Democracy is in danger?
We are probably worried too much recently. He is a liar anyway. So don’t take his mouth seriously. But still, if the boaster and the liar are the ones who hold the highest position in the most powerful and rich nation, we must worry about what would happen. And that feeling has grown to be anxiety yesterday after I saw that ‘sh*t show,’ to quote a commentator on cable news. Look, I am coming from a so-called ‘the third-world’ country. Indonesia just started its democracy in 1999. Very young if you compare it to the US. But still, I never see this kind of presidential debate back…
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Islamic “communism” from a remote village in Sumatra
All started by a spiritual Sufi leader KH. Ali Mas’ud ibn Abdullah. He opened the jungle together with his followers and established a small village in the 1970s. His community grew but still relatively low profile, barely known to the outsiders. When he passed away in 2011, his son, Tuwan Guru Imam continued his father’s legacy. More than that, he, along with his followers, transformed that village, which they call Kampung Darussalam (the village of peaceful land), into a unique example of many things: economic independence, self-sustainability, communal work. Some even said that this is an example of “Islamic socialism” in its true sense. Around 1600 people…




