Looking for an area to retire in Bali,,,and someone said Christians are Not welcome in some villages ,,any one heard this or know,,

dav733

I am looking to retire in Bali soon ,,been over month at at a time 14 x times now,,and still want to live there warts and all,,just not sure what area ,,like sanur and cangu. But just recently a friend of mine said he had heard that Not all villages welcome Christians ,,which I found this hard to believe ,,any long-term expats heard this ?

tel522

Nope , new one on me .

harryopal

No, but an Indonesian relative tells me that locals aren't impressed by the Australian saturation of Cangu where they employ fellow Australians and the locals wonder what is the benefit to them. I imagine the totality of this trend would be that it puts a lot of money into the local economy but these are the kind of generalizations that people make about foreigners when they feel they are being overwhelmed.

spicyayam

I have never heard this. Around 10% of the population in Indonesia are Christian. Java has more problems but Bali seems fine.

Balifrog

They're probably more worried about drunken Aussie bogans than about Christians.

harryopal

Historically Islam had periods of great tolerance and interest in other views. It seems a great pity that this tradition of tolerance is not considered by those at Mosques using loud speakers and the volumes lowered. Potentially such an explosive issue.

dav733

Thanks all for your replies,,it was something mentioned to me,,and my response at the time was that after spending much time in Bali had never come across this at any stage,,, I do agree the loud music so many times a day is a problem,,where ever I settle will spend a day nearby before I decide and sign anything,,, The mosques seem to have a lot of power ,,it's part of a grand plan,,to stifle hinduism,,brain washing. I love Bali and it's people in general,,once I became accustomed to their ways,, It is a big turnoff the loud music,,a local Balinese woman was arrested ,charged and jailed for Blasphemy,she was a Hindu. ,,for lodging a formal Complaint about the volume just recently,,,what hope have they got.

harryopal

I may be wrong but it seems a feature of zealots is a notable lack of a sense of humour and a firm conviction that they have found the way and are convinced that those who deviate from this path ought be burned at the stake or at least be thrown in gaol for blasphemy. If that be the nature of the keeper of the local mosque, church or political group woe be the person foolish enough to ask for the loudspeakers to be turned down, the bells rung less often or asking for an amendment to party rules. That said, it seems most people, at least in Bali, are tolerant, friendly, smile easily and make pleasant neighbours.

JohnnyCool

dav733 wrote...a local Balinese woman was arrested ,charged and jailed for Blasphemy,she was a Hindu. ,,for lodging a formal Complaint about the volume just recently,,,what hope have they got.

Hard to answer that, but did you know that even the current Vice President of Indonesia, (Jusuf Kalla), sent investigators across the country to look into this some time ago? He concluded that they [B][I]were[/I][/B] often much too loud and asked for "controls" to be implemented. I haven't seen any signs of the "controls". Were they put into place? (If so, where?) More importantly, he was [B]not[/B] arrested for blasphemy nor jailed. Why is that? Go figure.

JohnnyCool

Huh? Now, I don’t know [I][B]who[/B][/I] told your friend that but it’s the first time for me. I’ve been coming to Bali since 1973 and now approaching my 24th year of living in Bali. Have never heard anything like this before. I also lived in Java for a couple of years and [I][B]never[/B][/I] encountered it there either. In my experiences, Balinese are generally extremely tolerant of religious differences. Sometimes perhaps even [I][B]too[/B][/I] much. For example – the increasing numbers of mosques. The mosques themselves aren’t a problem, but their loud sound systems aren’t exactly appreciated. Still, Balinese near them and their [I]banjars[/I] seem powerless to tone them down. There is one on the corner of the ByPass Road and Jalan Hang Tua in Sanur (adjacent to the Bali Beach Hotel). It cranks up big-time five times a day and is driving local businesses, their customers and nearby residents nuts. Still, I’ve yet to see any actions against it. So, is [I]that[/I] an example of “turn the other cheek/ear?” Christian churches, where they exist, may well have their bells, but at least they don’t ring them seven days a week, five times a day. :eek:

JohnnyCool

harryopal wrote Historically Islam had periods of great tolerance and interest in other views. It seems a great pity that this tradition of tolerance is not considered by those at Mosques using loud speakers and the volumes lowered. Potentially such an explosive issue.

Yes, that may well be so. However, the way I see it, Islam itself is not a “problem”. It’s more like some of the proponents of different flavours of it are, (Sunni vs Shia, etc), and radical fundamentalists that spoil the picture (for everyone). In addition, why is it necessary for some countries, (including Indonesia), to have a [I]Ministry of Religion[/I] in their governments? I’ve always believed that whatever religion made sense to me, (if any), it was my own personal affair, not something for a government to decide/decree for me. In the almost half a century that I’ve been in and around Indonesia, I’ve met and been friends with many “normal” Moslims. Never had problems with any of them. My wife of 16 years is a Moslim, (and so am I, on paper, because I had no real choice). We get along just fine. If we look around the world today, there are many countries who have "issues" with the peaceful coexistence of people of different faiths. India, China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Malaysia, UK, USA, New Zealand, etc, and even Indonesia. It’s been said by some that the three most divisive factors in societies are Race, Religion and Poverty. Add to those lack of education, bigotry, thuggery, despotism, corruption, nationalism, and plain stupidity.

JohnnyCool

dav733 wrote Thanks all for your replies,,it was something mentioned to me,,and my response at the time was that after spending much time in Bali had never come across this at any stage,,, I do agree the loud music so many times a day is a problem,,where ever I settle will spend a day nearby before I decide and sign anything,,, The mosques seem to have a lot of power ,,it's part of a grand plan,,to stifle hinduism,,brain washing. I love Bali and it's people in general,,once I became accustomed to their ways,, It is a big turnoff the loud music,,a local Balinese woman was arrested ,charged and jailed for Blasphemy,she was a Hindu. ,,for lodging a formal Complaint about the volume just recently,,,what hope have they got.

Not sure about your "grand plan" conjecture. [I]Maybe[/I]. Would that be like the Roman Catholic Vatican? "Loud [B]music[/B]" problems? Mosques don't play [I]music. [/I](Some play pre-recorded calls to prayer and some give a microphone to some dude who just likes the sound of his own voice - and we all suffer.) Other sources of loud music include live music in bars/restaurants, karaoke bars, local all-night "cafes", disco's (not many these days, at least not in Sanur), gamelan practices. The worst for me have been the "local night cafes", (crank up at 10-11pm and stop 3-4am). I've had to move houses at least twice because nobody seemed to be able to curtail them (fear of local "mafias", police, maybe their own banjars?).

ronb

Some villages in Bali are less welcoming to expats than others. It is very local and you just need to sus it out as you go. The person who interprets this as an anti-Christian thing is way off the mark in my opinion.

JohnnyCool

ronb wrote Some villages in Bali are less welcoming to expats than others. It is very local and you just need to sus it out as you go. The person who interprets this as an anti-Christian thing is way off the mark in my opinion.

That's true of Bali, other parts of Indonesia and more or less the whole world. Some villages in Bali are even suspicious of Balinese from other villages.