Dismaying news from Indonesia

Often held up as one of the most liberal Islamic nations, (which, in fact, it is) Indonesia has made the terrible and dismaying decision to arrest a 31 year old man who wrote on his Facebook page that God did not exist. I don't yet know if there's anything I can do to help Alexander Aan, who has been charged with blasphemy, but if I can help in some small way I will.

Indonesia has some curious religious laws. Each citizen must identify with one of six religions --  Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism -- and have their faith printed on their government issued I.D. card. Not only this, but the Indonesian constitution apparently states that the country believes in one god. There are, of course, certain kinds of Buddhism which are atheistic, but whether these particular sects are welcome in Indonesia I couldn't say. And Hindus believe in many gods, as many as thousands in some cases. But Alexander was, the reports say, a Muslim as recently as 2008, and so I suspect that the real issue here is not his atheism per se, but his apostasy. In Indonesia -- a country which faces seemingly endless ethnic and religious conflicts -- to leave your faith is never simply a private act, but one which might upset the 'harmonious' nature of Indonesian society. Much like in Malaysia, Indonesia's elites prefer to govern their country as if it consisted not of individuals but of six large, religious groups, each one entirely separate from the other. People such as Alexander Aan, who dare to act as individuals and think for themselves, who refuse to belong to any one of the six religions, are considered dangerous and, if need be, can be sacrificed for the common good. It is a terrible injustice. Let's hope Alexander is freed from jail very soon.