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First Posted: 9/5/2013
(AP) Indonesian Muslim hard-liners have resumed protests against the Miss World pageant, with organizers insisting the event will go on this weekend on the resort island of Bali.
In Jakarta, the capital, about 1,000 members of the hard-line Islamic group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia rallied Thursday outside the building housing the local organizer of the contest.
Protests also were held in the Sumatran cities of Medan and Pekanbaru, as well as Makassar in Sulawesi. Protesters gathered at local council buildings, calling on the government to revoke the permit for the contest.
Similar protests were held earlier this week and last week.
Most Muslims in Indonesia, a secular country of 240 million and the world’s most populous Islamic country, are moderate, but a small extremist fringe has become more vocal in recent years.
Associated Press