Today in Jakartass Towers, it is Hari Raya Idul Fitri, a day of great celebration for Muslims the world over - unless they celebrate it tomorrow or some other day.
I therefore wish all my readers who are celebrating the end of the fasting month - presumably with great feasting - a peaceful and pluralistic year until the next time.
As is said in Indonesian, Mohon maaf lahir dan batin - please pardon all my mistakes in every way.
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So I hope you won't find this minor rumination objectionable.
Various strands of Islam require a dress code, particularly for women who are expected to cover their heads with a scarf, generally known here as a jilbab.
Other religions, such as Judaism have similar edicts. One you may not have heard of is the International Church of Jediism. Apparently it has 500,000 followers worldwide and requires them to wear a hood, much as the Jedi knights in the Star Wars movies did.Daniel Jones, the founder of the religion who goes by the name of Morda Hehol, was recently expelled from his local branch of the supermarket chain of Tesco because he was wearing his hood. In Britain, you see, juvenile delinquents like wearing hoods because they cover up their acne and allow their fairly anonymous acts of vandalism to be free from the gaze of security cameras.
However, Tesco's reasoning was much more basic: "If Jedi walk around our stores with their hoods on, they'll miss lots of special offers."
Considering how many wars and acts of terrorism are carried out in the name of religion, it would benefit each of us if all religions had a similar code.
