Indonesia: World's Largest Muslim Democracy and a Model of Pluralism
By Sameer Arshad Khatlani P rime Minister Narendra Modi visited the 10th-century Prambanan Temple dedicated to Hindu gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, on the last day of the Indonesian leg of his three-nation tour of the Indo-Pacific region on July 8, 2026. He called the temple a testament to the close cultural ties between India and Indonesia. A day earlier, Modi addressed the Indonesian Parliament and said that the relationship between the two countries is rooted in local versions of the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata and monuments such as Borobudur, the world's largest Buddhist temple, around 50 km from Prambanan. He referred to Indonesia's national emblem, Garuda, which is Lord Vishnu's mount in the Hindu tradition. Modi spoke about traders and Sufis from his home state of Gujarat, who brought the message and values of Islam to Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation and home to roughly one in eight Muslims worldwide. He highlighted aspects of Indones...