Daughter of Indonesia's former President Sukarno to convert from Islam to Hinduism

Sukmawati Sukarnoputri, daughter of Indonesia's founding father and first president Sukarno, will undergo the ritual of converting from Islam to Hinduism, CNN Indonesia reported.

Sukmawati said she will embrace the new faith during a Hindu ceremony -- Sudhi Wadani -- on October 26. Ida Ayu Nyoman Rai Srimben, the late Balinese grandmother of Sukmawati, played a key role in influencing her decision to embrace Hinduism, the report said.  

Sukmawati is the founder of the Indonesian National Party (Partai Nasional Indonesia-PNI). Married to Kanjeng Gusti Pangeran Adipati Arya Mangkunegara IX, Sukmawati was divorced in 1984.

Sukmawati, 69,  is the third daughter of Sukarno and the younger sister of former President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Sukarno’s daughter has extensive knowledge of Hinduism and is also aware of all doctrines and rituals of Hindu theology, her lawyer said.

In 2018, hardline Islamic groups filed a blasphemy complaint against Sukmawati Sukarnoputri, accusing her of reciting a poem insulting Islam. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the daughter of Indonesia's former President had apologised. “From the bottom of my heart I extend an apology to all Muslims of Indonesia, especially those who feel offended by the poem,” she had said.

Islam is the largest religion in Indonesia. The Southeast Asian nation has probably the largest Muslim population in the world while Hinduism is one of the six official religions and home to the fourth-largest population of Hindus in the world, after India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.