{{Short description|Magazine franchise}} [[File:Playboy indonesia.jpg|right|thumb|The premiere issue of ''Playboy Indonesia'', featuring model Andhara Early.]] '''''Playboy Indonesia''''' is a franchise of ''[[Playboy (magazine)|Playboy magazine]]'' in [[Indonesia]]. The magazine was first published in April 2006.<ref name=jap/> It is published by Velvet Silver Media and edited by [[Erwin Arnada]].<ref name=jap>{{cite news|author=Jane Perlez|title=Playboy Indonesia: Modest Flesh Meets Muslim Faith|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/24/world/asia/24bali.html?_r=0|accessdate=11 July 2015|work=The New York Times|date=24 July 2006|location=Denpasar}}</ref> This edition of the magazine is notable in that it features no nudity and that it is the first ''Playboy'' to be published in a [[Muslim]]-majority country since a [[Turkey|Turkish]] edition that was discontinued in the mid-1990s.
Despite tailoring the magazine to conservative local sensibilities, with fully clad models and articles such as an interview with dissident author [[Pramoedya Ananta Toer]], the magazine's premiere issue on April 6, 2006, raised significant controversy. [[Islamic fundamentalism|Islamist]] groups such as [[Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia]] (MMI) and the [[Islamic Defenders Front]] (FPI) staged large protests as well as legal challenges to the magazine. One of the more violent protests in [[Jakarta]] caused the owner of the [[Association of Southeast Asian Nations|ASEAN]] Aceh Fertilizer Building, where the ''Playboy'' office was located, to evict Velvet Silver Media.
The magazine then moved its headquarters to [[Bali]], which is predominantly [[Hindu]] and less restrictive than Islamic-ruled Jakarta, and put out its second issue in June 2006. The second issue carried no advertisements. Around 100,000 copies of each edition were printed and both sold out. Major advertisers returned for the third issue in July.
As a result of the legal challenges, police in Jakarta investigated models [[Andhara Early]] and [[Kartika Gunawan]], who posed in the first issue, declaring them suspects for violating indecency rules. The magazine's editor-in-chief, [[Erwin Arnada]], was also questioned. He was charged<ref>Perlez, Jane (24 July 2006). [http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/23/business/playboy.php# Playboy tests tolerance in Indonesia], ''New York Times'' via ''International Herald Tribune'' (retrieved 24 July 2006).</ref> with violating the indecency provisions of the criminal code, but acquitted the following year.<ref>Gelling, Peter (April 5, 2007). [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/05/world/asia/05cnd-indo.html Editor of Playboy Indonesia Is Acquitted], ''New York Times'' (Retrieved 5 April 2007)</ref> However, by 2010 he was back in prison for publication of (non-nude) pictures.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11793708 What has Playboy ever done for free speech?], BBC News, 19 November 2010</ref>
On 24 June 2011, Arnada was released after a successful appeal to the Supreme Court. His lawyer praised the release as a triumph for freedom of the press in this predominantly Muslim country.<ref>[http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/06/25/former-‘playboy’-editor-walks-free-historical-ruling.html Former ‘Playboy’ editor walks free on historical ruling] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102192844/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/06/25/former-%E2%80%98playboy%E2%80%99-editor-walks-free-historical-ruling.html |date=2014-01-02 }}, ''Jakarta Post'', 25 June 2011 (Retrieved 24 April 2013).</ref>
The controversy surrounding ''Playboy'' in Indonesia punctuated the issue of pornography legislation opposed by prominent Indonesian [[feminist]]s, including [[Kamala Chandrakirana]], chairwoman of the [[National Commission on Violence Against Women]], who spoke openly in support of ''Playboy Indonesia''.
In an editorial in the June issue, Arnada wrote: "The absence of a growing monopoly of a set of values and views in our beloved country in the end is our final purpose. We believe that is also the target of all of us who live with reason and want to understand the meaning of democracy and a pluralistic society."
In 2023, the former ''Editor-in-Chief'' of ''Playboy Indonesia'', [[Erwin Arnada]], decided to publish a story about the history of Playboy Indonesia magazine in a book titled [https://books.google.co.id/books?id=CmMQEQAAQBAJ Rabbit In Prison]. Published by [https://institute.omong-omong.com/ Yayasan Okky Madasari (OM Institute)] and edited by [[Moch Aldy MA]], the book was launched on October 21, 2023, at the [[Ubud Writers & Readers Festival]] in Bali.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nugraha |first=Annie |date=3 September 2024 |title=Menyusur Kisah Majalah Playboy Indonesia melalui Rabbit in Prison |url=https://omong-omong.com/menyusur-kisah-majalah-playboy-indonesia-melalui-rabbit-in-prison-nya-erwin-arnada/ |url-access=registration |url-status=live |access-date=March 4, 2026 |website=Omong-Omong Media}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== Further reading == * [https://web.archive.org/web/20061216111650/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25689-2123556,00.html "Playboy's Indonesia edition enrages - and disappoints"], ''[[The Times]]'' online edition, 7 April 2006.
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[[Category:2006 establishments in Indonesia]] [[Category:Men's magazines published in Indonesia|Playboy]] [[Category:Magazines established in 2006]] [[Category:Islam-related controversies]] [[Category:Obscenity controversies in literature|Playboy]] [[Category:Playboy magazines|Indonesia]] [[Category:Criticism of Islam]] [[Category:Anti-Islam works]] [[Category:Criticism of religion]] [[Category:Mass media in Bali]] [[Category:Magazines published in Jakarta]]