Mob in Indonesia demanding the death of the Christian governor
The only Christian governor in Indonesia, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, the governor of Jakarta, has been sentenced for two years in prison for "blasphemy" against Islam. The surge of anger against him began when a video, falsely subtitled, started to be mass distributed on youtube, supposedly showing the governor stating that the Quran states that non-Muslims cannot have a Muslim leader. Mobs began to demand for his death, and now he will be behind bars for two years. The story is a demonstration as to how dangerous the internet can become when used to rile up the mob, and also how Islamist Indonesia is becoming. If they can put the governor of Indonesia's capital in prison, then they will -- under the instigation of the mob, put regular Christians in prison, in mass numbers. As we read in one report:
The first Christian governor of Indonesia’s capital city in decades was sentenced to two years in prison Tuesday for blasphemy against Islam.
The harsh sentence is perceived as a critical blow to religious tolerance in the world’s largest majority country, reports Reuters. The governor of Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, was “found to have legitimately and convincingly conducted a criminal act of blasphemy,” a judge declared Tuesday. Purnama intends to appeal the ruling.
The governor, a political ally of President Joko Widodo, was taken to a prison in East Jakarta.
Indonesia’s blasphemy controversy emerged in September, when an incorrectly-subtitled video of the governor criticizing those who claim that the Qur’an prohibits Muslims from having a non-Muslim leader surfaced online.
Hundreds of thousands of Indonesian’s marched on the capital in protest. A riot in November involving around 100,000 people turned violent, killing one and injuring a dozen others. A few weeks later, roughly 200,000 conservative Muslims rallied in the Indonesian capital to protest Purnama, who is known as “Ahok” by his supporters. There were more huge protests in February, and thousands more Muslims marched on Jakarta in March of this year to demand Purnama’s arrest.
The protests were reportedly organized by hard-line and radical Islamic groups, such as the Islamic Defenders Front.
Purnama lost his bid for re-election to Muslim rival Anies Baswedan in April. He will surrender his position to his opponent in October. If Purnama’s appeals fail, he will not be allowed to hold public office even after his release.
Hardliners called for the maximum penalty — five years, but he was given a reduced sentence.
When the verdict was announced, many of Ahok’s supporters declared the trial a farce. Many were angry, and others reportedly cried openly. Purnama enjoyed popularity as the governor of Jakarta.
Human rights organizations believe that Purnama’s fall represents a major setback for Indonesia, where most Muslims practice a moderate form of Islam in a country that is relatively tolerant of Buddhists, Christians, and Hindus. “If someone like Ahok, the governor of the capital, backed by the country’s largest political party, ally of the president, can be jailed on groundless accusations, what will others do?” asked Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch, according to Reuters.
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