Thousands of police were *deployed in Indonesia’s capital yesterday ahead of a protest by hardline Muslim groups demanding Jakarta’s Governor be jailed over comments about the Koran.
Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese Christian, has faced mounting racial and religious slurs in the campaign for February’s gubernatorial election.
In frustration, the Governor told a fishing community last month “(You are) deceived (by people) using Al-Maidah 51,” referring to a verse in the Koran that bars Muslims from electing a non-Islamic leader.
The comment has spurred a backlash as several Muslim groups called for his arrest, forcing the Governor to apologise. He said he was criticising people who abused the Koran to attack him and not the holy book itself.
But Bachtiar Nasir, one of the Muslim leaders organising the protest, said the apology was not enough.
“Ahok’s comment has hurt many Muslims. He has suggested that the verse is a lie and the people citing the verse as liars,” he told The Australian yesterday, referring to the Governor by his popular Chinese nickname. “Fifty thousand people from all over Indonesia has signed up, not just those in Jakarta. This has nothing to do with the election. This is about the sanctity of religion.”
Munarman of the hardline group Islamic Defenders Front said the rally would take place *tomorrow in front of the State Palace in central Jakarta.
“Afterwards we will occupy the House of Representatives complex and stay there until Ahok is either arrested or the parliament impeach him,” he was quoted as saying by news portal Detik.
In an article for the Lowy Institute’s Interpreter, Sidney Jones, director of the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict, said there were indications that Islamic State supporters “have been encouraging each other to use the 4 *November rally ‘to fan the flames of jihad’ across the country”.
“Indonesia’s spineless political leaders have allowed extremists to seize the momentum and foment religious hatred against the Governor,” Ms Jones wrote.
“This is why extremism and *intolerance are growing in Indonesia: because no one dares draw a line and recognise religiously *inspired incitement for what it is, let alone condemn it or take measures to stop it.”
In the lead-up to the rally, *social media users reported that anti-Chinese graffiti and posters had proliferated across Jakarta, leaving many fearing the sectarian tension could lead to a repeat of the anti-Chinese riot in the capital following downfall of president Suharto in 1998.
Several offices and schools have told workers and students to stay home tomorrow.
Police in Jakarta has called for reinforcements from the neighbouring provinces of Banten, West and Central Java.
National Police deputy chief Syafruddin said yesterday that police all over the country were “on alert level 1” ahead of the rally, adding that at least 18,000 police and military officers would be *deployed.
However, political expert Ikrar Nusa Bhakti said the increased *security was uncalled for.
“I don’t think there will be that many people. Just a few thousand perhaps but not tens of thousands,” he told The Australian, adding the protesters would likely consist of a “mob-for-hire” from poorer areas outside the city.
About 3000 people participated in a similar rally last month *despite organisers claiming tens of thousands would attend.
President Joko Widodo tried to ease tensions this week, holding an impromptu meeting with his former rival in the 2014 presidential race, Prabowo Subianto, whose party, Gerindra, is supporting the Governor’s closest contender, former minister and academic Anies Baswedan.
On Tuesday, the President invited to the palace leaders from three of Indonesia’s biggest and most influential Muslim organisations. The three groups have distanced themselves from tomorrow’s rally and urged Muslims to accept the Governor’s *apology.
Several political parties have told their members not to participate in the rally.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...y/news-story/bd9e201641a1d7918b98f1e90eed13dc
