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Indonesian cleric calls for boycott over Dutch anti-Islam film
The Associated Press , Jakarta | Wed, 04/02/2008 5:39 PM | National
Indonesia's top Muslim organization called Wednesday for a boycott of Dutch products to protest a film by a Dutch lawmaker that links Islam to violence.
Earlier, severl protesters broke into the grounds of a Dutch consulate building in the west of the country and ripped down the flag during a demonstration against the film. Police made several arrests, an embassy spokeswoman said.
The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) said the boycott call was not in the form of a fatwa, or formal ruling, but rather an informal appeal not to buy Dutch goods.
Indonesia is a former Dutch colony and maintains close business ties with the country.
"We are urging people to boycott Dutch products because of the film," the body's chairman, Ma'ruf Amien, told The Associated Press.
It is unclear to what extent the call will be heeded, if at all. Even the council's fatwas, which themselves have no legal weight, attract little attention and are ignored by most Indonesians.
The film by anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders intersperses scenes of recent terror attacks by Muslim extremists with verses from the Quran, Islam's holy book. It ends with an appeal for Muslims to rip out sections of the book it claims encourage violence.
Before the film's release, the Dutch government warned it could spark protests and product boycotts in Muslim nations like those that occurred following the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad two years ago.
Meanwhile, around 50 people took part in a demonstration at the Dutch consulate in the city of Medan, said Dutch Embassy spokeswoman Gonneke de Ridder. Some of the demonstrators broke into he grounds of the building, she said.
She said two people were inside at the time, but could not confirm a report on el-Shinta radio that protesters also threw stones at the building and set the flag alight.
Police, who were not informed in advance of the protest, arrived after several minutes to disperse the demonstrators, arresting a "few of them," De Ridder added.
Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, but its government is secular and hard-line interpretations of the faith generally do not attract much support.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who relies on the support of several Islamic parties in parliament, has condemned the film and urged protesters to stay calm.
On Tuesday, the government threatened to block access to the video-sharing website YouTube unless it removed the video from its site. (****)
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Andersen — Wed, 04/02/2008 - 9:10pm
I understand many Indonesians feel angry at such a film but the idea of boycotting a whole country over this is crazy in my opinion. Would it then also be OK if an Indonesian says anything bad about Christianity or western cultures that the west should boycot all Indonesian products. Of course not, people are allowed to express their opinion no matter how stupid they might be. A nation is not responsible for all citizens' statements/doings.
I hope soon it will be possible to post comments in The Jakarta Post without having to wait for them to be accepted. I do not understand what it is you are afraid of? Maybe someone writes something stupid but then what is the problem, The Jakarta Post should not be responsible of all people comments on its website.
Lars Andersen
Copenhagen
Spitfire — Mon, 08/18/2008 - 7:22pm
I downloaded and watched "Fitna" ages ago as my curiosity was aroused by all the fuss.
I found it to be an utterly tasteless and highly amateurish 19 minutes or so of absolute rubbish. That anybody in their right mind would give it any credence whatsoever, let alone government officials in Indonesia "reacting" to the extent that they have, is a ridiculous waste of time and resources. It also makes Indonesia look a bit silly in the eyes of the rest of the non-Moslem world.
I also think that many ordinary Indonesians who are critical of it probably haven't even seen it. I can only say to those who haven't seen it, you're amongst the lucky ones.
Giving so much attention to this piece of garbage only arouses more "interest" in it. Well, that's what happened to me.