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Protesters brace for the worst, leave last will
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Warm up: A group of people gather in front of the Rawa Buntu commuter line station in South Tangerang, Banten, on Friday morning. The group is heading to Central Jakarta to take part in a rally to demand the criminal prosecution of gubernatorial candidate and incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Thahaja Purnama over blasphemy allegations. (JP/Bambang Nurbianto)
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head of a large-scale rally on Friday afternoon in Jakarta, would-be rally participants are highlighting religious motives behind their presence in the protest while preparing accordingly should things get ugly.
Among them is Muhammad Ilyas, who claims to have come all the way from Medan, North Sumatra, to take part in the rally, organized by multiple Islamic organizations to demand the criminal prosecution of gubernatorial candidate and incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Thahaja Purnama on blasphemy allegations.
The 20-something student said he and his three friends had arrived in Jakarta on Wednesday and spent two nights at the headquarters of hard-line religious group Islam Defenders Front (FPI) in Petamburan, West Jakarta, to prepare for the protest.
On Friday morning, he followed the group on a march to Istiqlal Mosque in Central Jakarta to gather with other fellow protesters.
Wearing a black T-shirt, brown pants and a cap, Ilyas said he had not brought a change clothes or food to Jakarta, saying that the only thing he brought from his hometown was "my faith.”
“Even if someone made fun of the Quran from the moon, I would go there and demand that he be prosecuted,” Ilyas told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
(Read also: Q&A: Is Indonesia at stake in Nov. 4 anti-Ahok rally?)
Ahok, a Christian and Indonesian of Chinese descent in the Muslim-majority country, sparked uproar among Islamic groups and communities after he made a comment on verses in the Quran during his visit to Thousand Islands regency in late September. The police have until now received around a dozen reports regarding the case.
Ahok will risk losing his candidacy in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election should he be named a suspect in the case.
At least 50,000 people from multiple Islamic organizations are expected to swarm Jakarta’s streets during Friday’s rally. Law enforcers previously shared their optimism that the rally would be controlled and run peacefully.
(Read also: Friendly approach to control Friday's rally)
Bahtiar, another would-be participant from Palu, Central Sulawesi, said he had written his last will and testament should “something happen” during the rally.
“I told my wife to pray for me. In my will, I wrote that if something happens to me, please take care of our children,” the 52-year-old father of seven said, as quoted by tribunnews.com. (hwa)
