TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
FPI leader reported to police for allegedly committing religious blasphemy
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Habib Rizieq Shihab of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) appears at the offices of the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) on Nov. 3. (Antara/Puspa Perwitasari)
I
slam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Habib Rizieq Shihab was reported to the Jakarta Police on Monday by executives from the Indonesian Catholic Students Association (PMKRI) for allegedly committing religious blasphemy in a speech circulated on the internet.
“Rizieq was one of three people were reported to the police,” said PMKRI chairman Angelius Wake Kako at the headquarters of the Jakarta Police on Monday.
The two others are Fauzi Ahmad, who uploaded the video of Rizieq’s speech onto an Instagram account and Saya Reya, who uploaded the video onto a Twitter account.
In the 22-second long video, Rizieq is recorded saying: “If God gave birth, then who would be the midwife?”
Angelius said that as a Christian he “felt humiliated and hurt” when he heard the statement.
“All Indonesians should respect diversity by not interfering in the private rooms of other religions,” he said. “Only Christians know about the Christian faith. Anyone who doesn’t know about it, he better shut up,” he went on to say.
Rizieq is accused of violating Article 156 section (a) of the Criminal Code on blasphemy. The charge carries a maximum punishment of five years in prison. (vny/bbn)
