But hardliners have been monopolizing headlines. The eruption of religious fundamentalism into politics reached a high point ahead of the capital’s gubernatorial election — with the campaign against incumbent Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama demanding his imprisonment for alleged blasphemy, resulting in a criminal investigation.

This anti-Ahok movement is often presented as a gathering of radical islamists and “for-hire” demonstrators. This would be a misconceived simplification of the movement, and a dangerous underestimation of the emergence of ultra-conservative populism in Indonesia.

This movement, initiated by hardliners, actually managed to gain support from a more moderate segment of the population, notably through social media. Indeed, while moderate and educated middle class groups played a limited role in early street protests, radical sounding ideas and anti-government rhetoric have found a surprisingly wide resonance in social media.

The anti-Ahok campaign was initiated by a few ultra-conservative religious organizations and was endorsed by neither Muhammadiyah nor the NU.

Despite such a lack of intellectual endorsement, a viral social media campaign based on edited and misleading footage of Ahok’s statement spread indignation throughout the web.

Despite later clarification on the actual transcript of Ahok’s speech and its context, a clear fracture in public opinion had emerged; there was no turning back.