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Jokowi denies state ties to embattled Al-Zaytun school
The President has brushed off suggestions that the government is somehow connected to the Islamic school in West Java, currently at the center of a scandal alleging heretical teachings.
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Several ‘santri’, or Islamic boarding school students, head out for prayers in this undated file photo. (-/-)
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mid allegations that high-ranking government officials are helping to cover up the blasphemy scandal surrounding Pondok Pesantren Al-Zaytun in Indramayu, West Java, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Monday denied that the State Palace had anything to do with the controversial Islamic boarding school.
“Does [the palace] include me? Of course not,” Jokowi told reporters during a visit to Palmerah Market in West Jakarta.
“I’ve instructed Religious Affairs Minister [Yaqut Cholil Qoumas] and Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister [Mahfud MD] to look into the matter, and I will convey the results of their investigation once they are available," Jokowi added.
With Mahfud’s blessing, the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) has opened a formal investigation into allegations of blasphemous activities conducted at the school.
“We’ve received a report from the public on the criminal offense of blasphemy allegedly committed by Al-Zaytun pesantren and we will begin investigation soon,” Bareskrim head Comr. Gen. Agus Andrianto told a press conference on Monday.
The controversy surrounding Al-Zaytun surfaced in April after a number of social media posts showed unsegregated rows of men and women at the boarding school during Idul Fitri prayers.
Congregational prayers in Islam are traditionally arranged with separate sections for male and female worshippers.
