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Thousands of hard liners march against Ahok
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Thousands of people, many of them members of hard-line Muslim groups,
gather for a protest march after Friday prayers at Istiqlal Mosque in Central Jakarta on Oct. 14, demanding the police continue criminal proceedings against Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, whom they have accused of blasphemy. (JP/Callistasia Anggun Wijaya)
T
housands of people from hard-line Islamic groups gathered at Istiqlal Mosque in Central Jakarta and started to march through the city, pushing for criminal proceedings against Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama over alleged blasphemy.
The protesters, most of whom were men dressed in white Muslim attire, were heard yelling, "We want a Muslim governor", "Burn Ahok!" and "Kafir!"
"Indonesia is a country based on the rule of law. We want the state to show presence in this case, because the law has regulations on this [religious defamation]," Ja'far Shodiq, vice secretary general of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), said at Istiqlal Mosque on Friday.
Ja'far asked the protesters to carry out “peaceful action”. He also reminded the demonstrators to not be racist.
He said the protest was not connected to the upcoming gubernatorial election. The protesters only wanted to express their belief, which was in accordance with the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), which had said that Ahok had committed blasphemy by telling people in Thousand Islands regency not to be “deceived” by a Quranic verse, Surah al-Maidah: 51.
The FPI and several other groups said they would march from Istiqlal Mosque to the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) office in South Jakarta and ended at City Hall in Central Jakarta.
Ahok has apologized for his statement and said he had meant no harm, but the hard-line groups insist that is not enough. (evi)
