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Police, protesters share tune ahead of rally
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Face-to-face: Police personnel and rally protesters pray together ahead of a rally in Jakarta on Friday. (JP/Haeril Halim)
The Jakarta Police have a unique way easing tensions ahead of a large-scale protest in the capital on Friday.
The police deployed 500 personnel under the so-called Asmaul Husna [the 99 names of God] group in front of the State Palace to "welcome" participants of the rally, organized by multiple Islamic organizations to demand the criminal prosecution of gubernatorial candidate and incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Thahaja Purnama on allegations of blasphemy.
The personnel will shout “Allahu Akbar [God is Great]” whenever a group of protesters pass through the area.
Such a friendly welcome encouraged a group of a half dozen protesters from Garut in West Java to approach the police. They hugged the leader of the Asmaul Husna team, East Jakarta Police deputy chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Arif Rachman, and greeted his personnel.
The group's leader, Husen Mubarok, the imam of Garut's grand mosque, asked Arif to ask his personnel to chant Asmaul Husna with him for five minutes.
"The dzikir [chant] aims to bring peace to hearts to prepare for the rally. We’ve come here for peace, we are all brothers" Husen said.
(Read also: Q&A: Is Indonesia at stake in Nov. 4 anti-Ahok rally?)
Arif told his members that the protesters were not enemies but good friends "who police should protect while during the rally".
The rally, kicked off on Friday afternoon, is expected to see 50,000 people from multiple Islamic organizations swarm Jakarta’s streets. (hwa)
