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Protesters swarm Istiqlal, warm up before anti-Ahok rally
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Warm up: Thousands of members of hard-line Islamic groups gather for a protest after Friday prayers on Oct. 14 at Istiqlal Mosque in Gambir, Central Jakarta, demanding the police press ahead with legal action against Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, who is accused of committing blasphemy. (JP/Callistasia Anggun Wijaya)
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housands of people from Jakarta and its surrounding areas have been gathering at the Istiqlal Mosque in Central Jakarta since Thursday evening ahead of a rally that is expected to temporarily paralyze activities downtown on Friday.
The rally, set to commence on Friday afternoon, is expected to see at least 50,000 people from multiple Islamic organizations swarm Jakarta’s streets to demand the criminal prosecution of gubernatorial candidate and incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Thahaja Purnama on blasphemy allegations.
Istiqlal management said it had not deployed a special team to manage incoming would-be protesters that stopped by or spent the night at the country’s biggest mosque.
“The mosque head has instructed us to maintain the mosque’s cleanliness and help the incoming congregation,” mosque attendant Imam Alianysah said, as quoted by tribunnews.com on Friday.
(Read also: Q&A: Is Indonesia at stake in Nov. 4 anti-Ahok rally?)
As of midnight Thursday, the mosque had also received hundreds of food packages donated by individuals or other mosques for the would-be protesters.
Ahok, a Christian and Indonesian of Chinese descent in a Muslim-majority country, sparked uproar among Islamic groups and communities after he made a comment on verses in the Quran during his visit to Thousand Islands regency in late September. The police have until now received around a dozen reports regarding the case.
Ahok will risk losing his candidacy in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election should he be named a suspect in the case. (hwa)
