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Police arrest Muslim preacher Gus Nur for 'insulting NU'
The outspoken preacher has again found himself afoul of the law as well as Indonesia's largest Muslim organization for "hate speech".
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The logo of the Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Muslim organization (Shutterstock/--)
P
olice have arrested Muslim preacher Sugi Nur Raharja, better known as Gus Nur, and named him as a suspect of a hate speech case for allegedly insulting the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization.
Members of the National Police’s criminal investigation unit (Bareskrim) arrested Gus Nur at his residence in Malang, East Java, on Saturday, three days after he was reported by the NU branch office (PCNU) in Cirebon, West Java.
“Yes, he is being held at the Bareskrim detention center,” National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Argo Yuwono confirmed on Sunday, as quoted by tempo.co.
PCNU Cirebon chairman Aziz Hakim said that the preacher had repeatedly spoke ill of the organization.
“[Gus Nur] said, ‘NU is now like a public bus. The driver is drunk, the conductor is drunk, the helper and the driver are reckless, all the passengers are impudent, smoke, reveal their aurat[private parts] and dance to dangdut music.’ That’s the statement he made,” said Aziz.
This is not the first time Gus Nur has been reported to the authorities for allegedly insulting the NU. In May 2018, the PCNU Surabaya reported Gus Nur to the East Java Police after he uploaded a video titled “Generasi Muda NU Penjilat” (Younger NU Generation are Bootlickers) to his Facebook account and YouTube channel.
The Surabaya District Court later found Gus Nur guilty of “spreading offensive content” under the Electronic Information and Transactions Law and sentenced him to 1 year and 6 months in prison. (syk)
