His return spurred thousands of his supporters to flock to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, and the FPI headquarters in Petamburan, Central Jakarta, where they had been waiting since the morning to welcome the controversial cleric.

Speaking to his supporters who welcomed him in Petamburan, Rizieq said his return from Saudi Arabia was “to fight with the people”, while also urging them to carry out a “moral revolution”, kompas.com reported. However, he did not explain what he meant by fight or moral revolution.

The crowds welcoming Rizieq caused severe traffic jams, including at Soekarno-Hatta, where they also halted operations. Access to and from the airport via the Prof. Soedijatmo airport toll road was reportedly clogged for five hours when thousands of Rizieq supporters marched along the road.

Transportation Ministry director general for air transport Novie Riyanto said some flights were delayed for one to three hours, while airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II said four airlines rescheduled their flights and offered refunds to passengers due to the disruption.

Late last month, Rizieq announced his intention to return to Indonesia to support the FPI and other religious organizations in protesting the recently passed Job Creation Law, along with labor unions and students.

Rizieq was embroiled in several legal cases when he fled the country in 2017 reportedly on umrah (minor haj) to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The two most infamous cases for which the National Police had named him as a suspect were a pornography case and a case for insulting state ideology Pancasila.

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