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Rizieq’s ‘hateful’ sermon on blasphemy sparks controversy
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Said Aqil Siradj called for calm and urged Muslims to maintain unity in the midst of what he called "divisive rhetoric".
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Thousands of people welcome firebrand cleric and leader of Islam Defenders Front (FPI) Rizieq Shihab in Puncak, Bogor, West Java, on Nov. 13. (Antara/Arif Firmansyah)
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eaders of mainstream Islamic organizations have called on Muslims in the country to resist the provocation and inflammatory rhetoric of Rizieq Shihab, the leader of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), who has called for the execution of those who blaspheme against Islam.
In a statement published earlier this week, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Said Aqil Siradj called for calm and urged Muslims to maintain unity in the midst of what he called "divisive rhetoric".
"Fellow Muslims in this country, please don't get easily provoked by some groups who want to divide us and break up this Unitary Republic of Indonesia. [...] Let's fight against this common enemy," Said Aqil said in a statement published on Monday.
The statement, which was posted on social media by Coordinating Politics, Security and Human Rights Minister Mahfud MD responded to a brief video clip of a sermon by Rizieq, which has made the rounds on social media.
The 40-second clip, which is an excerpt from a longer video uploaded to the FPI’s YouTube channel on Sunday, shows Rizieq calling on authorities to take swift action against individuals alleged to have blasphemed against Islam or the Prophet Muhammad.
The firebrand cleric referenced a terror attack in France that occurred late last month in which a Chechen refugee beheaded teacher Samuel Paty in Paris for showing his students cartoons depicting the Prophet in the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. He said it was an example of what happened when authorities refused to get tough on blasphemers.
“To the government, especially the police, let us tell you: If you don’t want what happened in France, where someone who insulted the Prophet was beheaded, then we implore you to [follow up on] reports on blasphemers,” said Rizieq in the clip.
