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When the religious affairs minister is accused of insulting Islam
The Blasphemy Law is most commonly used against minorities who are deemed to have criticized Islam.
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Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas gives a speech during a visit to GPIB Immanuel Protestant Church in Semarang, Central Java, on Dec. 24, 2020. During the visit, the newly appointed minister said he would be a minister for all religions in Indonesia. (Antara /Aji Styawan)
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eligious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas became the target of an angry campaign by religious fundamentalists after he issued a decree to regulate the volume on loudspeakers at mosques around the country.
Gus Yaqut, as he is affectionately known, signed the decree on Feb. 21, asking mosques to use loudspeakers indoors and to limit the volume to 100 decibels when using them outside for the call to prayer.
Many Indonesians have complained about increasingly loud calls to prayer that disturb the work, leisure and sleep of people who live or work nearby. CNN Indonesia compared 100 decibels to the noise created by a jet plane taking off 300 meters away.
A Religious Affairs Ministry official said it had consulted the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), as well as the Indonesian Mosque Council (DMI), in drafting the decree. But the decree immediately drew protests from many Islamic groups. The Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) opposes the decree, contending that the government should not regulate loudspeakers. It condemned Gus Yaqut for an interview in which he compared the call to prayer with the volume created by barking dogs.
Street protests followed in some cities, with protesters trampling Gus Yaqut’s photo. One poster depicted him with the head of a dog.
Roy Suryo, a politician from the Democratic Party, filed a report against Gus Yaqut with the Jakarta Police for blasphemy, claiming that the comparison to dogs was an insult to Islam. Azlaini Agus, a politician in Pekanbaru, Riau, where Gus Yaqut gave the interview, also reported the minister to the local police.
Nothing in the Quran or Islamic law refers to loudspeakers, a relatively recent addition to the call to prayer in the Islamic world, including Indonesia.
