Ahok trial: The blasphemy case testing Indonesian identity

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Ahok trial: The blasphemy case testing Indonesian identity

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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38902960
Millions of Indonesians are set to elect local leaders, but the focus is on the capital Jakarta, where the city's first non-Muslim governor is fighting not only for re-election but to stay out of jail.
As the BBC's Rebecca Henschke reports, his blasphemy trial is being seen as a test of Indonesia's religious tolerance.
"Jail the governor now!" cries a group of female students outside the Jakarta court where Basuki Tjahaja Purnama is on trial.
They are wearing brightly-coloured headscarves and stand out in a sea of white-robed men yelling "hang the blasphemer".
"He insulted Islam. Not just Islam in Indonesia but around the world. I could never do anything radical like kill him or make a bomb, but I must do something and that's why I am here," says one protester.
Mr Purnama, known widely as Ahok, angered many after he referenced a Koranic verse while on the campaign trail last September.
He told voters they should not be duped by religious leaders using the verse to justify the claim that Muslims should not be led by non-Muslims.
An edited transcript and video of his speech went viral and the case snowballed from there - it is now being played out in a courtroom.

"That was fodder for the conservative groups to attack the governor," says Ulil Abshar-Abdalla, an Islamic scholar who founded the Liberal Islamic Network.
A political moderate, Ulil now works for an opposing political candidate and believes the statement was naive.
"If the person who said that was an Islamic leader with credibility it would be fine, but he is not. This is Ahok, a Christian assuming a high-ranking position as governor, and he produces such an awful statement. He ignores that we have a rising trend of conservatism in Indonesia today, he should have known that."
Mr Purnama's team privately admits he made a political mistake. He himself has repeatedly apologised and insists he would not insult Islam - the religion of his extended family.
But the implications of an off-the-cuff remark are now immense, and his lawyer, Sirra Prajuna argues that it's no longer just Mr Purnama on trial.
"This is a test for tolerance and our multi-faith society. Indonesia is a pluralist nation that has great respect for different faiths. We cannot let this case sink the dream of our founding fathers who wrote our national motto: 'Bhinneka Tunggal Ika'."
This motto means "Unity in Diversity".
You see it in action every Monday morning when children in public schools across the nation recite the founding principles of Indonesia, known as Pancasila.

The first principle is a faith or belief in one God. Despite having the world's largest Muslim majority, the country respects six official religions.
The country's founding fathers agreed to drop the inclusion of Sharia - or Islamic law - in the nation's constitution in 1945, allegedly to accommodate the wishes of religious minorities.
"We must always teach them that our society is diverse" says Edi Kusyanto, the principal of Menteng 01 Primary school.
"Pancasila unites Indonesia as one," says sixth grader Flally after the flag raising ceremony.
Just 9% of the population are Christian but they are the majority in some eastern islands. And on the tourist hub of Bali the majority religion is Hindu. Jakarta is where they meet and live side by side.
But for the protesters calling for Mr Purnama to be jailed, the reasoning is clear: they don't accept him as a senior leader because he is Christian.
"In a Muslim country, leaders should be Muslims," says Sisi Marissa Toer.

A group called the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) has been leading the protests.
Until now its main activities have been raids on those it believes are committing "sin and vice" - prostitutes, alcohol sellers and people selling food during fasting hours in the holy month of Ramadan - but it has little support from most Indonesian Muslims.
There are also protesters who have rallied in support or Mr Purnama, including Muslims like Nidya.
"He is a good man. He has served the people of Jakarta so well. He is now being defamed. Oh my God it's so hard," she says as she starts to cry.

But in leading the calls for Mr Purnama to be jailed, the FPI has raised its profile and increased its support base.
One of its spokesmen, religious scholar Ulama KH Misbahul Anam, insists it respects the pluralist constitution.
"When Christians celebrate Christmas here we do not disturb them... because they have the right to practise their religion."
But that tolerance has its limits and he goes so far as to say: "The president can never be non-Muslim."
Before the blasphemy case, Mr Purnama was predicted to win the election by a landslide, but now - running against two Muslim candidates - he is fighting for his political career.
He has also long been a divisive politician. For the middle classes he is a hero: not from the political or military elite, he stands out with his straightforward style.
He has been widely praised for rolling out healthcare and education policies for the poor. He uploads to his YouTube channel videos of him telling off under-performing or corrupt civil servants. At a recent toy fair, action figures of Ahok as a Jedi warrior were on sale.

But controversially, he forcibly evicted thousands of people living along the city's river banks and moved them into semi-state housing blocks on the outskirts of the city, and his opponents say he waged a war against the poor in doing that.
Mr Purnama's other problem is that he is ethnically Chinese, a minority in Indonesia that has suffered a dark past.
This is evident even in the protest, where I saw a man in white robes pulling the corners of his eyes - an attempt to mock the Chinese facial characteristics of Mr Purnama.
Under President Suharto, who ruled for three decades from 1966, Chinese symbols, names and celebrations were banned. In May 1998, at the height of the Asian economic crisis, mobs vented their anger at Chinese-Indonesian shop owners.
Those who lived through those times don't like to talk about it, but one elderly lady in a Chinese temple described the time.
"There was violence because of politics and we, the Chinese-Indonesians, became the targets. Lots of Chinese girls were raped. We still don't feel comfortable living in Indonesia. We can't relax and need to always be on guard."
It was not until 2002, when pluralist Islamic leader Abdurrahman Wahid became president, that all restrictions on the community were lifted. He made Confucianism one of the country's official religions.

But openly anti-Chinese speeches at the anti-Ahok rallies and growing racism on social media have many ethnic Chinese concerned. There is even talk among some about leaving the country if the government does not provide the necessary security.
"The whole world is watching, not just Indonesians, not just the people who live here," Anna, a Christian Chinese-Indonesian who didn't want to give her full name, said.
Governor Purmana's rise to one of the country's most prominent positions was seen as an example of Indonesia's commitment to religious tolerance.
Now his trial is testing Indonesia's multi-ethnic and pluralist society in a way it hasn't been for years.
Accusing Muslim of misquoting the Koran is blasphemy? Wouldn't the blasphemy be the guy who is, I don't know, misquoting? And if the misquoting allegation is false, then its defamation at best. But blasphemy?
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Re: Ahok trial: The blasphemy case testing Indonesian identity

Post by AniThyng »

You can't logic your way out of a religiously/politically motivated argument...

And still this is really tame by the typical standards...
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Re: Ahok trial: The blasphemy case testing Indonesian identity

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mr friendly guy wrote:
Accusing Muslim of misquoting the Koran is blasphemy? Wouldn't the blasphemy be the guy who is, I don't know, misquoting? And if the misquoting allegation is false, then its defamation at best. But blasphemy?[/quote]

It was a Christian who quoted the Koran. Because in the eyes of the islamofascists it's OK to quote the Koran to convince your rabid supporters not to vote on someone, but if a Christian does the same to counter it, it's a death warrant/ticket to jail.

I hope he gets free (although I'm afraid his political carreer is over regardless) but I have little hope with the rise of islamic fascism in Indonesia. I wonder how long it takes to become the next Pakistan
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Re: Ahok trial: The blasphemy case testing Indonesian identity

Post by K. A. Pital »

Only as long as it takes for the next Zia Ul Haq or Sukharto to rise in Indonesia.

Usually I do not like the term "islamofascism" but it applies, sadly, to Indonesia of all places more than to any other country. They had a honest Hitler-like dictator who murdered over a million leftists/feminists with the help of religious youth militias and then proceeded with a genocidal war of aggression in East Timor.

Ever since the Indonesian constitution has been very poorly protecting the "secular balance". It does not even exist in the nation - just a fig leaf over religous hatred and misogyny to attract investors. Kind of like that other nice state Saudi Arabia.
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Re: Ahok trial: The blasphemy case testing Indonesian identity

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wautd wrote:
I hope he gets free (although I'm afraid his political carreer is over regardless) but I have little hope with the rise of islamic fascism in Indonesia. I wonder how long it takes to become the next Pakistan
I hope he gets free. As to his political career, maybe. He is a favourite of the current president, so he does have some backing.
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Re: Ahok trial: The blasphemy case testing Indonesian identity

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http://www.thestar.com.my/news/regional ... elections/
JAKARTA: Incumbent Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama has won the first round of gubernatorial elections held on Wednesday after a four-month campaign.

According to unofficial results at press time, Basuki – better known as Ahok – led the race with 42% of the votes, followed closely by former education and culture minister Anies Baswedan who bagged 39%.

Meanwhile, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono only received about 17% of the votes.

Agus is the son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

As no candidate has received the minimum 50% of the votes, there will be a second round of polls.

This means that Ahok's victory is not final as he will face Anies again, with the second round of polls likely to be held in April.

Things will be more difficult for Ahok in the run-off as the Muslim votes that went to Agus are expected to swing to Anies.

Ahok, who is a Christian, is currently under trial for blasphemy charges over a viral video showing a speech he gave in the Thousand Islands regency in September 2016.

During the speech, Ahok referenced a Quranic verse, Al-Maidah 51, and told attendees they shouldn't fall for claims by religious leaders who use the verse to justify why Muslims should not be led by non-Muslims.

An edited version of the video – which went viral the following month – omitted several words, and this made it seem as if Ahok was suggesting that the verse itself was misleading, instead of the religious figures he was referring to
.

The video has proved to be the most damaging attack on his closely-watched re-election bid, which is reflective of the sentiments of hardliner Muslims against Jakarta's more religious moderates.

Jakarta's gubernatorial election has become the most-talked about among all the simultaneous regional elections currently ongoing in Indonesia due to the blasphemy case against Ahok.
He might lose round two, but in round one he came out ahead. So a lot of Muslims weren't fooled by this blasphemy crap.

This article also explains why they tried the blasphemy shit. Its bullshit to have blasphemy in the first place, but lets ignore that for now. It seems they edited out his speech to make it look like he was attacking the Koran, rather than attacking the person quoting the Koran. They really did a hatchet job on this guy. Even if you agree with blasphemy, its hard to make a case for it when the speech is edited out to give a different impression from what he is really saying.
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Re: Ahok trial: The blasphemy case testing Indonesian identity

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Bump

Sadly but not completely unsurprising, the extremists won. He was sentenced to two years in jail yesterday
Jakarta governor Ahok found guilty of blasphemy

Outgoing Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Purnama sentenced to two years in jail over comments he made during political campaign.

An Indonesian court has found Jakarta's outgoing Christian governor guilty of blasphemy against Islam.

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, also known as Ahok, was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday in a south Jakarta courtroom over comments he made regarding what he believed to be the misinterpretation of certain verses of the Quran.

As hundreds of protesters gathered outside calling for the maximum penalty to be given, Dwiarso Budi Santiarto, the presiding judge, told the court that Purnama was "convincingly guilty of committing blasphemy".

Purnama has denied wrongdoing, though he apologised for comments he made last year criticising his opponents' use of the Quran in political campaigning suggesting to Muslim constituents that they cannot be governed by a person of another faith.

Purnama lost his bid for re-election in an April runoff - after the most divisive and religiously charged election in recent years - to a Muslim rival, Anies Baswedan.

Thousands of police were deployed in Jakarta on Tuesday in case clashes broke out between Purnama's supporters and opponents who are demanding he be dismissed and jailed.

His supporters, for their part, delivered thousands of red and white balloons to City Hall in advance of the court session.

"Both groups will have the opportunity to demonstrate, but we are taking steps to prevent clashes," said Setyo Wasisto, the national police spokesman.

Prosecutors had called for a suspended one-year jail sentence for Purnama on charges of hate speech.

His opponents believe that is too light. The maximum sentence is four years in prison.

The Indonesian government has been criticised by rights groups for not doing enough to protect religious minorities.

However, President Joko Widodo, an ally of Purnama, has urged restraint over the trial and called for all sides to respect the legal process.

Al Jazeera's Step Vaessen, reporting from Jakarta on Sunday, said critics of Purnama celebrated outside the court after the sentencing, which has been harsher than expected.

OPINION: Islam and politics - Indonesia's identity crisis

"Of course, a lot of people in Indonesia are going to question this verdict," she said.

"They are going to wonder what kind of precedent this will set for other cases, how easy it will be to [bring] blasphemy charges against other opponents, especially if they happen to be from a minority in the country."

She said Purnama was likely to be detained immediately, adding that the verdict perhaps makes it harder for religious minorities to run for office in the future.

"It will make it difficult to hold speeches," Al Jazeera's Vaessen said.

"People will have to be more careful over the wording they use, because apparently it's quite easy to run the risk of being accused and getting a verdict of blasphemy now."
So fundies are free to use the Quran against their political opponents. But when that opponent is of another religion and tries to defend himself, he gets jailed and can kiss his political carreer goodbuy. With this precedent the door to the fascists grabbing power is now wide open.
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Re: Ahok trial: The blasphemy case testing Indonesian identity

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Ah. Balls. Is this a two year suspended sentance, or two years in jail flat?
Either way, my feelings about working in Malaysia have just reduced somewhat.
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Re: Ahok trial: The blasphemy case testing Indonesian identity

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madd0ct0r wrote:Ah. Balls. Is this a two year suspended sentance, or two years in jail flat?
Two years of imprisonment although he can still appeal the decision (but also with the risk of getting an even harsher sentence).
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Re: Ahok trial: The blasphemy case testing Indonesian identity

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I honestly can't imagine a sane person wanting to move to a society even slightly like this, yes. Especially given the bizarre Kafkaesque part where they admitted they edited and faked video of him to whip up public sentiment against him, and he gets convicted anyway!
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Re: Ahok trial: The blasphemy case testing Indonesian identity

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Simon_Jester wrote:I honestly can't imagine a sane person wanting to move to a society even slightly like this, yes. Especially given the bizarre Kafkaesque part where they admitted they edited and faked video of him to whip up public sentiment against him, and he gets convicted anyway!
Ahok was known to fight corruption. Perhaps the judges were corrupt and tried to get rid of a treath.
Or maybe they were afraid of getting lynched by the huge mob outside if they did anything less.
Or perhaps they simply are insane and share the same ideology of the mob. Saudi style radical Islam appears to rapidly gain ground in Indonesia since the last 10-15 years.
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Re: Ahok trial: The blasphemy case testing Indonesian identity

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Here's the translation of what the guy said that he's being slated for:
Ladies and gentlemen, you shouldn’t worry. The election has been moved forward, so if I’m not re-elected, I’ll step down in October 2017. So if these programs are going to run, you will still be able to reap the benefits from me. Even if I’m not re-elected as governor. I want to tell you this so you’ll be enthusiastic [about the program]. Don’t think that oh, if Ahok’s not chosen, then his programs will disappear. No, I’m here at least until October 2017. So don’t believe people – deep down ladies and gentlemen, you can’t vote for me because [these people] are lying to you using [the Quranic chapter] Al Maidah verse 51 and so on. That’s your right. So if you feel you can’t vote [for me] because you’re afraid to go to hell after you’ve been dumbed down, that’s fine. This is your personal calling. This program will continue regardless. So, ladies and gentlemen, don’t ever feel bad that you can’t vote for Ahok.
And what it said after the edit:
“Ladies and gentlemen, you can’t vote for me because you’re being lied to by [the Quranic chapter] Al Maidah verse 51 and so on. That’s your right. So if you feel you can’t vote [for me] because you’re afraid to go to hell after you’ve been dumbed down, that’s fine. This is your personal calling. This program will continue regardless. So, ladies and gentlemen, don’t ever feel bad that you can’t vote for Ahok.”

Al Maidah verse 51:
O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you - then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people.
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Re: Ahok trial: The blasphemy case testing Indonesian identity

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It looks like the translation of the arabic for Al Maidah 51 is up for debate. This gives for example
O you who believe! Do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies; some of them are allies of one another. Whoever of you allies himself with them is one of them. God does not guide the wrongdoing people.
Which might be interpreted as only talking about a subset of jews and christians.
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Re: Ahok trial: The blasphemy case testing Indonesian identity

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This will just be another line in the argument that islam is incompatible with democracy, which so far Tunesia seems the only counterexample towards (and not a strong one considering the country is quite volatile).
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