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| Southeast Asia | |
| Thousands of Muslims protest Indonesian Governor’s alleged blasphemy | |
| 2016-11-05 | |
Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, commonly known as Ahok, is alleged to have insulted Islam by criticizing his opponents’ use of a Koranic verse in a stump speech. As many as 18,000 police and military personnel have been deployed for Friday’s protest, and an inner ring of approximately 100 armed military guards are outside the Governor’s residence, CNN Indonesia says. Local media suggest as many as 50,000 people could take to the streets. There are fears that ISIS, and al-Qaeda, through its Indonesian proxy Jemaah Islamiyah, could seek to ferment violence. Police have called on demonstrators to exercise their right to protest and freedom of expression in a peaceful manner. Residents have been warned to avoid the protest route and avoid sharing "unclear... provocative and incorrect information" on social media, Police Chief Tito Karnavian said in a statement. The rally originates at Istiqlal Mosque in Central Jakarta and will end at the Presidential palace. Governments, including the UK and Australia, have urged their citizens in the city to exercise caution. Conservative Islamist opponents say that Ahok, who is a Christian of Chinese descent, should not administer a Moslem-majority city. They had previously quoted a verse from the Moslem holy book at a rally, which warns against Moslems allying themselves with non-believers. Ahok is a key ally of President Joko Widodo and was his deputy when Widodo -- also known as Jokowi -- was governor of Jakarta. Ahok is now the frontrunner in the 2017 gubernatorial race. Indonesian President Joko Widodo with Ahok after the latter’s swearing in as governor on November 19, 2014. Jokowi has called for calm and is seeking support from Prabowo Subianto, his opponent in next year’s presidential election. Former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, whose son is running against Ahok, made a speech two days ago calling for the governor to be persecuted to placate the Islamist opposition and quell the protests. | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 The Christian governor did not "insult Islam" They are rioting because he is Christian and Islamists do NOT believe that Christians should ever be in a position of power over Muslims. He is the governor but he is not Muslim, therefore he has to be removed. Islamists are supremacists. The slang term for "christian" in pakistan equates to "streetsweeper" because low jobs is all Christians can get in Islamist dominated societies, where they will not be put in a position overseeing a Muslim. saudi/qatari money at work spreading Islamist ideology in Indonesia for past 20 years, ignored, bearing fruit. pay attention. Halal certification made compulsory by SBY in last act before leaving. Aceh under sharia. HT rallying last March with 100,000 turnout. This is Islamism rising. Soon you'll be looking to China to be a bullwark against Indonesia instead of the other way round. |
| Posted by: anon1 2016-11-05 09:17 |