Muslims protest Christian governor in Jakarta for "insulting" a book

Jakarta -- Thousands of angry intolerant members of the religion of peace flooded the streets of Jakarta Friday. They are calling for the arrest of the city's ethnic-Chinese Christian governor Basuki Tjahaja "Ahok" Purnama. They are claiming he insulted a book.

Meanwhile, there are others who are demanding that Purnama also apologize to a rock that he cursed at after stubbing his toe.

Seriously--they say Purnama didn't like a book or something and they want him to be "dealt with."

More than 150,000 crazed Muslims are set to take part in the "Off With His Head" protest but that's a very conservative figure, which may go as high as 350,000. This demonstration may break the all-time Jakarta demonstration since the ones preceding the end of the Suharto regime in 1998. They are planning to have about 20,000 security personnel on hand as a safeguard for probably violence and terrorism.

An Islamic group demanded the arrest of the governor because, they say, he insulted the Koran, an Islamic book written by a man named Mohammed, who claimed to be a prophet and invented the religion that's making a big splash across the world and is not dissimilar to the "Roach Motel" where you can come in, but you can't get out--at least in once piece.

The demonstrators marched toward the National Monument in central Jakarta and conducted Islamic "prayers" there. The government isn't calling the demonstration a demonstration (with the accent on 'demon') but are instead calling it a "mass prayer."

An earlier "mass prayer" calling for Purnama's arrest was held in early November and turned predictably violent (as is often the way angry Islamic gatherings are wont to do). One of the faithful was killed and 350 people were injured including security personnel. 

Purnama is Jakarta's first Christian governor since the 1960s and the first of Chinese ancestry. He was deputy governor to Joko Widodo for two years and replaced him as governor when Widodo became president in 2014.

Purnama fought hard against corruption and worked to ease Jakarta's traffic problems. He has taken a tough stance on squatters, which has hurt his approval ratings as does his being Christian, which often hurts Christians in Muslim countries.

The governor is presently on leave as he prepares for the upcoming election in February.

Let's hope that cooler heads prevail in Jakarta and that Purnama is allowed to keep his on his shoulders.



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