Jakarta: Christian gov. jailed for blasphemy

Jakarta, Indonesia -- the Christian governor of Jakarta was jailed for blasphemy, saying that Jesus wasn't the Son of God. 

Oh, wait. It was actually for blasphemy against Islam.

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama was found guilty Tuesday and received two years in jail for blasphemy against Islam, a so-called religion to which he does not adhere. The sentence was worse than feared and others are concerned that it will embolden hardline Muslim forces to challenge secularism in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim majority nation, and a nation where Barack Obama attended madrassa.

Islamist groups organized huge rallies against the Christian Purnama's campaign and ended his bid for another term as governor.

President Joko Widodo, an ally of Purnama, is an ethnic-Chinese Christian. He believes the verdict will be a setback for his government that has tried to quell radical groups (aka Muslims) and soothe investors' worries that the country's secular values were at risk. 

They are and investors aren't quelled.

We are now living in a world where freedom of speech and belief are no longer unimpeachable. Like radical Islam, the left even in the United States, is rioting in order to stop free speech.

While thousands of people, both supporters and opponents to free speech and belief, waited outside, the Jakarta court judge, Dwiarso Budi Santiarto said Purnama was "found to have legitimately and convincingly conducted a criminal activity of blasphemy, and because of that we have imposed two years of imprisonment."

How tolerant.

Purnama said that he plans to appeal.

Charles Santiago, chairman of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), composed of regional lawmakers overseeing rights issues, said that "Indonesia was thought to be a regional leader in terms of democracy and openness. This decision places that position in jeopardy and raises concerns about Indonesia's future as an open, tolerant, diverse society."

Let us not kid ourselves: any society that is headed by a theocratic governance is never going to be tolerant, diverse and open because it goes against its very core.

While we pretend to be better people for our tolerance, Islamists are laughing at us.

The United Nations' Bangkok Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (kind of an oxymoron) tweeted: "We are concerned by jail sentence for Jakarta governor for alleged blasphemy against Islam. We call on Indonesia to review blasphemy law."

So who is Indonesia going to ask about blasphemy? 

An imam who will not go against his fellow Muslims.

Purnama was taken to an East Jakarta prison after the verdict was delivered and will remain there unless a higher court suspends it while waiting for his appeal.

This is a disgrace for Indonesia, but standard operating procedure for Islam.




Tweet

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.



Tweet