Thousands join blasphemy protest in Indonesian capital

They accuse him of blasphemy, and said he made “insulting comments” about the Quran – a claim he denies. Ahok received flak for allegedly misquoting a verse from the Quran during one of his speeches in September where he allegedly criticised his opponents for citing a verse in the Quran which warns Muslims against forming an alliance with Christians and Jews saying that they were “lying”.

Indonesian courts are investigating Ahok over the blasphemy allegations, with a trial starting in the next few weeks, but he has been free while awaiting trial.

After working hard in the past few weeks meeting with political parties and Muslim leaders in an effort to defuse tensions, the president walked from the nearby state palace to the national monument to join the protesters for Friday prayers.

In the hours before tens of thousands of Indonesians converged in Jakarta to once again call for the jailing of the capital’s Christian governor, eight people were arrested on suspicion of treason.

An anti-Ahok protest on November 4 attracted at least 100,000 people and turned violent.

Police named Purnama a suspect in a blasphemy investigation earlier this month following the first protest.

“They had another agenda aside from prayers”, he said, referring to demonstrations after Friday prayers against Jakarta’s Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama. Authorities are still holding Sri Bintang Pamungkas, a noted political prisoner under the regime of the late dictator Suharto, and two people suspected of breaches of the electronic information and transactions law.

It has challenged the image of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation that practices a moderate form of Islam, and has shaken the government of Jokowi, who accused unnamed political actors of trying to undermine him.

The group includes the sister of former President Megawati Soekarnoputri and a retired two-star army general.

“This gathering is an expression of Muslims being united as one people, one body”, said Salist Nursolikhah, 49, who flew into Jakarta from the city of Yogjakarta to join the rally. He called for demonstrators to leave peacefully. Former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wants to see his son Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono get the top job in Jakarta.

At a previous protest earlier this month, one person was killed and dozens were injured.

Hard-line Muslim groups are demanding Ahok’s immediate arrest.

“Let’s defend our religion”, Rizieq Shihab, leader of hardline group the Islamic Defenders’ Front (FPI), told the crowd as he delivered a fiery sermon. “We hope everything will proceed according to the agreement with the protesters”, Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono said on Thursday.

“We demand the law be enforced”, Confederation of Indonesian Workers Unions (KSPI) chairman Said Iqbal said on Friday in the Heroes Monument area in Central Jakarta. He could be jailed for up to five years if found guilty. “Ahok did not say that the al-Maida was a lie”, he said.

President Joko Widodo, who has accused hardliners of using the anger over Ahok’s alleged blasphemy to destabilise his government, addressed the rally.