Christian Politician Faces Controversial Blasphemy Trial In Indonesia

Indonesian Muslims prepare for Friday prayers at the National Monument, also known as Monas, in Jakarta during a rally calling for the arrest of Jakarta's Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as Ahok, who is accused of insulting the Koran.Reuters

A Christian politician is to be tried for alleged blasphemy next week in a case that illustrates the growing tensions between Islam and other faiths in Indonesia.

Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama, acting governor of Jakarta, has faced mass protests and calls for his detention because of comments he made during his election campaign about the Koran and the right of Muslims to vote for non-Muslims.

He is standing for governor in elections next year on an anti-corrutption ticket. Already, though, the blasphemy controversy appears to have affected his standing in the polls.

So far the judges in Jakarta have refused to incarcerate although a trial is to go ahead on 13 December, to increasing international concern.

Ahok is a Christian and a member of Indonesia's minority ethnic Chinese community. The campaigns against him have been fierce, with even a fake news report about a conservative Muslim leader of anti-Ahok demonstrations being beaten up by army soldiers. Even though it was completely false, the report went viral.

The case will be heard by a panel of five judges led by chief judge Dwiarso Budi Santiarto. There will be 13 prosecutors.

In recent weeks there have been numerous demonstrations on both sides, the latest seeing thousands of Muslims gather at the national monument in Jakarta to demand the arrest of Ahok.  

Muslims demand the arrest of Jakarta's Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama, who is accused of blasphemy.Reuters

According to Agenzia Fides, Ahok is accused of blasphemy because of an election speech he gave in September, in which he announced the candidacy for governor, and quoted the verse of a sura of the Koran, saying that every Indonesian citizen has a legitimate right to vote for him.

Hardliner Islamists say that an accurate reading of the Koran permits only a Muslim to guide other Muslims.

Fides reports that there is an ongoing confrontation between reformers led by President Joko Widodo and Ahok, and conservatives who are using militant Islam as a means to counter any attempts at reform.

Indonesia is technically a secular country. But it has the world's largest Muslim population, with nearly nine in ten people, more than 200 million, identifying as Muslim.