They called it.
At a roundtable discussion titled “Indonesia: A model for the Muslim world” in late April, discussion members warned that Islamic extremism was on the rise in the traditionally tolerant Southeast Asian country.
Although Indonesia prides itself on being the world’s largest Muslim democracy with tolerance for other religions, several expressed concern over the wave of extremism washing over the country.
“The threat of radicalism is growing,” said Jakob Tobing, Indonesia’s former ambassador to South Korea who helped lead the Indonesian parliament to rewrite its constitution, transitioning the country from dictatorship to democracy at the turn of this century. “Negligence of this consolidation has opened a very fertile soil for these ideas coming from the outside.”
Voters pressured
Tobing cited as an example the recent defeat of former Jakarta Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama in the recent re-election campaign, according to The Christian Post. Purnama was the first Christian governor of Jakarta in more than 50 years and only the second Christian governor in the history of Indonesia, where 90 percent of the voters are Muslim.
He was defeated in his re-election by Anies Baswedan, a former education and culture minister and a Muslim.
Muslim radicals protested Purnama’s re-election bid in the thousands and reportedly “abused verses of the Quran and intimidated Muslims” by saying “if you vote for [Purnama] that means you vote against the will of God,” said Alwi Shihab, the Indonesian president’s special envoy to the Middle East and OIC.
“I think the [Jakarta] election has become a wake-up call to all popular forces in Indonesia,” Shihab said during the roundtable discussion. “We have been so far complacent. We have been so proud to be seen as a model of Islamic religious tolerance and so forth. We are forgetful of the invasion of ideas and ideology.”
Purnama was sentenced by a five-judge panel to two years in prison for blaspheming the Quran. While Indonesian law allows a maximum sentence of five years in prison for blasphemy, prosecutors had only recommended a two-year probation so the sentencing was shocking. Purnama said he would appeal the verdict but it is unclear if that process will lead to his release.
The accusation stemmed from a video of Purnama telling voters they were being deceived if they believed a specific verse in the Quran prohibited Muslims from voting for a non-Muslim leader.
In his Sept. 29, 2016, speech, Purnama said, “You don’t have to vote for me because you’ve been lied to [or fooled] … (or) you fear you’ll go to hell … . That’s your personal right. These programs will go forward. … Follow your conscience.”
Video footage of the speech went viral, inciting Islamic extremists and prompting an apology from Purnama on Oct. 10, 2016, “to all Muslims and anyone who felt offended.” (TAB, MS)
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