Tag: Ahok

Indonesia Christians seek action against Islamists

January 25, 2017 Indonesia Aceh, Ahok, Blasphemy, Indonesia, Islamic Defenders Front, Joko Widodo, Minorities, Sharia

Indonesia’s Christian leaders have urged the country’s president, Joko Widodo, to take action against a radical Islamist group. This comes after a petition called for the disbandment of the group, which is accused of being responsible for a series of violent attacks against Christians. The Christian leaders said the Islamic . . . Read More

Christian removed from role after Muslim protests

January 16, 2017 Indonesia Ahok, Blasphemy, Indonesia, Islamic extremism, Yogyakarta

Indonesian authorities have removed a Catholic from his role as the head of a sub-district after protests from Muslim residents at the appointment of a Christian. Yulius Suharto, head of the Pajangan sub-district in the Bantul Regency of the Special Region of Yogyakarta, was only appointed on 30 December but . . . Read More

Indonesia religious freedom violation ‘increasing’

January 13, 2017 Indonesia Ahok, Blasphemy, Indonesia, Jakarta, Java, Religious freedom

Indonesia has shown a steady increase in violations of religious freedom over the past year, according to the country’s National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM). In 2016, Komnas HAM received 97 reports of violations, compared to 87 in 2015 and 74 in 2014, according to the organisation’s faith freedom . . . Read More

Indonesia: Islamists stop Christmas celebrations

December 14, 2016 Indonesia Ahok, Bandung, Blasphemy, Christmas, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, Islamic extremism, Jakarta, Java

An Indonesian church’s Christmas celebrations were stopped on 6 Dec. by members of a local Islamist group in Bandung, who protested that such services should take place in a church, not a public space. The mayor of Bandung, capital of the West Java province, wrote on his official Instagram account: . . . Read More

Indonesian Christian governor insists ‘no insult intended’ as ‘blasphemy’ trial begins

December 13, 2016 Indonesia Ahok, Blasphemy, Islamic extremism, Jakarta, Kalimantan, Sumatra

UPDATE (13 Dec.) Indonesian Christian governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (better known as “Ahok”), fought back tears during the first day of his blasphemy trial today (13 Dec.). Ahok – only the second Christian and the second governor of Chinese descent to lead the Indonesian capital city, Jakarta – is alleged to have “misused” . . . Read More

Indonesia’s only Christian governor questioned by police amid ‘blasphemy’ furore

November 29, 2016 Indonesia Ahok, Blasphemy, Islamic extremism, Jakarta, Kalimantan, Sumatra

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (better known by his nickname, ‘Ahok’), during a re-election speech in Jakarta on 16 November. He was questioned by police on 22 November after being named a suspect in a blasphemy investigation seen by critics as a test of religious tolerance in Indonesia, the world’s most populous . . . Read More

Indonesia: Christian Governor accused of blasphemy

November 7, 2016 Indonesia Ahok, Blasphemy, Indonesia, Islamic Defenders Front, Jakarta, Quran

Thousands of hardline Muslims turned violent during a protest calling for the prosecution of Jakarta’s Christian Governor over comments he made about the Quran, . An estimated 50,000 demonstrated at a largely peaceful rally in the Indonesian capital on 4 November after the Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama said that Islamic . . . Read More

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