In January, one of the prosecution’s witnesses in the ‘blasphemy’ trial of Jakarta’s Christian governor, Basuki ‘Ahok’ Tjahaja Purnama, has admitted to threatening that he could incite mob violence to get police to press charges.
The secretary of an Islamic organisation, who reported Ahok to police in September for ‘blasphemy’, for an alleged anti-Islamic comment made online, has admitted under cross-examination that he told police: ‘If they didn’t file my report, thousands of Muslims would come [to the police station].’
Mandate for Muslims
He then stressed: ‘This was not because I wanted to force [the police], but because it is a mandate for every Muslim [to protect Islam’s honour].’
