As you are probably well aware, yet another massive protest against Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama for his alleged blasphemy against the Quran is being planned for tomorrow. The previous protest on November 4 brought over 100,000 demonstrators to the streets of the capital, and tomorrow’s protest might be even bigger.
Many believe that political motivations are fueling the anti-Ahok protests, but there are no doubt many demonstrators who sincerely believe they are speaking out against an injustice.
But if that is the case, why haven’t we seen similarly large protests against the numerous instances of corruption amongst government officials, an injustice that arguably has a far more significant impact on the lives and welfare of Indonesians?
And, since all religions agree that stealing is a bad thing, isn’t a politician who publicly professes their religious morality while secretly stealing from others blaspheming their religion in a very real way?
That is the point brought up by Dahnil Anzar, chairman of the Muhammadiyah Youth (the youth wing of the country’s second-largest Muslim organization) at a conference attended by President Joko Widodo in Tangerang yesterday.
“We want to send a message to our friends – why are we not as angry with corruptors as we are with blasphemers? Taking people’s money is a true insult,” Dahnil said as quoted by Kompas.
Danhil also said that if Muslims are offended by Ahok’s statements and consider that an insult to religion, then they should be even more offended by officials who profess to be religious while stealing the people’s money at the same time.
He added, while there were many people in Indonesia who are intelligent and competent in their fields, few of them were really concerned with honesty and integrity.
Danhil’s words are certainly wise. But it should be noted that the Muhammadiyah Youth were one of the many organizations that reported Ahok for his alleged blasphemy, thus helping to deprive Indonesia of one of the few government officials who was demonstrably concerned with honesty and integrity.
