Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab may finally end over three years of self-imposed exile in Saudi Arabia as the firebrand cleric has confirmed his homecoming next week.
In a live broadcast on FPI’s Youtube account this morning, Rizieq announced that he and his family are scheduled to land in Jakarta on the morning of Nov. 10.
“God willing, my family and I will depart on Nov. 9 at 6:30pm Saudi time from Jeddah on a Saudia flight,” he said.
“God willing our flight will arrive in Cengkareng (where Soekarno-Hatta Airport is located) on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 9am.”
Rizieq said he has flight tickets and relevant travel documentations in hand, making this the first time since his exile that his homecoming seem like a real prospect. He said he will return to his home in Petamburan, Central Jakarta upon landing in the capital.
It’s not yet known if his legions of followers will show up to welcome his return at the airport, though it seems very likely.
The government has yet to issue a statement responding to Rizieq’s announcement.
Rizieq fled Indonesia as a fugitive in April 2017 when he was named a suspect by the Jakarta Police in a pornography case. Police eventually dropped his suspect status in that case but there are several other criminal investigations about his actions, including charges of blasphemy against Christianity and state symbols, that could be reopened.
Including today’s announcement, Rizieq has said he was returning to his homeland on seven different occasions. He obviously never made good on any of his previous promises, blaming the government and Saudi authorities for putting up administrative obstacles for his return.
Should Rizieq actually return on Nov. 10, he will find the political landscape in Indonesia markedly different from when he left three years ago. Once an influential proponent of the opposition, he and FPI has severed ties with their major political allies after President Joko Widodo’s government all but gobbled up most of the opposition to form a supermajority government in the 2019 election.
Rizieq was particularly chummy with losing 2019 presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, with the former able to use his influence to mobilize the country’s conservative Muslims against incumbent President Jokowi. However, that relationship seems to be beyond repair after Prabowo joined Jokowi’s cabinet as defense minister in 2019.
