Islamic group holds protest outside The Jak newspaper office for using meme of FPI leader Rizieq Shihab

FPI leader Rizieq Syihab during a sermon in which he claimed that the new Indonesian rupiah bills contain hidden communist symbols. Screengrab: FPI TV / Youtube
FPI leader Rizieq Syihab during a sermon in which he claimed that the new Indonesian rupiah bills contain hidden communist symbols. Screengrab: FPI TV / Youtube

Despite his links to an ongoing pornography scandal and his subsequent flee from local law enforcement to Saudi Arabia, Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab evidently still has supporters who are willing to defend him no matter what.

Yesterday, a small group of people claiming to be “representatives of Muslims in South Jakarta” protested outside The Jak newspaper office in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta. Their beef is that the newspaper, which is ironically best described as an Islamic version of Lampu Hijau, printed a couple of memes poking fun at Rizieq on the humor section of the front page of its May 17 issue.

One of the memes is a photo of Rizieq with a caption of a sexually euphemistic nature relating to Firza Husein, the woman accused of having an adulterous relationship with Rizieq.

“We protest the printing of the picture of an ulema (Rizieq) who was insulted,” said protest leader Hermansyah last night, as quoted by Tempo.

Sadly, instead of staying true to the principles of freedom of press, the newspaper’s chief editor, Hadits Abdillah, said that they are printing an apology to anyone offended by the memes in today’s issue. He also said that those in the newspaper responsible for running the meme (not him, apparently) will be reprimanded.



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