The massive protests in November and December against former Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama that brought hundreds of thousands of demonstrators to the streets of Jakarta were not actually labeled anti-Ahok protests but instead given the less negative moniker of Aksi Bela Islam (Actions in Defense of Islam).
Now that the man who was arguably the figurehead at the forefront of those actions, Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab, has been officially named a suspect by the police in a high-profile pornography case, you might expect massive demonstrations to defend the man who was defending Islam from the supposed blasphemy of Ahok.
Which might indeed happen, but don’t expect the country’s biggest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), or the country’s highest Islamic clerical body, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) to support them.
Senior officials from both of the influential Islamic groups have officially spoken out against protest actions to defend Rizieq, saying that people should respect the legal system.
MUI Chairman KH Ma’ruf Amin said that protests or other extra-legal actions on behalf of Rizeq could create more problems in society.
“It’s better (not to do more demo). Those people have been warned so as not to cause problems. It is an, however, important for the process to be transparent so that people do not misunderstand,” Ma’ruf said at the Presidential Palace Bogor yesterday as quoted by CNN Indonesia.
NU chairman KH Marsudi Syuhud echoed Ma’ruf’s sentiments, saying NU wanted the case to be finished as quickly as possible.
“I want him to finish the legal process, in line with the message of Kiyai Ma’ruf Amin,” Marsudi told Merdeka seperately today.
Both of the highly respected religious figures added that the police needed to be transparent in their investigation and provide strong evidence for naming Rizieq a suspect. Similar sentiments were echoed by several members of the House of Representatives (DPR) earlier today.
“The police must explain to the public, what two pieces of evidence do they have to name Habib Rizieq a suspect,” said Arsul Sani, a politician on the DPR’s Commission III earlier today, as quoted by Sindonews.
In actuality, their requests were already granted when police held a press conference in which they explained the two pieces of evidence they used to justify Rizieq’s suspect status – expert testimony confirming the nude photos in the document leak were authentic and did in fact depict the women Rizieq is alleged to have an affair with, Firza Husein, as well as expert testimony confirming that the chat logs, in which Rizieq asked for the nude photos, were authentic based on an analysis of one of the FPI leader’s phones that the police managed to obtain.
“The images are not modified, they are the originals. Who else can you trust if not an expert? It’s all, original,” Jakarta Police public relations head Raden Prabowo Argo Yuwono said yesterday as quoted by Tempo.
Argo also said that investigators had confirmed that the Whatsapp chats had been sent between Rizieq’s phone, which is registered to Telkomsel, and Firza’s phone.
While MUI and NU are not going to support any actions in defense of Rizieq, his lawyers say that millions of his supporters could swarm and shut down the airport in police try to pick him up by force at the airport, whenever he decided to return from Saudi Arabia where’s he hiding at the moment.
To get the full story on the history of Rizieq’s pornography case, be sure to read our detailed write-up on the case:
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