ICC Note:

The Christian Chinese governor of Jakarta who is running for reelection says that he has been the target of attack over his ethnicity and his faith since he first entered public office in 2005. Both Christians and Chinese have been the victims of attacks throughout Indonesia’s history. Ahok’s election is historical in that he is the first Chinese Christian to hold the office of governor, although he was not elected into this position, rather he assumed it when the former governor began his race for presidency. The election is also significant because of growing radical and hardline Muslim ideology which is changing the political landscape of Indonesia and threatening the already tenuous freedoms religious minorities had in Indonesia.

4/7/2017 Indonesia (World Watch Monitor) – The Indonesian Christian governor on trial for blasphemy said yesterday (4 April) that he has been the target of racist and religious attacks since he was elected to public office in 2005.

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (better known as “Ahok”), the governor of Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, also reiterated to the court his belief that the Qur’anic verse at the centre of his trial – Al Maidah 51 – does not tell Muslims they cannot vote for a Christian. (The verse instructs Muslims to “not take the Jews and the Christians as allies”.)

Speaking on the final day of witness testimony, he criticised his opponents’ interpretation of the contentious verse. He said he had insisted that it does not forbid Muslims from choosing a Christian governor. Ahok also said that hard-line cleric Rizieq Shihab, who on account of this argument had accused him of “insulting Islam”, was “a liar”.

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