ICC Note:
“The leading candidate for governor of Indonesia’s capital is Christian, and he’s being tried for blasphemy.” In contrast to previous elections, Indonesia’s current race for governor is drawing attention from major countries including America, the UK, Japanese, Russia, China, and Germany. Chinese-Christian Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, otherwise known as Ahok, is the current front-runner. However, his aggressive and outspoken nature is “a great handicap” in a society praised from politeness and harmony. Furthermore, as a double minority, his campaign causes strife among the Muslim populace “threatening to silence minorities and reformers.” In part to this reason, Ahok is on trial for blasphemy against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. Despite this, there is a great source of hope because a Chinese-Christian “has come out on top in the initial vote to lead the capital of the world’s largest Muslim country…”
03/07/2017 Indonesia (National Review) – The election of Jakarta’s governor usually draws zero attention outside Indonesia. But the current race to lead the capital of the world’s largest Muslim-majority country has drawn the attention of American, British, Japanese, Russian, Chinese, and German broadcasters, not to mention the world’s most prominent daily newspapers.
The campaign itself is lively enough, involving the families of four former presidents, demonstrations by half a million people, smears about religion and ethnicity, and police investigations into the possibility that a prominent Islamist used WhatsApp to send pornography to a woman suspected of treason. On top of all this, the leading candidate is currently on trial for blasphemy, shuttling daily between the courtroom and the campaign trail. The recent U.S. presidential election looks sedate by comparison.
Beyond all the drama, though, Jakarta’s vote will be a key indicator of larger trends in the Muslim world — whether charges of blasphemy will continue to threaten and silence minorities and reformers, and whether radical forms of Islam will undermine and replace their key Muslim opponent: the Islam of Indonesia.
The current front-runner in the election is Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, universally known as “Ahok.” He is aggressive and outspoken, which is a great handicap in a society that praises politeness and harmony. He is also a double minority — ethnic Chinese in a country where anti-Chinese sentiment remains strong, and Christian in a country that is 85 percent Muslim. But he has a deserved reputation for being honest, intensely practical, and competent, which are attractive qualities to the residents of the sprawling, congested, and frequently flooded metropolis.
These latter virtues made Ahok the clear leader in the race’s earliest months. But in a campaign speech on September 27, 2016, he referred to a Koranic verse — al-Maidah 51, warning Muslims against taking Jews or Christians as allies — that he said was being used by some Islamists to assert that Muslims were forbidden to vote for a Christian.
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