A series of highly-charged protests over an Indonesian Christian politician reflects the extent of the ideological battle gripping Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

There are now fears that the growing religious unrest, mixed with political tensions, could distract Indonesia’s leadership from much-needed reforms.

Rally and counter-rally

A Christian of Chinese ethnicity in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama-known as Ahok-was accused of insulting Islam after he cited a Koranic verse that suggests Muslims should not take Jews or Christian as allies or leaders in a September 27 speech.

Ahok, who is running to keep his seat in February’s gubernatorial elections, said Indonesians should not be deceived by people who used the verse to influence the election.

Despite apologising, the politician is being investigated by police and now faces potential charges of blasphemy amid national unrest.

On Oct. 14, thousands marched in Jakarta, demanding legal action against the governor. Similar protests followed in other cities, including Surabaya and Bandung.

On Nov. 4, a 50,000-strong demonstration resulted in clashes with police that injured more than 100 people and left one dead.

On Dec. 2, around 200,000 protested, urging for Ahok’s ejection from office.

Shaken by the religious divide, more than 10,000 people held a counter-rally on Nov. 21, calling for tolerance.

A second unity demonstration was held on Dec. 4, with around 30,000 in attendance.

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2016-11-04 11:30:33

Photo Gallery

Tens of thousands of Muslim hardliners in protest march against Jakarta governor for alleged blasphemy

Source:

AFP

Reuters

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A deeper divide

Indonesia is known for its moderate brand of Islam.

The country’s largest Muslim organisations-Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah-do not support the anti-Ahok rallies and have urged Muslims to remain calm.

But hardline groups such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FDI), organizers of the anti-Ahok protests, are widespread.

The FDI, who calls for a formal adoption of sharia law, follows a specific interpretation of Sunni Islam that labels non-Muslims “infidels” and has been implicated in violent attacks against minority religions, according to Human Rights Watch.

The FDI’s teachings challenge a key philosophy that has governed Indonesia since 1985: Pancasila, a secular principle based on the idea of national unity and a belief in one god, the identity of whom is left open to individual interpretation.

The debate about the role of Islam in a secular state, combined with the growing strength of radical entities like the FDI, are the key themes underpinning national anger towards Ahok, Dina Afrianty, research fellow at Australian Catholic University, told CNBC.

“We’re dealing with implications of a long-term rise in conservatism,” Douglas Ramage, managing director at consulting firm Bower Group Asia, agreed.

And there is the additional risk that the FDI-led protests could provide a fresh opportunity for global terror network Islamic State to expand its membership in Indonesia by capitalizing on the conservative fervour.

Religious politics or just politics?

Adding to the explosive situation is a theory that Islam isn’t actually at the heart of the political unrest.

“Rumours are circulating in Jakarta that former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is actually the source of funding behind these protests,” said Afrianty.

That line of thinking had led moderate Indonesians to believe the protests had more to do with politics than Islam, she continued.

The rumour emerged last month after President Joko Widodo, or Jokowi, said “political actors” were exploiting the situation.

Yudhoyono’s family has vehemently denied involvement in the protests.

Regardless of the motive, the protests and influence of fundamentalist groups could hurt Jokowi’s administration.

“This makes the job of Jokowi and other reformers, such as Ahok, much harder.

For Islamists, Jokowi is seen as a secular nationalist leader who doesn’t represent their Islamic identity so they want to vote him out,” Afrianty said.

Before Friday’s protest in Jakarta, Indonesian police said they had foiled a plot to use the protests to lead an uprising against Jokowi, Reuters reported.

Police detained 10 people in the early hours of Friday, including politician Rachmawati Sukarnoputri, who is the sister of former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, as well as musician Ahmad Dhani and retired army general Kivlan Zen, Reuters said.

“The on-going political tension between religion and politics is distracting Jokowi from his main priorities, which is improving infrastructure and regulatory burden on investors,” Ramage stated.

The situation could hit the economy, too, at a time when investors have praised Indonesia as a standout opportunity among emerging markets.

“Indonesia is one of numerous competitive emerging markets competing for limited investment dollars, so this becomes one more thing that investors put in the negative column if they believe political stability is under threat,” Ramage warned.

PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – There were no survivors after a plane carrying 47 people crashed into a mountain in northern Pakistan on Wednesday, the airline’s chairman said, as recovery operations continued late into the night at the remote crash site.

The military said 40 bodies had been recovered and rescue efforts involved about 500 soldiers, doctors and paramedics. The bodies were shifted to the Ayub Medical Centre in nearby Abbottabad, about 20km (12 miles) away. “There are no survivors, no one has survived,” said Muhammad Azam Saigol, the chairman for Pakistan International Airlines. PIA-operated flight PK661, which crashed en route from Chitral to the capital, Islamabad.

Junaid Jamshed, a well-known Pakistani pop star turned evangelical Muslim cleric, was among those feared dead, an airline official said.

PIA said the captain of the flight had reported losing power in one engine minutes before its plane lost contact with the control tower en route to the capital.

The airline said the plane crashed at 4:42 pm local time (1142 GMT) in the Havelian area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, about 40km (25 miles) north of Islamabad. Chitral, where the flight originated, is a popular tourist destination in Pakistan.

Saigol said the ATR turboprop aircraft had undergone regular maintenance and in October had passed an “A-check” maintenance certification, performed after every 500 flight hours.

He said a full investigation of the crash, involving international agencies, would be conducted. “All of the bodies are burned beyond recognition. The debris are scattered,” Taj Muhammad Khan, a government official based in Havelian, told Reuters.

Khan, who was at the crash site, said witnesses told him”the aircraft has crashed in a mountainous area, and before it hit the ground it was on fire”.

Pakistani television showed a trail of wreckage engulfed in flames on a mountain slope.

Irfan Elahi, the government’s aviation secretary, told media the plane suffered engine problems but it was too early to determine the cause of the accident.

THREE FOREIGNERS ON BOARD

In a late night statement, PIA said the plane was carrying 47 people, including five crew members and 42 passengers. Earlier, the airline had said there were 48 people on board.

The airline said two Austrian citizens and one Chinese citizen, all men, had been on board. The flight manifest showed three people on board with foreign names.

The Austrian foreign minister’s spokesman later confirmed two Austrians had been killed in the crash.

A local trader at the site of the crash said the fire was still burning nearly two hours after the crash. “They are removing body parts,” Nasim Gohar told Geo TV.

The military said it had sent in troops and helicopters. “PIA is doing everything possible to help the families of passengers and crew members,” the airline said in a statement.

The pop singer Jamshed, a member of one of Pakistan’s first successful rock bands in the 1990s, abandoned his singing career to join the Tableeghi Jamaat group, which travels across Pakistan and abroad preaching about Islam.

In his last tweet, Jamshed posted pictures of a snow-capped mountain, calling Chitral “Heaven on Earth”.

Plane crashes are not uncommon in Pakistan and safety standards are often criticised. In recent years, media have reported on multiple near-misses as planes over-ran runways and engines caught fire.

In 2010, a passenger plane crashed in heavy rain near Islamabad, killing all 152 people on board. Two years later, a plane operated by a private Pakistani company, with 127 people on board, crashed near Islamabad. All on board were killed.

PIA has also suffered major disasters in the past.

In 1979 and 1992, PIA jets crashed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and in Kathmandu, killing 156 and 167 people, respectively.

In 2006, a PIA plane crashed near the central city of Multan, killing 45 people.