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Indonesia's controversial blasphemy law claims another victim
Asian Correspondent - August 22, 2018
Meiliana was found guilty of insulting Islam after asking her neighbourhood mosque to lower its sound system because it was too loud and "hurt" her ears.
Her conviction once again raises fears that Indonesia's tolerant, pluralistic tradition may be giving way to hardline Islamic conservative populism.
Rights group Amnesty International called the sentence a "ludicrous decision" and "a flagrant violation of freedom of expression."
"Sentencing someone to 18 months in prison for something so trivial is a stark illustration of the increasingly arbitrary and repressive application of the blasphemy law in the country," executive director Usman Hamid said in a statement.
Rights groups have long rallied against the blasphemy law, which is predominantly used against religious minorities in the Muslim-majority country.
The issue gained international attention in 2017 when then-Jakarta governor, Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, was sentenced to two years for blasphemy after the Christian politician quoted a Quran verse about electing non-Muslim leaders.
Indonesia, which has the world's biggest Muslim population, is officially pluralist with six major religions recognised, including Hinduism, Christianity and Buddhism. Freedom of expression is supposed to be guaranteed by law.
But the national conversation has been monopolised by a far-right Islamist groups, such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), who organised huge, racially charged rallies in Jakarta in the lead up to Ahok's trial.
A petition to revoke the law was filed by nine members of Indonesia's persecuted Ahmadiyah religious community, who sought the law's abolition on the basis that it fuels discrimination and abuse of religious minorities.
But Indonesia's Constitutional Court dismissed the petition in July, ruling that such abuses had nothing to do with the blasphemy law itself, but were rather linked to subsequent regulations derived from the law as well as "local regulations." The petition marked the third failed attempt to repeal the law since 2010.
United Nations human rights experts and groups like the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation have criticised the law's discriminatory use. Yet Indonesia's Ministry of Religious Affairs is seeking to reinforce and expand its scope through the so-called Religious Rights Protection Bill.
Human Rights Watch has claimed the government's continued support of the blasphemy law raises questions about its commitment to human rights for all Indonesians.
"Indonesia cannot claim to be a tolerant Muslim country while continuing religious discrimination and rights violations enabled by its blasphemy law," the group said in a statement.
President Joko Widodo's choice for running mate in next year's general election has done little to quiet concerns for religious freedom.
The 75-year-old Islamic scholar, Ma'ruf Amin, played a decisive role in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election when he publicly condemned Ahok and, in his role as head of the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI), he testified against the Chinese governor at the trial that ultimately saw him convicted.
The MUI was also instrumental in several controversial regulations including the country's anti-Pornography law, which has blocked out 70,000 "negative" websites, and the 2013 decree banning the Ahmadiyah Muslim religious sect.
His selection sends a clear message that Jokowi is trying to garner support with the hardline Muslim voters who have regularly criticised the president for not being Muslim enough.
In this political climate, it is unlikley the blasphemy law will be going anywhere any time soon.
Source: https://asiancorrespondent.com/2018/08/indonesias-controversial-blasphemy-law-claims-another-victim/.
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