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Indonesia does not need caliphate, MUI chief says amid social media frenzy
Jakarta Post - April 23, 2017
"A republic as the foundation of the nation has been agreed. We don't need to talk about a caliphate anymore, [the debate about it] is already over," he said after the opening of an economic congress in Jakarta, as quoted by kompas.com.
Ma'ruf said Indonesia's founding fathers of different backgrounds had approved the democratic republican system. He added that the proposal of a caliphate would trigger turmoil.
"It has become noisy again since the emergence of groups wanting a new system," he said, referring to the planned International Khilafah Forum to be held in Jakarta on Sunday, organized by hard-line group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI).
Reports of the event have triggered a social media frenzy, with hash tag #KhilafahSolusinya (a caliphate is the solution) going viral. Some claimed to have made social media posts from the event at Balai Sudirman in South Jakarta.
But the idea immediately triggered rejection from netizens, making the hash tag one of the nationally trending topics on Sunday.
Previously, Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said Saturday that the police had not issued a permit for the forum by HTI after evaluating the potential risks of the event. (rdi/bbs)
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