Ahok Demoted For Blaspheming Religion In Today's History, November 4, 2016

JAKARTA - Five years ago today or on November 4, 2016, demonstrations were held in volumes to demand the imprisonment of the then Governor of DKI Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama alias Ahok. He was protested because of what he said when he gave a speech in front of the residents of the Thousand Islands on September 30, 2016. At that time, Ahok said that he had no problem if the people who were "deceived using Surah Al-Maidah 51 and various things" did not vote for him in the election for the Governor of DKI Jakarta.

Ahok's words were recorded in a video and uploaded to the YouTube account of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government. However, this became a polemic when Buni Yani uploaded the video clip of Ahok on his personal social media.

Buni uploaded a video clip of Ahok by adding the caption "...was lied to by Surat Al Maidah...", without 'using' which changed the context and sparked a massive demonstration. At that time, Buni Yani admitted that he had the wrong transcript.

As a result of Buni Yani's upload, many people criticized Ahok's statement. Meanwhile, Muslims think that Ahok has committed blasphemy. The criticism spread to various social media platforms, there was even a petition on the change.org site supported by tens of thousands of people.

Ahok then responded to the protests and criticisms. He said that he had absolutely no intention of insulting any verse of the Qur'an. Through his Instagram account, Ahok said that people should see the video in its entirety and without cutting it so that they fully understand the context.

"I do not intend to insult the holy verses of the Qur'an, but I do not like to politicize the holy verses, be it the Koran, the Bible, or other books," said Ahok.

However, this did not dampen public anger. Until finally a demonstration was held to encourage the investigation of Ahok's statement to legal channels. The crowd, wearing all white clothes, began to gather in front of the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta since 11.00 WIB. Because it coincided on Friday, the masses then prayed Friday at the Istiqlal Mosque. After that, the masses returned to the Palace, which is located on Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat and North.

The demonstration is planned to be held peacefully. However, at 13.50 WIB, the crowd reportedly started throwing bottles of mineral water at police officers who were securing the road. The Head of Public Relations of the Metro Jaya Regional Police, Commissioner Awi Setiyono, said that at 2:42 p.m., the crowd started pulling at the barbed wire fence. "The crowd in front pulled the wire fence until they came out of the block," said Awi, quoted from Tempo.

For the sake of security, there is a police team called the Asmaul Husna Team, calming the masses by reading Asmaul Husna and Salawat. The crowd began to calm down and when it was time for Asr, the demonstrators prayed Asr together with the police.

However, after performing the Asr prayer, the crowd again rioted by throwing objects at the police for the second time. At that time the crowd threw objects at the police who were on the west side of Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat, to be precise in front of the Wisma Panglima TNI.

"They threw stones and bottles at the members again. We are still patient and persevering," explained Awi.

Until finally around 4 pm the then Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, Jusuf Kalla, received representatives of the demonstrators at the Vice President's Palace. They were picked up by the Metro Jaya Police Chief, Inspector General Mochamad Iriawan along with the Jaya Regional Commander, Major General of the TNI Tedy Lhaksamana. The representatives submitted a petition containing demands that Ahok be prosecuted for alleged blasphemy. The meeting lasted 30 minutes and reached a decision that Ahok's legal process would be completed within two weeks.

The agreement did not bring peace, even the mass of demonstrators became chaotic again. At 18.14 WIB, the crowd in the Monas area and the Horse Statue was seen applying toothpaste to their faces. According to Awi's statement, the police haven't used tear gas yet. Awi also said that the crowd tried to break through the barricades set up by the police. There was even a Brimob line for security that was also attacked. The riots occurred allegedly because there were intruders and provocateurs.

Quoting Merdeka, it was individuals with HMI attributes who began to push and attack the police. In addition, other elements that are not visible also trigger chaos. Some members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) seemed to be trying to protect the police line from the attackers.

Two vehicles belonging to Brimob were burned in front of the Merdeka Palace, around 20:10 WIB. The police then fired tear gas and the Merdeka Palace area began to calm down at around 21.00 WIB.

Ahok was proven guilty of blasphemy and sentenced to prison on May 9, 2017. Ahok spent 2 years in prison and was released on January 24, 2019. The former governor of DKI Jakarta received a remission of a sentence of 3 months and 15 days in total.

In addition, the uploader of Ahok's video clip, Buni Yani, was also imprisoned. He was sentenced to 1.5 years in prison for violating the Law on Information and Electronic Transactions. There are three sentences that made Buni Yani sentenced to prison, namely "Blame Against Religion?"; mothers and fathers (Muslim voters) lied to Surah Al Maidah 51 (and) went to hell (also fathers and mothers) were fooled; and it looks like something bad will happen from this video."

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