Governor Ahok and wife Veronica Tan.
Report:
bibles4mideast.com
Around
150,000 hardline Muslim protesters rallied outside the Presidential palace in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia on
Friday, 4 of November, 2016 to demand the resignation of the governor of
Jakarta, who they said had insulted the Koran.
Basuki
Tjahja Purnama, popularly known as Ahok, the Governor of Jakarta, who is a
Christian. He was planned for a re-election bid in February.
Ahok
is the first ethnic governor in the
country. He is a member of Indonesia’s Christian minority and a Chinese
heritage. Christianity is up one percent
of the population.
Ahok
took the governatorial seat in Jakarta in 2014, which was vacated when Joko
Widodo was elected as president. But hardline Muslims have opposed his rise to
power.
The
protesters, led by a group called the Islamic Defenders Front, demanding the
Governor Ahok to be jailed for blasphemy. They waved placards and chanted "Hang
Ahok" and "Allahu Akbar", missionaries of Bibles
for Mideast (http://bibles4mideast.com)
report from Indonesia.
March of Islamists against Governor Ahok, a Christian.
Although
the rally had been mostly peaceful, violence ensued as police clashed with
protesters who disobeyed instructions to disperse after nightfall. Police used
tear gas and water cannon in attempts to control the angry demonstrators. One
man died while four civilians and three police officers were injured as a
result of the clash.
Police
officials calculate it is the second biggest protest against Ahok
in less than a month. In October, another protest against him gathered at City
Hall.
About
18,000 soldiers and police, some equipped with rifles, were on patrol and
secured shopping malls in Jakarta during the procession.
Indonesia
is the largest Muslim populated country in the world, (India is the second
largest Muslim populous nation and
Pakistan is in third position).
"Ahok
is not Muslim, but he humiliated the Koran," protesters said.
Many
of the protesters wore white robes and Muslim caps and gathered at the central
Istiqlal Mosque, the biggest mosque in the country, before they began moving
toward the presidential palace.
There
were smaller protests against Ahok in other cities including Surabaya, Makassar
and Medan.
Ahok
but hardline Muslims have opposed his rise to power. has a reputation as a
tough reformer. He will compete for re-election against two Muslims - Agus
Harimurti Yudhoyono, a son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and a
former education minister, Anies Baswedan.
The
governor has built a reputation of being a tough reformer who is determined to
clean up Jakarta’s streets and battle corruption in government. These traits
have made him widely popular and have given him an edge on next year’s
election. However, Islamic hardliners oppose him and do not want him to hold a
government position because of his faith in Jesus Christ.
Ethnic
Chinese make up just over one percent of Indonesia's 250 million people, and
they typically do not enter politics.
Indonesia
suffered a series of Islamist militant attacks early in the last decade. In the
most serious incident, 202 people were killed in bombings of a nightclub on the
island of Bali in 2002.
An
attack in Jakarta early this year by supporters of Islamic State raised fears
of a new wave of violent militancy.
Pray
for Governor Ahoka and family as well as Christians in Indonesia. Also pray for
the ministries of “Bibles for Mideast”, its missionaries and the new believers.
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