An Indonesian court has sentenced the Christian governor of Jakarta, Indonesia's capital and by far its most populated city, to 2 years in prison for "blasphemy" against Islam. Supposedly Indonesia is a "moderate" muslim country, we are told. The election of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama to Indonesia's biggest city was widely seen in the country, and around the world, as a sign of how religiously tolerant Indonesia had become. Purnama is a Christian in a country that is majority muslim. But now those hopes are being dashed. And what did the Christian governor say that was considered to be blasphemy? He made the accusation that clerics were using a Koranic verse to mislead voters, because some of them were telling the people that Muslims are not allowed to vote for a Christian. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-...-ahok-found-guilty-in-blasphemy-trial/8509936
Well, actually that's what the Koran says. But it's debatable if it's blasphemy to accuse the clerics of lying. They were telling the truth.
No, the clerics were telling voters that it was illegal under the laws of Indonesia to vote for a Christian. This is a lie. The Quran never states once that clerics are incapable of lying, therefore accusing them of lying can't be considered blasphemy. However, the traditional definition of blasphemy isn't the same as it is under this law. The law defines blasphemy as unwarranted or unjustified attacks on Islam. The ones who had him arrested did so on the idea that attacks on a Muslim cleric's integrity is the same as an attack on Islam, under the definition used in this law. This is very debatable.
You mean the clerics were telling voters it was forbidden by Islam to vote for a Christian, and it was illegal under the laws of Indonesia to say that it wasn't.
You miss the point. The legal claim wasn't that claiming clerics are lying is blasphemy, it was that claiming the Quran says that it is okay to vote for a non-muslim is blasphemy. That is, it was blasphemy for Purnama to tell muslims it was okay to vote for him. And now that he has been officially convicted of blasphemy against Islam, his career in politics is virtually over, since it will be nearly impossible for him to ever be able to get even a small percentage of the muslim vote now (which will put him at a decided disadvantage should he ever be a candidate again in Indonesia).
That's moderate islam, regular islam would have executed him. Moderate islam is like shiny darkness, those are words which aren't mean to go together.
Hey, didn't Obama spend several years of his childhood growing up in Indonesia? https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/09/barack-obama-childhood-indonesia
Sharia law is not what we are talking about. Only one state within Indonesia offically recognizes Sharia law. He accused them of telling their followers that under the normal laws passed by the Indonesian legislature, that they were not allowed to vote for non-Muslims
Several posts declared that under Islam a non Muslim cannot be voted in. A couple said it was in the Qur'an. I corrected them, that in fact it is not in the Qur'an, it is in Sharia law.
