Inquiry Line (Signal only)

Live Broadcast

Hard-Line Moralist in Indonesia Faces Pornography Charges

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Pocket
WhatsApp

JAKARTA, Indonesia — In Indonesia, a public figure caught up in a scandal involving pornography or an extramarital affair would usually expect to be denounced by the Islamic Defenders Front, an influential hard-line Muslim organization.

This week, however, the public figure at the center of a scandal is Rizieq Shihab — leader of the Islamic Defenders Front.

The Indonesian police said on Monday that Mr. Rizieq would be charged with violating Indonesia’s pornography laws, weeks after screen captures emerged of sexually explicit text messages, purportedly between Mr. Rizieq and a woman who is not his wife.

Mr. Rizieq has denied that the text messages are real, and many of his supporters contend that he was framed by the Indonesian government. His Islamist movement rattled the government this year by leading a successful campaign to prosecute on blasphemy charges Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian and an ally of President Joko Widodo’s who until recently was governor of Jakarta.

JAKARTA, Indonesia — In Indonesia, a public figure caught up in a scandal involving pornography or an extramarital affair would usually expect to be denounced by the Islamic Defenders Front, an influential hard-line Muslim organization.

This week, however, the public figure at the center of a scandal is Rizieq Shihab — leader of the Islamic Defenders Front.

The Indonesian police said on Monday that Mr. Rizieq would be charged with violating Indonesia’s pornography laws, weeks after screen captures emerged of sexually explicit text messages, purportedly between Mr. Rizieq and a woman who is not his wife.

Mr. Rizieq has denied that the text messages are real, and many of his supporters contend that he was framed by the Indonesian government. His Islamist movement rattled the government this year by leading a successful campaign to prosecute on blasphemy charges Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian and an ally of President Joko Widodo’s who until recently was governor of Jakarta.

“It’s unlikely the police did this without direction from the president,” said Slamet Maarif, a spokesman for the Islamic Defenders Front. “The police are just a tool.”

He added that Mr. Rizieq and the woman, Firza Husein, had not had an affair.

Mr. Rizieq fled to Saudi Arabia a few weeks ago after the police summoned him to testify as a witness in the pornography case. On Monday, the police said he was now wanted as a suspect, rather than a witness, effectively announcing that they would charge him with a crime.

Human rights advocates in Indonesia generally show little sympathy for the Islamic Defenders Front, which has used aggressive language and sometimes even violence against religious minorities, smashing up bars and restaurants. The group has led intimidation campaigns aimed at beauty pageants and Playboy magazine.

But some rights advocates said they were troubled that Mr. Rizieq would be charged on pornography counts — specifically, committing extramarital sexual acts captured on media — instead of more substantial crimes.

The charges “don’t really get into the root cause of the problem, which is intolerance, hate speech, hate crimes,” said Usman Hamid, Indonesia director of Amnesty International.

“Of course this can undermine the personal credibility of Rizieq’s leadership,” Mr. Usman said of the pornography charges. “But they should target the root cause of extremism.”

The scandal began at the start of the year, when a website whose Indonesian name translates as “The Love Ballad of Rizieq” featured images of the purported text messages, as well as nude photographs of Ms. Firza.

Images from the website were widely shared online, and Mr. Rizieq’s critics delighted in apparent evidence that an ostentatiously religious figure was a hypocrite. Both Mr. Rizieq and Ms. Firza, who also faces charges of violating pornography laws, denied that the messages were authentic, but the police insisted on Monday that they were.

“The pictures aren’t engineered, they’re real,” said Police Commissioner Raden Prabowo Argo Yuwono, adding that the phone numbers in the messaging app conversations matched ones listed for Mr. Rizieq and Ms. Firza in telecommunications databases.

Newsletter Sign Up

Please verify you’re not a robot by clicking the box.

Invalid email address. Please re-enter.

You must select a newsletter to subscribe to.

Thank you for subscribing.

An error has occurred. Please try again later.

You are already subscribed to this email.

View all New York Times newsletters.

Many Indonesians have leapt to Mr. Rizieq’s defense online, and posters in Jakarta, the capital, bearing his image call on Muslims to “defend preachers and religion.”

Though the Islamic Defenders Front is mostly known for its moral crusades, the group has also developed deep ties to low-income communities in Jakarta that feel ignored or oppressed by the government.

Dharma Diani, a slum dweller who said the Islamic group had provided her community with food and supplies after a government-ordered eviction last year, rejected the accusations. “It’s a total lie and extraordinary slander,” she said. “We’re well aware of the criminalization of our preachers.”

Some analysts said the charges would only embolden the group’s supporters.

“If the political goal is to nullify the F.P.I., then it’s a serious miscalculation,” said Ian Wilson, a researcher in politics and security at Murdoch University in Australia, referring to the Islamic Defenders Front by its initials in Indonesian.

Mr. Wilson noted that Mr. Rizieq had been imprisoned twice before, for inciting hatred. “Each time he’s spent time in jail, the organization has grown, the martyrdom complex has grown, as has the perception that he is someone who is willing to sacrifice for the cause,” he said.

Mohammed Nuruzzaman, who leads strategic research for the youth wing of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest moderate Muslim organization, accused Mr. Rizieq of being an attention-seeker whose brand of Islam was “incompatible with Indonesian Islam’s tolerant tradition.”

“If he respects the legal process, he wouldn’t run off abroad,” Mr. Nuruzzaman said.

The Indonesian government has taken steps to curb the influence of hard-line Islamic groups since large street protests last year against Mr. Basuki, the former governor of Jakarta.

In early May, the government said it would take steps to disband Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, another hard-line group that was active in the protests, on the grounds that it seeks to overturn the Constitution. Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia has called for a global caliphate.

Representatives of the Islamic Defenders Front said it would ask the National Commission on Human Rights, an independent body that acts as a watchdog, for help fighting the charges against Mr. Rizieq.

The irony of that request was not lost on Imdadun Rahmat, chairman of the rights commission, who said the panel had not yet determined if the prosecution amounted to government overreach. The Islamic Defenders Front has often criticized the rights commission for siding with religious minorities against Islamists.

“Habib Rizieq is now aware that protection of human rights is needed for the good of everyone and to defend everyone,” Mr. Imdadun said. “Even those who are extremely Islamic are holding onto the idea of human rights.”

We’re interested in your feedback on this page. Tell us what you think.

Original Source

Facebook Comments
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Pocket
WhatsApp

Never miss any important news. Subscribe to our newsletter.

Recent News

Follow Radio Biafra on Twitter

Editor's Pick