Indonesia, which has long prided itself on being a secular nation, is now seeing a rise in the voices and power of Islamists. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (BTP), the Chinese-Indonesian politician and former governor of Jakarta, was convicted of blasphemy for insulting the Quran when he suggested that practicing Muslims…
ELIZABETH SOELISTIO WRITES – Along with his usual feistiness and candor, former Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Purnama is revealing a new side to his personality: Graciousness. In a letter written from Mako Brimob Prison, read to the media by his tearful wife, Ahok explained why he won’t appeal his recent…
[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] ELIZABETH SOELISTIO WRITES – In early May, the former governor of Jakarta was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to two years in prison. This came shortly after he lost re-election to a Muslim opponent in a hard-fought election campaign. To…
ELIZABETH SOELISTIO WRITES – Thousands turned out in protest last month demanding the governor of Jakarta be locked up for allegedly insulting Islam. The governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known as Ahok, is in the middle of a tight reelection campaign that will finish in April. Voting results in the…
MICHELLE VARINATA WRITES – Not a single person thinks that being Chinese and Christian in a homogeneously Muslim majority will make history in Indonesia’s political sphere. Basuki Tjahaja Purnarma, otherwise known as Ahok, is Jakarta’s first governor of Chinese descent. While Jokowi has already left his position as Governor of…
