Conservative Indonesian Muslims hold massive rally

JAKARTA: Tens of thousands of Indonesian Muslims held a rally in Jakarta led by hardline groups who had agitated to remove the city’s Christian governor, underscoring the growing influence of Islamist groups ahead of elections in 2019.

The rally was attended by former general Prabowo Subianto, a nationalist with strong links to Islamists and who is seeking to topple President Joko Widodo in next year’s polls after being narrowly defeated in 2014 during a bitterly fought campaign.

The crowd started gathering at Jakarta’s National Monument from 3am yesterday to hold prayers.

“We are proud because the Islam in Indonesia is Islam that unifies and is united and will maintain peace for everyone,” Prabowo said in a speech.

Thousands of police were on standby, but the rally was peaceful.

Organisers call their movement a “reunion” for a series of rallies starting in late 2016 that targeted Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, the first ethnic-Chinese Christian in the job, who was charged with insulting the Koran.

Religious and political tensions spiralled during this period and then governor Basuki, an ally of Joko, lost his bid for re-election to a Muslim rival.

He was later sentenced to two years in jail for blasphemy.

Hardline Islamist groups were banned under the authoritarian regime of President Suharto, which ended in 1998, but they have gained ground in recent years.

Joko, a popular moderate, has chosen Muslim cleric Ma’ruf Amin, as his running mate in next year’s election, sparking concern among some that he is pandering to conservative Muslims.