Thousands urged to vote for Muslim leader
JAKARTA: Thousands of Indonesians gathered at a mosque in central Jakarta, where religious leaders urged them to support a Muslim candidate during next week’s contentious election to select the capital’s governor.
Millions of Jakarta residents head to the polls on Wednesday to pick the next governor of the sprawling city, in a contest analysts say has shaped into a proxy fight ahead of the presidential election in 2019.
Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population but recognises six religions and is home to hundreds of ethnic groups and adherents of traditional beliefs.
In Jakarta, the Christian and ethnic Chinese incumbent, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, faces two Muslim contenders – Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, the son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and former education minister Anies Baswedan.
Ahok is in the extraordinary situation of campaigning for election while he is on trial for blasphemy, making weekly court appearances to defend himself against charges of insulting the Muslim holy book, the Quran.
“On Feb 15, we are happy to vote for a Muslim leader,” one speaker, Maulana Kamal Yusuf, told a crowd of men and women in white robes who had poured into the vast Istiqlal mosque from the early hours for mass prayers.
“Jakarta will be led by a Muslim leader who submits to the will of Allah,” he added, urging his listeners to choose Yudhoyono or Baswedan.
“Security around the mosque was tight, with armed military and police officers standing guard.