PMKRI vs Habib Rizieq Shihab, Its Must be Solved Without Mobs

Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Habib Rizieq Shihab was reported to the Jakarta Police on Monday by executives from the Indonesian Catholic Students Association (PMKRI) for allegedly committing religious blasphemy in a speech circulated on the internet.

"Rizieq was one of three people were reported to the police," said PMKRI chairman Angelius Wake Kako at the headquarters of the Jakarta Police on Monday.

The two others are Fauzi Ahmad, who uploaded the video of Rizieq's speech onto an Instagram account and Saya Reya, who uploaded the video onto a Twitter account.
In the 22-second long video, Rizieq is recorded saying: "If God gave birth, then who would be the midwife? "Angelius said that as a Christian he "felt humiliated and hurt" when he heard the statement.

"All Indonesians should respect diversity by not interfering in the private rooms of other religions," he said. "Only Christians know about the Christian faith. Anyone who doesn't know about it, he better shut up," he went on to say. Rizieq is accused of violating Article 156 section (a) of the Criminal Code on blasphemy. The charge carries a maximum punishment of five years in prison.

If blasphemy is defined as the insulting of sacred religious symbols, blaspheming against humanity may be defined as demanding rights without fulfilling the duty to respect the fundamental rights of others.

This means that blaspheming against humanity includes false respect for human rights, especially the basic rights of vulnerable people. For example, they do not acknowledge that vulnerable people have rights related to their survival and existence, not just to establish communities but also to perform their basic rights.

The term blasphemy basically emanates from Abrahamic religions, especially Islam and Christianity. Yet, recent developments show that this term is mostly applied in the Muslim world.

In principle, neither the Quran nor the Prophet clearly regulated the existence of an offense of blasphemy or heresy, or a specific punishment for this. Blasphemy and heresy probably started to be regulated in post-prophetic Islamic jurisprudence to restrain and persecute freedom of expression, as well as to marginalize dissenting opinions within Islam.

Historically, a blasphemy law in Islam occurred as a consequence of jurisprudential differences, which then deeply influenced the broad practices of blasphemy laws in the Muslim world. Many well-known and highly respected Islamic scholars were accused of apostasy, unbelief or heresy because of the school they belonged to or because of their intellectual orientation, as well as their political affiliation. This means that a number of political leaders and Islamic majority groups interpreted the Quran and the Sunnah to silence dissenting voices among Muslims.

Trigerring Political Tension

The step of Indonesian Catholic Students Association (PMKRI)  was reported FPI's leader Habib Rizieq Shihab has been made Indonesia's political tension would be hot, because previously Rizieq Shihab who know as one of leader of mass rally on November 4 th, 2016 and on December 2nd, 2016 which held to "pressure" law enforcement apparatus to detain blasphemy suspect, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama aka Ahok immediately.

However, PMKRI's movement to report Habib Rizieq Shihab for allegedly committing religious blasphemy in a speech circulated on the internet has shown that such Tribe-Religion-Race is a sensitive issues which can not use for a pragmatical politic purposes, because its could be triggered a social segregration even a social conflicts.

Basically, everyone loves their faith and they can't accept whatever a blasphemy to their faith. I think even Ahok or Habib Rizieq  Shihab must learn on their "blunder attitudes". Furthermore, its a make sense if people are judge even Ahok or Habib Rizieq aren't a perfect sample to our plural and multicultural society.

We have a big questions now, is a police will be completed this case and bring it to the court as fast as Ahok's case? As we now, Ahok’s blasphemy case is very fast to bring to court because being admitted or not simultaneous mass rallies had been forced a law enforcement apparatus and even President Jokowi to handle Ahok's case as fast as possible without government intervention on these case.

Remembering our country is a law country so that Rizieg Shihab allegedly blasphemy case must be brought to court, because our people must be known how the end of these case, like Ahok's case we have to solve those case without mobs or mass rallies.

Last but not least, every leaders in Indonesia either an informal leader or a formal leader must remember that Indonesia is a plural and multicultural country. Our diversity at faith, cultural, values, heritage etc to be our strength, and who will disturb this maybe to be a common enemies for all of circle in this country.

Finally, we must maintain our diversities values with our wisdom, without that we are only make uncertainty in a lovely country likes Indonesia. We must support whatever our government effort to take care and to maintain our common diversities values.

Remember, its to be our strenght, our dullness movement will be made it broken. If it will be happened, we will go to deep sorrow and we won't be said sorry anymore. Perhaps, a Soviet Union with their glassnost and perestroika, an Arab Spring in North Africa and Middle East and a Syria's sectarian conflicts will be happened in Indonesia. So, do not play with tribe-religion-race issues in Indonesia. Hopefully.

*) The writer is a national tenet pundits. Resides in East Jakarta. Previously, he had earned his master tittle at the University of Indonesia (UI).