Courtney McGrail
The Christian governor of Jakarta, Indonesia, is to face trial for alleged blasphemy against Islam.
Basuki Purnama Tjahaja, often referred to a ‘Ahok’, fell foul of hardline Muslims in September when, during a political rally, he reportedly quoted the Koran’s 51st Surah which warns followers against voting for a leader of a different faith and appealed for Muslims not to misuse the directive. He later apologised for this, but this did nothing to stop a massive demonstration in November condemning him and calling for him to withdraw from the election for governor due in February.
A later petition demanding prosecution garnered 100,000 signatures. It has since emerged that a journalist covering the September rally deliberately skewed Tjahaja’s words to make them offensive to Muslim