Rizieq Shihab -- FPI

Rizieq Shihab, the head of the FPI (Front Pembela Islam / Islam Defenders Front), gets 18 months jail for his role in the violence that took place at Monas this past June.

There is likely to be an appeal as Rizieq's legal team will have issues with whether the procedural law was followed as it must be and that some of those that were interviewed and provided testimony have since withdrawn their testimony.

Munarman -- Komando Laskar Islam

It is a long way from Chair of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation to Head of the Komando Laskar Jihad! However, it is a transition that Munarman seems to have made with relative ease.

I will write a more detailed entry on this whole thing later. I am currently posting from an Internet cafe in Kalianda (South Lampung) and I am really just posting some thoughts to satisfy a need to post.

Most recent reports of Munarman's death would be tragic not only for his family but for those hoping to see the man prosecuted for his alleged crimes. It is worth noting that there are also recent reports that the photo (above) doing the rounds as evidence of guilt is not in fact all that it seems to be. Similarly, the SMS of his death also is apparently not what is seems to be.

Scarves, Terrorism, and Stupidity

Just to combine a few recent posts. This is a photo from today's Jakarta Post (courtesy of J. Leo / JP).

The first of these posts was the one about Dunkin' Donuts being forced to pull an Internet advertisement over a scarf that supposedly looked like this one! I think you can see the difference yourself between the two "scarves".

The second one is my lack of appreciation for cowards who cover their heads with masks or in this case a scarf and the terrorise innocent people.

The attack by the FPI and Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia highlights the indifference and apathy towards intolerance. It is sad. Many of my friends and colleagues have said that this is not the real Indonesia! This may be so but it is the face that Indonesia is showing to the world!

Indonesia is a land of opportunity, it is a land of immense beauty, it is a land of many diverse and wonderful cultures, it is a land that Indonesians must be proud of and reclaim from those who do her harm in the name of religion.

I am ready for personal attacks from people telling me I am nothing but a know-it-all bule, or that I have no idea, or that I can cut and run at any time, or who are you to tell us what to do, or any other piece of vitriol that one might be able to espouse.

Who am I? I am a man who has a wife who is Indonesian. I am a man who has a child on the way; a child who I would like to be born here; a child that I hope can grow up knowing their Indonesian culture and language; a child who can grow up in a land at peace and a land that embraces its diversity!

What happened yesterday at Monas was pre-meditated, it was despicable, and it was cowardly. The government can no longer afford to pay lip service to thugs encasing their "premanisme" (criminality) in the cloak of religion! If Islam is truly a religion of peace and tolerance then it is time the government showed that it was committed to these very ideals of peace and tolerance by arresting those responsible and prosecuting them to the fullest extent of the law.

Any failure to do so, is cowardice on the part of the government.

The peoples of Indonesia deserve so much better than this!