Jakarta Globe, Candra Malik | February 09, 2011
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| Cars were set on fire in the parking area of a church that was attacked by Muslim mobs in Temanggung, Central Java, on Tuesday. Hundreds of Islamic hard-liners first ran amok outside a courthouse to protest what they considered too mild a sentence for a man convicted of blaspheming Islam. (Antara Photo) |
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Temanggung, Central Java. Roving mobs of Muslims on Tuesday attacked and vandalized five buildings, including two churches, in the small Central Java town of Temanggung following the sentencing of a man on trial for contempt of Islam.
Judges at the district court in Temanggung on Tuesday sentenced Antonius Richmord Bawengan, 58, to five years in jail, as the prosecutors had requested.
The verdict angered members of hard-line Islamic groups, who thought it was too lenient, setting off the spasm of violence.
Two churches, a school and two police stations were vandalized by the mobs and a number of cars and motorcycles were set on fire. Nine people were injured in the violence, most by thrown stones, police said.
The defendant and the judges and prosecutors had to be rushed out of the courtroom by police officers after hundred of people rushed toward them amid shouts of “Allahu Akbar” after the verdict was announced.
Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating ninister for political, legal, and security affairs, said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono condemned the violence, which came just days after a violent attack on an Ahmadiyah community in Pandeglang, Banten, that left three people dead and five injured.
“The Central Java Police have been instructed to immediately find the perpetrators of the anarchy and deal with them through the legal process,” Djoko said in a written statement.
National Police Chief Gen. Timur Pradopo said shortly after returning from Temanggung that one person had been arrested. “We have arrested one suspect and may name more as the investigation continues,” he said. “We will uphold the law against whoever breaches it.”
He said that like many of the others involved, the suspect was not from Temanggung, which he said pointed to the violence being orchestrated by outsiders.
The rioting ended some five hours after it started when hundreds of police reinforcements arrived from other regions.
Antonius, a resident of Manado, North Sulawesi, who holds a Jakarta identity card, was convicted of distributing a book titled “Ya Tuhan, Tertipu Aku” (“Oh My God, I Was Fooled”) and leaflets titled “Selamatkan Diri Dari Dajjal dan Kiamat” (“Save Yourself from the Antichrist and Doomsday”).
They were distributed in Kranggan village in Temanggung in October.
The book said the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest shrine, is a symbol of the female genital organ while the Jamrah pillar — another significant object in Islam — is the male equivalent. The texts also described Islam as violent.
Siti Mahanim, who prosecuted the case, said Antonius was guilty of violating the Criminal Code on insulting Islam and recommended the maximum sentence for the offense, five years in jail.
“I regret my deeds and plead guilty. To the religious people, especially Muslims in Indonesia, whose hearts were hurt by my actions, I apologize,” Antonius said in court. With the admission, the judges immediately announced their verdict.
The Temanggung Police had deployed more than 400 officers in and around the court building, and limited the number of people allowed inside the courtroom, police spokesman Adj. Comr. Marino said.
Police fired three warning shots and tear gas canisters outside the court but the mob then split up and attacked a Pentecostal church, St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church and the Shekinah school in the complex of Bethel Indonesia Church. They burned vehicles and later set fire to two police trucks.
Benny Susetyo, head of the Indonesian Bishops Conference (KWI), told the Jakarta Globe that reports from Temanggung indicated the rioters were probably not locals. “Our team reported that they were transported to the locations in trucks. It seems like they were from outside the district,” he said.
Benny called on the government to “arrest the perpetrators, whoever they are and whatever their motivation was.”
Additional reporting by Farouk Arnaz, Dessy Sagita, Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Hartono
Blasphemy effect: (Krisna Krisna Sumargo/Tribunnews)
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