Governor Ahok

The planned mass prayer/protest in Jakarta tomorrow – and beyond – threatens to turn into a major challenge for Indonesia’s democracy. Islamists want to see the Chinese Christian Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama Governor of Jakarta charged for blasphemy after he rather foolishly stated that the Koran does not forbid Muslims from voting for non-Muslims. And then they want his head.

As it happens, what Ahok in fact said was really stretching the truth, tantamount to lying about Islam.  Anyone who has bothered to go out of their way to find out anything at all about it will know that the Koran expressly forbids Muslims to be subordinated to non-Muslims at any time. Ever.  (Unless they are strategically biding their time, hoodwinking multi-faith councils, captaining guided missile frigates, collecting Gold Logies, that sort of thing.) The upshot of this, then, is that Muslims are obligated to vote for Muslims, and for no one else. And it is blasphemy to say otherwise. Period.

So isn’t it weird that in Indonesia, you commit blasphemy if you lie about Islam; whereas, here in Australia, on the contrary, you commit blasphemy (courtesy of the 18C “hate crimes”) if you don’t lie about Islam.

Funny old world, hey?