What game is the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) playing at now? We’re not sure, but we’re pretty sure it involves fire.
This morning, FPI members mobilized at Al-Azhar Mosque in Kebayoran Baru in South Jakarta to march on National Police Headquarters and demand the sacking of West Java Police Chief Anton Charliyan for his role as an advisor to FPI rival organization GMBI.
Habib Rizieq, the spiritual leader of the hardline group, gave a speech before his white-robed troops started their march in which he said that law enforcement had to act indiscriminately in meting out justice, because if justice was not upheld, God would destroy the people.
Rizieq gave examples of a number of injustices that the police were allowing to continue unpunished, such as law enforcement’s continued refusal to investigate the hammer and sickle symbols on the new rupiah 100,000 bills (which is probably because they don’t exist).
But Rizieq shocked many when he said that he would report former president Megawati Soekarnoputri to the police for blasphemy against Islam.
Rizieq said that the PDI-P chairwoman had made blasphemous comments regarding the Islamic Pillars of Faith during a speech at a PDI-P anniversary event on January 10.
“We made a CD (recording) of Megawati insulting Islam and insulting the pillars of Islam. We ask that Ibu Megawati be inspected [by the police],” Rizieq said as quoted by Vivanews.
He also asked that the police investigate Megawati’s sister, Sukmawati Soekarnoputri (who reported Rizieq to the West Java Police for insulting Pancasila), over allegations she used a fake diploma while registering as a candidate in the PAN party in 2008.
Rizieq said that FPI would file some 25 police reports in total, while at the same time saying he did not trust law enforcement to do its job.
Attacking the police and reporting a former president for blasphemy seem to be rather reckless decisions on the part of FPI, decisions which seem destined to lead to some sort of serious political reprisal. But in addition to being reported for insulting Pancasila, Rizieq has also been reported to the police for spreading dangerous misinformation about the rupiah and for blaspheming Christianity, all cases the police are seemingly moving forward on – so perhaps all of his bluster now is because he knows he doesn’t have much more time as a free man to cause trouble.
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