Indonesia's Constitutional Court ruled in an 8-to-1 decision that a 45-year-old law banning religious blasphemy was indeed constitutional, and so it will remain a law. The law, from 1965, allows the attorney general's office to ban religious groups that "distort" or "misrepresent" official faiths. People found guilty of heresy can serve up to five years in prison. The law is mostly applied to perceived offenses against mainstream Islam. Nearly 90% of the country's population is Muslim. The law also limits the number of officially recognized religions in Indonesia to six: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism. Supporters of the law say that it is necessary in order to prevent confusion and conflict between religious groups.
The judicial review was brought on by a coalition of human rights groups that were led by the Wahid Institute, an organization that campaigns for religious pluralism. They opposed the law because they say it contradicts the country's Constitution which, at least nominally, guarantees freedom of religion. Though the Constitutional Court didn't agree with them. Under Indonesian law there is no appeal process for constitutional challenges. A human rights lawyer that was part of the team that filed the constitutional challenge said, "This is a setback for Indonesian democracy." Furthermore, members of the Islamic Defender's Front, a militant group that has attacked religious pluralism rallies in the past, attacked lawyers seeking to repeal the law during the court's final hearing last week.
In 2008, this particular contested law was cited when the government banned Ahmadiyah, an Islamic sect that does not believe Muhammad is the last prophet -- which is a central tenet of Islam. In 2007, the Indonesian Supreme Court sentenced a leader of religious group known as Lia Eden to three years in prison because he claimed to be the reincarnation of the Prophet Muhammad. In 2007, police arrested Ahmad Moshaddeq, the leader of an Islamic sect known as al-Qiyada, because he said he is the next Islamic prophet and he does not require his followers to pray five times a day towards Mecca. The attorney general's office also banned his sect that same year. In addition, a mob burned down his house. There have been additional religions and Islamic sects banned and leaders of these religious groups have been jailed. For instance, members of the Bahai faith face persecution and have had their rights restricted because it not one of the six recognized religions in Indonesia. It's been estimated that hundreds of people, including journalists, have been arrested because of this law. Human rights campaigners say that the law is used by militant organizations to justify violent attacks against minority religious groups. Followers of these religious groups are regularly attacked and their places of worship have been burned. (Full Story)
Here's an update on the election in Iraq: An Iraqi court on Monday ordered a partial recount of votes that were cast in last month's national election. The recount will only be happening in the province that includes Baghdad. The recount is expected to take at least a week to finish. An official for the three-member court that made the decision said that the court is still considering other complaints of fraud and could order additional recounts in other regions.
The United States and the UN had reported that last month's election were fair and legitimate. The results of the election gave the (narrow) victory to Ayad Allawi, whose electoral alliance won 91 seats in Parliament. The electoral alliance of the incumbent prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, won 89 seats. After the results were announced, Maliki bitterly complained about the results and said there was fraud. He filed the legal challenge that has resulted in the recount. The recount could result in Allawi's narrow victory being overturned. Mr. Allawi, a Shiite whose alliance won a majority of Sunni votes (Mr. Maliki is also Shiite), has warned that violence could erupt if the electoral victory is overturned. He said, "If this happens, there will be very big problems in the country."
The main Kurdish alliance has also objected to the election results and asked the court to review votes in two northern provinces. No decision has been made yet. (Full Story)
No comments:
Post a Comment