Indonesian Muslims called yesterday for the death of a Dutch politician for making a film that alleges Islam is an inspiration for violence.
The demands came at a protest outside the Dutch embassy in Jakarta.
"Islam is a holy religion," Shodiq Ramadan told about 50 protesters who shouted in agreement. "Those who have insulted it deserve to be sentenced to death."
PHOTO: AP
Anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders released the film over the Internet last week.
The film has been condemned as racist and misleading by governments around the world.
Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, but hardline interpretations of the faith generally do not attract much support. The government condemned the film soon after its release last week.
Indonesia's president urged the mainly Muslim nation not to resort to violence in protests against the Dutch lawmaker, as fresh rallies erupted outside the Dutch embassy yesterday.
More than 70 activists massed outside the Dutch embassy in Jakarta amid heavy security on a third day of protests against the film, made by far-right Dutch lawmaker.
The protesters carried posters calling for Wilders to be punished. One showed an image of him bearing fangs and with a gun at either side of his head, alongside the slogan "Death to the insulter of Islam."
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono late on Monday urged Indonesians not to resort to violence in venting their anger about the film, which was released on the Internet last Thursday.
He also barred Wilders from entering Indonesia and said screenings of the 17-minute film Fitna would be banned in the former Dutch colony.
The film features imagery of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the 2004 Madrid bombings combined with quotes from the Koran, Islam's holy book.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called the film "offensively anti-Islamic."
Around 60 members of the Muslim group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, along with a dozen members of the youth group Movement for the Defense of Islam (GPI), protested outside the embassy yesterday.
Seven protesters were invited inside to meet Dutch diplomats to convey their concerns about the film.
The GPI issued a statement calling on Muslims to boycott Dutch products to "defend the purity of Islam."
Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen sought on Monday to temper anger over the film in the Muslim world, saying that hurt feelings need not lead to violence.
Yesterday's demonstrations in Jakarta came after about 50 members of a more militant Islamic group, the Front for the Defenders of Islam, protested at the embassy on Monday.
Airlines in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Singapore yesterday canceled flights to and from the Indonesian island of Bali, after a nearby volcano catapulted an ash tower into the sky. Australia’s Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia all grounded flights after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Flores island spewed a 9km tower a day earlier. Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, India’s IndiGo and Singapore’s Scoot also listed flights as canceled. “Volcanic ash poses a significant threat to safe operations of the aircraft in the vicinity of volcanic clouds,” AirAsia said as it announced several cancelations. Multiple eruptions from the 1,703m twin-peaked volcano in
A plane bringing Israeli soccer supporters home from Amsterdam landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport on Friday after a night of violence that Israeli and Dutch officials condemned as “anti-Semitic.” Dutch police said 62 arrests were made in connection with the violence, which erupted after a UEFA Europa League soccer tie between Amsterdam club Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Israeli flag carrier El Al said it was sending six planes to the Netherlands to bring the fans home, after the first flight carrying evacuees landed on Friday afternoon, the Israeli Airports Authority said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered
Former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi said if US President Joe Biden had ended his re-election bid sooner, the Democratic Party could have held a competitive nominating process to choose his replacement. “Had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race,” Pelosi said in an interview on Thursday published by the New York Times the next day. “The anticipation was that, if the president were to step aside, that there would be an open primary,” she said. Pelosi said she thought the Democratic candidate, US Vice President Kamala Harris, “would have done
Farmer Liu Bingyong used to make a tidy profit selling milk but is now leaking cash — hit by a dairy sector crisis that embodies several of China’s economic woes. Milk is not a traditional mainstay of Chinese diets, but the Chinese government has long pushed people to drink more, citing its health benefits. The country has expanded its dairy production capacity and imported vast numbers of cattle in recent years as Beijing pursues food self-sufficiency. However, chronically low consumption has left the market sloshing with unwanted milk — driving down prices and pushing farmers to the brink — while
RSS