Following a backlash from religious fundamentalists in the largest Muslim-majority country in the world over his decision to permit women to lecture and pray alongside males, a Muslim cleric was detained in Indonesia on blasphemy and hate speech charges.
According to Indonesian National Police officer Djuhandhani Rahardjo, Panji Gumilang, 77, who manages the Al-Zaytun boarding school in the Jakarta neighbourhood of Indramayu in West Java, was detained on Tuesday.
The nearly 5,000-student school has in the past come under fire from the public due to its unconventional practises, such as allowing men and women to worship together and permitting women to become imams. Its prayer sessions do not adhere to gender segregation, in contrast to other Indonesian Islamic boarding schools, which infuriates hardline groups.
According to Djuhandhani, investigators “took legal action” on Tuesday. He continued, “(Panji will be) held in the detention facility of the Criminal Investigation Agency for twenty days.”
Police claimed they were responding to public complaints, although they could not describe what Panji had said or done that amounted to blasphemy.
Al-Zaytun was being looked into by Indonesia’s Islamic Clerical Council in June for “misguided religious practises,” according to CNN affiliate CNN Indonesia. Panji could spend up to 10 years in prison if proven guilty of blasphemy and hate speech.
Hendra Effendy, Panji’s attorney, urged his followers to remain composed.
“He is, after all, a well-known person with millions of fans… With everything going on, we have no idea what might occur, he told CNN Indonesia.
A supporter of Panji who wished to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation told CNN that Panji’s detention was “unjust” and indicative of the nation’s shift towards the religious right.
The fan questioned, “So he went against (the curve), does he deserve to be punished for his compassion?”
Women are not allowed to lead mixed-gender prayers or give sermons at the majority of mainstream Islamic schools around the world. Men and women are also typically separated during prayers.
With 231 million Muslims, Indonesia is the country with the greatest Muslim majority in the world.
It is nominally secular and officially recognises six religions, including Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, despite the country’s overwhelmingly Muslim population.
Islam has historically been practised in the nation in a liberal and pluralistic manner. But in recent years, religious conservatism has increased.
In some areas of the country, such as the semi-autonomous Aceh province, strict Islamic laws are already in effect. There, gambling and alcohol are prohibited, and a variety of offences, such as adultery and homosexuality, are punishable by public flogging.
According to Human Rights Watch researcher Andreas Harsono, Panji was “supportive” of Muslim women becoming imams and leading others in prayer, which “isn’t normal in Indonesian society.”
He has advocated for gender equality in Islam, which has incensed conservatives. Nothing is wrong with him (a Muslim cleric) advocating for women’s rights, but there is a serious problem with blasphemy laws, he continued.
Rights organisations claim that Indonesia’s tolerance and commitment to religious freedom are “under threat” and that blasphemy laws are being “increasingly weaponized” against religious minorities and anyone who are thought to have criticised Islam.
Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese Indonesian known as Ahok and Jakarta’s first non-Muslim governor in 50 years, was involved in one of the most well-known blasphemy trials.
He was put on trial for blasphemy in 2017, after upsetting radical Muslims by using a Quranic verse during his 2016 re-election campaign.
He issued a public apology but was nonetheless sentenced to two years in prison, a decision that many Indonesians and other observers questioned and denounced. The case was generally viewed as a test of Indonesian tolerance for differing religious beliefs and the right to free expression.
Human Rights Watch’s Andreas noted that blasphemy cases have been sharply rising over time. The use of these laws by Indonesian officials against religious minorities in the guise of “religious harmony” has become increasingly poisonous.
In reference to contentious changes to its penal code that are expected to be adopted by 2025, he said, “It is becoming an increasingly Islamized state and there will be many more consequences… for people whose views are considered to be against the Islamic establishment.”