Fear Over Growing Use of Blasphemy Law in Indonesia
Tightening religious atmosphere spells trouble for freedom of expression
Indonesia’s blasphemy law, passed in the 1960s by then-President Sukarno, is increasingly used to hold the public hostage from speaking freely or expressing their opinions, both online and offline as the religious climate has steadily become more hostile. Several people have been convicted using the law and many others have had to apologize publicly for remarks deemed offensive to certain religions, particularly Islam. Although the application of the law has long been controversial, the strong influence of conservative groups has kept its existence alive.
Emil Mario, a Christian and an influencer on the social media platform TikTok, was recently forced to apologize publicly after being condemned by other social media users for an upload considered insulting to Islam. In the video, uploaded in December, he mentions the phrase Tauhid —the core of the Islamic faith and connects it with dirty words. "L for Lesti, no. L for Laa ilaaha illallah, (there is no God but Allah) I'm so tired, fuck!" he said. The video has now been deleted from his account, which has more than 7 million followers.
The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) commented that Mario had insulted and belittled Allah. "Things like this, if left unchecked, will of course create riots and commotion among the people, even if they are not controlled, they can lead to horizontal conflicts," said MUI Deputy Chairperson Anwar Abbas…
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