Blasphemy and Judicial Legitimacy in Indonesia

Abstract

When contentious blasphemy laws are pressed into service in fledgling democracies with illiberal tendencies such as Indonesia, critical questions arise about judicial integrity and the political nature of blasphemy trials. Judicial legitimacy in Indonesia is defined according to international standards and conventions. The focus is on judicial propriety rather than the popularity or majoritarian appeal of court decisions. In May 2017 a watershed moment occurred in Indonesia as the former governor of Jakarta Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (popularly known as Ahok) was found guilty of desecrating religion and sentenced to 2 years in prison. Judgments rendered in politicized blasphemy trials such as these fail to meet standards of impartiality, and when discursive transgressions of a blasphemous nature occur there are deep ambiguities of meaning and intent. This paper contends that the revival of blasphemy as a punishable crime relates to political power calculations and electoral opportunities, and offers an analysis of blasphemy in Indonesia through the quasi-historical lens of a discursive crime premised on the fallacy that religious offence threatens public order. Blasphemy trials are further complicated by the fact that religious authorities and Islamic mass organizations in Indonesia have significant influence over judicial processes.

What’s Wrong With Us? An Analysis of Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s Public Speeches From 2017 to 2018

“…At the same time, Islamist groups secured a controversial legal victory. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, former governor of Jakarta and close political ally of Jokowi, was found guilty of blasphemy and crashed out of the Jakarta gubernatorial electoral contest (Tyson, 2021). As rival candidate, Anies Baswedan was sworn in as Jakarta's new governor in October 2017.…”

“…Another issue highlighted in the May 18 th speech was the mass rallies triggered by the blasphemy case of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, the former governor of Jakarta (Tyson, 2021). The spread of disinformation and hate speech is a grave concern for the president.…”

The Alternative Concepts of Blasphemy Law in Indonesia: Legal Comparison with Ireland and Canada

“…Therefore, Arswendo was still convicted of violating article 156a of the Indonesian Criminal Code because his act was considered as an insult against Islam in public press and he was sentenced to 4 (four) years 6 (six) months imprisonment. (Tyson, 2021) In 1995, Lia Eden was the leader of a group named Salamullah which means perennial religion. Lia believed that she was the incarnation of the angel Gabriel who delivers messages from God.…”

“…Comparative studies regarding blasphemy law have been studied in several domains. Adam (Tyson, 2021) studied comparative blasphemy law in the realm of religion and state relationship in the Muslim majority countries, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Turkey. Priestley (Cox, 2020) compared blasphemy law in general between the United States, Germany, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, and Australia.…”

Criminal Law Enforcement of Money Laundering as a Community Protection Effort Against Economic Crime in Indonesia

“…[1] This crime of money laundering has been regulated in Law Number 15 Because the above Act needs to be adapted to the development needs of law enforcement, practice, and international standards; therefore, it needs to be replaced with a new law, which is regulated in Law Number 8 of 2010 concerning the Prevention and Eradication of the Crime of Money Laundering, hereinafter abbreviated and called (UU TPPU). [2] The term money laundering comes from the United States, this term has a long history since 1930, at that time the perpetrators of organized crime hid and disguised the proceeds of crime by investing in laundry companies. Therefore, arrangements were made for the Prevention and Eradication of the Crime of Money Laundering, considering the impact caused by money laundering activities in the economy and to effectively comply with the principles of supervision of Bank Indonesia, Center for Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis (PPATK) according to international standards.…”