The rash of complaints against Indonesian police, which accused Christians of being a blasphemed ASP on social media, has driven some of them to evacuate overseas, sources said.
Christian apologeur Edwin Futabarath, also known as “Metatron,” is in the Netherlands after radical Muslims from the anti-blasphemous community alliance reported him to the cyber unit of the East Java Regional Police Special Crime Bureau on November 7th.
According to ayojatim.com, the hardline Muslims have appealed to police about three YouTube channels in which Edwin (Suara Sejati, Brezmigado and San Debater) is one of the petitioners, Basoli Alwi, sings the debate along with one of the debaters.
“In the videos on our YouTube channel, the reported parties are seen as intentionally distorting the meaning and interpretation of the Quran,” Basoli said. “Their stories are harmful to Muslims as the Prophet Muhammad was accused of committing adultery with a maid, committing immoral acts and having a group with Allah.”
The Muslims also filed a blasphemous asp complaints with the police, co-host of Edwin’s YouTube channel known as Palermo’s Agatha. According to Antara, the official Indonesian news agency, Indonesia’s Johan Muhammad Junaedi reported her to the Satellite Town Regional Leadership Committee on November 1 and to the Metro Jaya Police Headquarters in Jakarta on November 1.
They accused her of making blasphemous comments about Islam and its prophet Muhammad on October 28th in a live stream on her Benteng77 YouTube channel.
“Agatha of Palermo said that Prophet Muhammad likes to have multiple women and was a human trader when he defecated, and was afraid of water,” Johan said. “We hope there are no more blasphemous people. It will be a deterrent. We need peace in the Republic of Indonesia.”
Other Indonesian Christian apologists use temporary residences overseas to run social media. Dewi Bulan broadcasts ideas for Muslims and Muslims from US bases through her Tiktok account @weareformurtadin.
Abraham Ben Moses, formerly known as Shujayhdin Ibrahim, a former Muslim lecturer at an Islamic University and now a Christian pastor, was imprisoned for the ASP between 2018 and 2022, and later he was charged with the ASP for suggesting to remove 300 Quran poems that are not condemned by non-Muslims. His actions sparked rage among hard-hit Muslims, calling for a six-year prison sentence and a fine of Rs 1 billion.
Reports say he avoided the charges by fleeing to the United States, as was the case with another Christian apologeur, Sofia al-Hayat.
In Indonesia, Christians are persecuted, but when Muslims of Muslim countries are facing opposition, the state is usually absent, said pastor Nikki Jeffta Wakkari, a pastor of the Protestant Church in Indonesia (Sibinon, West Yevaibu, or GPDI).
“When minorities are persecuted, there is no state – intolerance will refuge in the majority, but the state is helpless in this situation (of minorities persecution),” Pastor Nicky told Morningstar News. “From a mythological perspective, our Christian apology has a positive aspect here, as the law is unfairly enforced.”
Bonar Tigor Naipospos, vice-chairman of the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace Institute, said he understands why Christian apologists are evacuating abroad.
“Here, in Indonesia, you cannot speak freely, as you are likely to be subject to physical threats and criminalised with blasphemous accusations,” he said.
Bonner said Christian apologists felt the need for discussion as fundamentalist Islamic groups disgrace Christianity as a false teaching.
“The intense debate on social media is the response to Islamic Puritan groups’ efforts to break down Christianity as a “wrong” teaching that must be corrected by Islam,” Bonner told Morningstar News. “Puritans and intolerant groups use the issue of Christianization by taking examples of church establishment as a threat to Islam in many places.”
According to the Joshua Project, Indonesia’s Muslim population is 83.3%, and 11.43% of its citizens are Christians and evangelicals.
Indonesian society adopts a more conservative Islamic character, and churches involved in evangelical outreach risk being targeted by Islamic extremist groups, according to the Open Door of Christian Support Organizations.
