Residents of the Thousands Islands say they did not feel offended by a statement Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama made about a verse from the Quran, rejecting an accusation by a leader of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) who claimed that they were "less Muslim".

“Novel? He said Islam in Thousand Islands is not Islam. Only two non-Muslims are on the islands,” one of the residents, Saadah, told kompas.com on Sunday, referring to Novel Bamukmin, the secretary-general of the FPI's Jakarta chapter.

Saadah said that the residents of Pramuka Island, one of the many islands in the regency, were devoted Muslims.

Al Makmuriah Great Mosque board chairman Faturrahman, 70, said many non-Muslim residents lived in peace and harmony on the islands and that some of them converted to Islam without any coercion.

“My friend converted to Islam. He used to be a principal of a junior high school,” said Faturrahman, who was former teacher and has been living on Pramuka Island since 1970.

Both Faturrahman and Saadah, who attended the event on the island in September when Ahok made his subsequently controversial statement, claimed that what Ahok said was not insulting and did not defame Islam.

In a hearing at the North Jakarta District Court last week, Novel called the residents who laughed upon hearing Ahok’s statement "commoners".

Source:
courtesy of THE JAKARTA POST

by The Jakarta Post

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]