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Indonesia election: radical Islamist groups express support for Prabowo Subianto, sparking concerns of further conservatism
- Hardline Islamists, including some calling for the establishment of a caliphate in secular Indonesia, have pledged support for Prabowo, a nationalist and moderate Muslim
- Experts and activists believe the push for wider implementation of Sharia laws throughout the country will strengthen with a Prabowo win
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As Indonesia’s presidential contender Prabowo Subianto, 67, addressed a massive crowd last Sunday at a stadium in Jakarta, the face of Habib Rizieq Shihab – the hardline Muslim leader of the radical Islamic Defender’s Front (FPI) – fluttered in the wind, emblazoned in huge posters.
Towards the end of the rally, Rizieq appeared on a large video screen, listing out 10 reasons why people should support Prabowo and his running mate, Sandiaga Uno, popularly known as Sandi.
“Because Prabowo-Sandi love and respect ulamas [Muslim clerics] and are against criminalising them,” said Rizieq.
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Prabowo, a retired three-star general and former commander of Indonesia’s elite special forces, left the stadium before Rizieq’s speech ended, local media reported.
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The sight of Rizieq, whose organisation campaigns for the establishment of a caliphate in secular Indonesia, was a stark contrast to the nationalistic Prabowo, who is known to be a moderate Muslim and comes from a plural family where his mother, brother and sister are Christians.
FPI has been implicated in multiple acts of harassment, intimidation, threats and mob violence against religious minorities, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
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