JAKARTA, PINUS PRESS – Indonesia was struck by a controversy after a video showing some members of the youth wing (Banser) of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’ largest Muslim organization burning a flag once thought to be the flag of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), an Islamist group which has been banned for having the vision to establish a caliphate in Indonesia had gone viral.
The incident sparked outrage among Indonesian netizens. Some said that it was a disgraceful act because the flag contained tawheed, which is the core of the Islamic faith, though it is the flag of a controversial organization which has been banned for its extremism. Moreover, the flag burning was done during National Santri Day rally in Garut, West Java, on Monday (22/10).
On the contrary, some also said that the measure done by the Banser was a support for the government for banning HTI, whose flag happened to contain tawheed in it.
Ridwan Kamil, the Governor of West Java, was one of the first to comment on this incident via his Twitter account. “They were supposed to burn the symbol of an organisation that had been banned by the government, but in my opinion, (the act) triggered a different interpretation. Let’s express our views in an acceptable manner. Our nation needs that,” he said.
The surprising fact, however, was the one obtained from the interrogation conducted by Ustaz Haikal Hassan to members of Banser involved in the flag burning. One of the flag burners, named Aziz, said that there was no HTI flag as stated by the head of Banser and the policemen. The flag turned out to be the Ar Rayah flag, which was mistaken to be the flag of the extremist organization.
The Indonesian Ulema Council Vice President, Tengku Zulkarnain, stated his disappointment towards the policemen for not doing further action on the flag burners. Instead, the policemen has been looking forward to arrest the one bringing the Ar Rayah flag to the plaza where the National Santri Day rally was held since it was stated in the rules that the only flag allowed in the National Santri Day rally was the Indonesian flag.
West Java Police Department has not named the flag burners as the suspects of blasphemy since they did not find any criminal intention in them as they initially assumed that the Ar Rayah flag was the flag of HTI. The flag burners were only named as witnesses for that.
Author: Nathanael Septianto
Pinus Press 