5 Indonesia teens face jail term for blasphemy
Source: AFP |
April 24, 2013, Wednesday
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FIVE Indonesian teenage girls have been accused of blasphemy and may face jail after making a video in which they mixed Islamic prayer with dancing to a Maroon 5 song, police said yesterday.
The girls were expelled from their high school in Tolitoli city on Sulawesi island and reported to police after the video of their dance to the US band's hit "One More Night" went viral online.
It is just the latest in a string of blasphemy cases in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, which have prompted rights groups to call for a change in a law they say is outdated and misused.
In the five-minute clip, the girls, wearing school tracksuits, switch between Islamic prayer rituals and mostly innocent dancing, with the occasional pelvic thrust and suggestive hand gesture thrown in.
Several versions of the video on YouTube have been viewed more than 500,000 times.
It sparked anger in the remote community, with dozens of members of hardline group the Islamic Defenders Front protesting outside the local police station on Monday.
The school brought the video, which was posted online in March, to the attention of police who questioned the girls on suspicion of blasphemy.
"The school and members of the community were offended by the video and felt it insulted Islam," Tolitoli police chief Rudi Mulyanto said. "We are considering the case, and if we think it is serious, we will recommend they be officially charged in court."
Blasphemy in Indonesia carries a maximum sentence of five years, though minors usually face half the adult sentence and are locked up in juvenile detention facilities.
The girls were expelled from their high school in Tolitoli city on Sulawesi island and reported to police after the video of their dance to the US band's hit "One More Night" went viral online.
It is just the latest in a string of blasphemy cases in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, which have prompted rights groups to call for a change in a law they say is outdated and misused.
In the five-minute clip, the girls, wearing school tracksuits, switch between Islamic prayer rituals and mostly innocent dancing, with the occasional pelvic thrust and suggestive hand gesture thrown in.
Several versions of the video on YouTube have been viewed more than 500,000 times.
It sparked anger in the remote community, with dozens of members of hardline group the Islamic Defenders Front protesting outside the local police station on Monday.
The school brought the video, which was posted online in March, to the attention of police who questioned the girls on suspicion of blasphemy.
"The school and members of the community were offended by the video and felt it insulted Islam," Tolitoli police chief Rudi Mulyanto said. "We are considering the case, and if we think it is serious, we will recommend they be officially charged in court."
Blasphemy in Indonesia carries a maximum sentence of five years, though minors usually face half the adult sentence and are locked up in juvenile detention facilities.
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