Jokowi’s VP Pick – A Champion Of Clitoral Clipping!

As the number of foreigners in Indonesia continues to dwindle, I can’t see this exodus being stemmed, never mind reversed, by President Jokowi’s choice of Ma’aruf Amin as his VP running-mate for next year’s election.

http://jakartaglobe.id/news/islamic-scholar-maruf-amin-becomes-jokowis-running-mate-2019-election/

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MUI’s Deputy Chair, Ma’aruf 

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Amin’s a leading light in the MUI, the ‘Indonesian Council of Scholars.’

We have discussed the MUI almost as often as we’ve eaten spicy Indonesian rendang…

Adam Created By Angel?” Islamist ‘Scholars’Call the Cops! 

Cops – “Islamist ‘Scholars’ Can Veto Religious Liberty” 

…and I can’t recall many of those discussions ending with the conclusion that they are a body that enhances either Indonesia’s reputation abroad or Indonesians’ civil liberties at home.

A few examples.

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Syamsul Maarif,  General Secretary of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) Jakarta

“If the act of adultery is by a married person, then stoning is the sentence, while if unmarried, then it’s whipping,” he said. 
 http://www.suarapembaruan.com/home/mui-dukung-pelaku-kumpul-kebo-dipidanakan/32705.

 Bali Hindu King – Don’t Kill Our Cows! Muslim ‘Scholars’ – Get Lost!!  

 Islamist ‘Scholars’ – “Don’t Complain if You’re Attacked!” 

But it would be wrong to condemn the VP nominee on the basis of what the MUI has said or done.

We need to look at what he himself has said and done!.

Check out his record for yourselves!

Indonesian Ulema in favour of female circumcision: a “human right”

Kiai Hajj Amin Ma’ruf, pointed out that it is an”advisable practise on moral grounds”, at the same time, he rejects any attempt to declare this practice illegal or contrary to the principles. It comes under the sphere of “human rights,” said the Islamist leader, and is “guaranteed by the Constitution.”

Or this!

Who is Ma’ruf Amin, Jokowi’s running mate?

Jakarta Post–Aug 9, 2018

In 2017, Ma’ruf was a key expert witness in a highly publicized blasphemy trial that sent then Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama to prison for two years…

Or this-

Jokowi chooses hardline cleric as running mate
The Australian–Aug 10, 2018

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Yet for those alarmed at the prospect of this ‘scholar’ being a heartbeat away from running this amazing country that has delighted us so many times, the alternative, also announced this week, is no less chilling.

Jokowi’s rival, Prabowo, came close last time, and has a lot of political baggage which was made much of, some four years ago.

But whom has he chosen to be HIS running-mate?

None other than a man who hit the headlines with his plan to make Jakarta a centre for ‘shariah’ tourism.

Get Your Tickets Soon – Jakarta Shariah Tourism Boom? 

That’s Sandiago Uno, the American-educated businessman who was not long ago installed as Deputy Governor of Jakarta.

We are all well aware of what shariah means, because one of Indonesia’s provinces, Aceh, already lives under a shariah law-code…

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…and if tourists find shariah in action appealing, they can go there and revel in the displays of young women being beaten by cowards too ashamed to show their faces, before a salivating rabble of voyeurs and fanatics.

Women who engage in traditional Acehnese dancing are under similar threat, from such repositories of wisdom as this kindly old gent…

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Aceh’s Mad Mullah – ‘Dancing is EVIL – It Involves Body Movements!’ 

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And from Muhammad Thaib, Regent of North Aceh who banned all adult women from dancing when welcoming guests in North Aceh, adding that only children should perform the tradition.

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Thaib

 “… cultural preservation should not damage Islamic Shariah values, such as dancing performed by adult women.” 

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/north-aceh-head-bans-women-from-dancing-in-public-2/

So now we have a situation whereby, whichever presidential candidate wins out, the consequence will be that, if, God Forbid, any mishap might incapacitate the head of state, power will automatically devolve into the hands of men whose view of the world is driven by devotion to shariah.

A grim prospect.

But while it would be relatively easy for those among the foreign community, like me, who love Indonesia, to escape a regime which could end up resembling that of the ayatollahs in Iran…

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…it’s so sad to think of all the normal, fun-loving Indonesian friends, of ALL religions, who would have no such simple way out.