Hutahaean, a Christian who converted to Islam, was sentenced to
five months in prison in Jakarta for tweeting “Your Allah is weak.”241 In
2023, TikTok star Lina Mukherjee was arrested under the blasphemy
law for posting a video of herself eating pork after an Islamic prayer. In
September, she was sentenced to two years in prison by the Palembang
district court.242
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) – one of the world’s largest Islamic organizations,
and prominent in Indonesia, with over 95 million members in 2021 –
championed “Islam Nusantara,” a brand of ‘moderate’ Islam.’243 Since
2014, the NU’s Bayt Ar-Rahmah based in the US and LibForAll, a
nonprofit organization co-founded by long-time Indonesian resident C.
Holland Taylor, who serves as a Special Advisor for International Affairs to
the Chairman of NU,244 have promoted this vision. The youth wing of NU,
GP Ansor, has advanced the idea of “Humanitarian Islam” since 2017,
opposing the Caliphate and promoting ‘moderate values’.245
This vision of ‘moderate Islam’ has garnered unexpected backing from
far-right figures like India’s Ram Madhav and Hungary’s President Viktor
Orbán,246 who are both repurposing the concept to serve their own antiMuslim political agendas under the guise of anti-radical Islam.
Ram Madhav is an Indian politician, writer, and former National General
Secretary of the BJP. Madhav has been instrumental in shaping the BJP’s
policies and strategies and is known for his efforts to promote Hindu
nationalist ideologies. Madhav has built strong ties with NU leaders,
especially Yahya Cholil Staquf, through his connections with the National
Awakening Party (PKB), which is described as a nationalist Muslim party
that promotes nationalist principles. These ties have solidified his support
for the G20 Religious Forum (R20), a three day event held in Java, where
the NU was initially founded. In February 2022, Madhav wrote an article
defending a hijab ban in Karnataka, advocating for Indian Muslims to
emulate Indonesian Islam.247
241
Republika. (2022). Ferdinand Hutahaean Diganjar Hukuman Lima Bulan Penjara. Republika. https://news.republika.co.id/berita/rakxj1377/ferdinand-hutahaean-diganjar-hukuman-lima-bulan-penjara
242
The Sydney Morning Herald. (2023). I Did Not Expect It: TikTok Influencer Jailed for Saying Prayer Before Eating
Pork. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/i-did-not-expect-it-tiktok-influencer-jailed-for-saying-prayer-before-eating-pork-20230921-p5e6h5.html
243
Fealy, Greg. Islam Nusantara: A Local Islam with Global Ambitions. Indonesia at Melbourne, 2022. https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/islam-nusantara-a-local-islam-with-global-ambitions/
244
Bayt ar-Rahmah. C. Holland Taylor Biography. https://baytarrahmah.org/c-holland-taylor-biography/
245
Gerakan Pemuda Ansor. (2017). Declaration on Humanitarian Islam. Bayt ar-Rahmah. https://www.baytarrahmah.
org/media/2017/Gerakan-Pemuda-Ansor_Declaration-on-Humanitarian-Islam.pdf
246
Strange Bedfellows: Why Do Far-Right Leaders Support Indonesia’s Promotion of Moderate Islam?” Indonesia at
Melbourne, 2022.
247
Joseph, Shubhangi. (2022). You Know G20, Now There’s R20 — a Push for Moderate Islam with Links to RSS’s
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