Shiite Cleric Convicted of Blasphemy In Indonesia

In Indonesia yesterday, a court in Sampang district has sentenced Shiite Muslim cleric Tajul Muluk to two years in prison for "blasphemy causing public anxiety."  AFP reports that Muluk was arrested in April during anti-Shiite riots  on the island of Madura. Witnesses told the court that Muluk taught that the Qur'an is not an authentic text, that Muslims should pray only three times a day, and that the hajj pilgrimage is not obligatory. Human Rights Watch, calling for the government to drop all charges against Muluk, says that the Shiite community in Sampang's Nangkernang village has been under attack by Shiites since 2006 when 40 Sunni clerics and four police officers signed a public statement, declaring that the Shiite sect is heretical.  Human Rights Watch also decried the role of Bakor Pakem (the Coordinating Board for Monitoring Mystical Beliefs in Society) in prosecutions under Indonesian law. A part of the public prosecution office, Bakor Pakem is charged with "oversight in respect of religious beliefs that could endanger society and the state."