ID :
31588
Fri, 11/21/2008 - 23:44
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/31588
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News Focus: GOVT URGED TO TAKE FIRM ACTION AGAINST BLASPHEMOUS WEBSITE OWNERS
By Eliswan Azly
Jakarta, 21 Nov (ANTARA) - It is still fresh in our mind how such a controversial cartoon depicting Prophet Muhammad was carried in the rakyatmerdeka.co.id website was strongly protested by the public in Indonesia as it was considered as blasphemous.
Taken from Danish biggest newspaper Jylands-Posten, the cartoon depicted a blaphemous picture of Prophet Muhammad, was again carried in the rakyatmerdeka.co.id website with the aim of letting Indonesian muslims know the factual picture which had triggered international unrest and turmoil in many countries last year.
But the publication of the controversial cartoon in the website was seen as an insult and hurt the feelings of Muslims in Indonesia in particular and in many countries in general.
This only concerned the blasphemous website, not to mention other such provocative publications found in many other local and foreign websites.
It is in this context that the Indonesian government has been urged to take stern action against whoever has disseminated blasphemous pictures or cartoons or details of Prophet Muhammad through a website, a legislator has said.
Mutammimul Ula, a member of the Justice and Prosperous Party (PKS) on behalf of the party hoped here on Friday relating to the 'website lapotuak.wordpress.com' which blasphemed Prophet Muhammad through pornographic pictures or cartoons in the website recently.
He said that there are two pornographic cartoons regarding Prophet Muhammad in the website namely depicting Muhammad and Zainab (woman).
"This has really hurt the feelings of Muslims. Police should take stern action against the drawer of the cartoon and the website owner. Don't wait until Muslims take the law into their own hands," he warned, adding that this case treathens religious harmony in the country.
Earlier, Communications and Information Minister Muhammad Nuh said the government would crack down on whoever had disseminated provocative and pornographic materials through websites which had caused anger and unrest in the public.
"The regulation we have now concerned freedom of expression, and electronic transactions, ban on dissemination of business or SARA (tribe, religion, race and inter group)-related conflicts.
"If something is banned, there is usually a legal consequnce," the minister added.
Website owners and drawers are liable to legal sanction which possibly inspires others to send provocative messages to others as well as disseminated provocative materials through websites that caused public anger unrest.
According to him, by legal enforcement, perpetrators found to have dissiminated provocative materials through their website will be searched and dealt with firmly.
"The sanction could take the form of jail sentence or fines. We will let the law enforcers take action against them regardless of who they are, their groups or businesses," he said.
Earlier, it was reported that the provocative reports have become rampant in the Internet through websites.
After the arrahmah.com website screening the photos of the three executed Bali bombers, this time there was also a comic illustrating the figure of Prophet Muhammad.
Kept in a blog of wordpress.com, the comic was distributed from one individual to another through instant messenger and electronic letter.
In response to the people's appeal to the government to take firm action against the provocative and blasphamous website owners and bloggers, Dr Sofyan Siregar, an Islamic intellectual who is a lecturer at the Islamic University of Europe in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in an emailed reply said that the intention to do it is not a problem.
But most important is a continuous socialization of the importance of living on this earth in an Islamic way without easily being influenced or provoked by outsiders' culture or way of life.
"If such religious values have been well understood by a muslim, he or she will not easily be influenced or provoked by materialistic way of life adopted by most people in the West," he said.
However, Sofyan saw the action to be taken by the government against provocative and blasphemous websites as the right decision in the spirit of upholding the good and uprooting the bad which in Islam is called `Amarmaruf nahi mungkar'.
He also reminded muslims in Indonesia to remain cool after finding something bad which is an insult to Islam, and should refrain from immediately taking the law into their own hands.
If a certain individual finds a blasphemous or provocative picture or details of Prophet Muhammad in a certain website, Muslims should discuss it first with the relevant authorities.
Let the authorized institutions like the Indonesian Council of Ulemas or the Religious Ministry make the best decision on the website in question. "Muslims should abide by the law in Indonesia as long as it is not opposed to the Islamic values. They should not take the law into their own hands, Sofyan said.
"Furthermore, I also remind my muslim brothers in Indonesia to watch out for efforts of certain elements in Europe in general and in the Netherland in particular to put such controversial 'Fitna' film produced by a Dutch politician in a website or blog," he said.
If this website or blog is found, as good Muslims the people should not immediately vent their anger and need to be wise in dealing with a certain phenomenon.
An effort to discredit Islam by irresponsible elements in other parts of the world will never stop. What is important now is how to see and learn the phenomenon in a wise and matured manner.
The film has been banned from cinemas, but there are efforts to put it into a website or blog.
The film has been condemned as provocative which insults Islam and Muslims and clearly contradicts the efforts of Indonesia and other nations at national and international levels to promote interfaith dialogue based on harmony and tolerance.
Sofyan was of the opinion that the world leaders had a moral obligation to prevent religious defamation as depicted in the movie Fitna in bringing about peace in the world.
He also called on the international community not to use unlimited freedom which would ruin and offend the feelings of religious believers and creeds, thus hoping that all the parties should not disrupt the efforts already made by other religious believers to create a bridge between different cultures.
Jakarta, 21 Nov (ANTARA) - It is still fresh in our mind how such a controversial cartoon depicting Prophet Muhammad was carried in the rakyatmerdeka.co.id website was strongly protested by the public in Indonesia as it was considered as blasphemous.
Taken from Danish biggest newspaper Jylands-Posten, the cartoon depicted a blaphemous picture of Prophet Muhammad, was again carried in the rakyatmerdeka.co.id website with the aim of letting Indonesian muslims know the factual picture which had triggered international unrest and turmoil in many countries last year.
But the publication of the controversial cartoon in the website was seen as an insult and hurt the feelings of Muslims in Indonesia in particular and in many countries in general.
This only concerned the blasphemous website, not to mention other such provocative publications found in many other local and foreign websites.
It is in this context that the Indonesian government has been urged to take stern action against whoever has disseminated blasphemous pictures or cartoons or details of Prophet Muhammad through a website, a legislator has said.
Mutammimul Ula, a member of the Justice and Prosperous Party (PKS) on behalf of the party hoped here on Friday relating to the 'website lapotuak.wordpress.com' which blasphemed Prophet Muhammad through pornographic pictures or cartoons in the website recently.
He said that there are two pornographic cartoons regarding Prophet Muhammad in the website namely depicting Muhammad and Zainab (woman).
"This has really hurt the feelings of Muslims. Police should take stern action against the drawer of the cartoon and the website owner. Don't wait until Muslims take the law into their own hands," he warned, adding that this case treathens religious harmony in the country.
Earlier, Communications and Information Minister Muhammad Nuh said the government would crack down on whoever had disseminated provocative and pornographic materials through websites which had caused anger and unrest in the public.
"The regulation we have now concerned freedom of expression, and electronic transactions, ban on dissemination of business or SARA (tribe, religion, race and inter group)-related conflicts.
"If something is banned, there is usually a legal consequnce," the minister added.
Website owners and drawers are liable to legal sanction which possibly inspires others to send provocative messages to others as well as disseminated provocative materials through websites that caused public anger unrest.
According to him, by legal enforcement, perpetrators found to have dissiminated provocative materials through their website will be searched and dealt with firmly.
"The sanction could take the form of jail sentence or fines. We will let the law enforcers take action against them regardless of who they are, their groups or businesses," he said.
Earlier, it was reported that the provocative reports have become rampant in the Internet through websites.
After the arrahmah.com website screening the photos of the three executed Bali bombers, this time there was also a comic illustrating the figure of Prophet Muhammad.
Kept in a blog of wordpress.com, the comic was distributed from one individual to another through instant messenger and electronic letter.
In response to the people's appeal to the government to take firm action against the provocative and blasphamous website owners and bloggers, Dr Sofyan Siregar, an Islamic intellectual who is a lecturer at the Islamic University of Europe in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in an emailed reply said that the intention to do it is not a problem.
But most important is a continuous socialization of the importance of living on this earth in an Islamic way without easily being influenced or provoked by outsiders' culture or way of life.
"If such religious values have been well understood by a muslim, he or she will not easily be influenced or provoked by materialistic way of life adopted by most people in the West," he said.
However, Sofyan saw the action to be taken by the government against provocative and blasphemous websites as the right decision in the spirit of upholding the good and uprooting the bad which in Islam is called `Amarmaruf nahi mungkar'.
He also reminded muslims in Indonesia to remain cool after finding something bad which is an insult to Islam, and should refrain from immediately taking the law into their own hands.
If a certain individual finds a blasphemous or provocative picture or details of Prophet Muhammad in a certain website, Muslims should discuss it first with the relevant authorities.
Let the authorized institutions like the Indonesian Council of Ulemas or the Religious Ministry make the best decision on the website in question. "Muslims should abide by the law in Indonesia as long as it is not opposed to the Islamic values. They should not take the law into their own hands, Sofyan said.
"Furthermore, I also remind my muslim brothers in Indonesia to watch out for efforts of certain elements in Europe in general and in the Netherland in particular to put such controversial 'Fitna' film produced by a Dutch politician in a website or blog," he said.
If this website or blog is found, as good Muslims the people should not immediately vent their anger and need to be wise in dealing with a certain phenomenon.
An effort to discredit Islam by irresponsible elements in other parts of the world will never stop. What is important now is how to see and learn the phenomenon in a wise and matured manner.
The film has been banned from cinemas, but there are efforts to put it into a website or blog.
The film has been condemned as provocative which insults Islam and Muslims and clearly contradicts the efforts of Indonesia and other nations at national and international levels to promote interfaith dialogue based on harmony and tolerance.
Sofyan was of the opinion that the world leaders had a moral obligation to prevent religious defamation as depicted in the movie Fitna in bringing about peace in the world.
He also called on the international community not to use unlimited freedom which would ruin and offend the feelings of religious believers and creeds, thus hoping that all the parties should not disrupt the efforts already made by other religious believers to create a bridge between different cultures.
