Jakrata: Numerous Indonesian Muslims demonstrated on Monday in front of the heavily guarded Swedish Embassy in the nation's capital to protest the recent desecration of Islam's holy book by far-right activists in Sweden and the Netherlands.
More than 300 protesters blocked a busy street in Jakarta's downtown while waving white flags bearing the Islamic declaration of faith, trampling Rasmus Paludan's portraits and burning the flags of Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands as well as the Danish anti-Islam activist's country of birth.
More than 200 police and soldiers were stationed in and around the razor-wire-barricaded embassy, which was accessible only via streets that were blocked by authorities.
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Police gave Paludan permission to hold a protest outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm earlier this month after he burned the Quran there on January 21. Days later, near the Dutch Parliament, Edwin Wagensveld, the Dutch leader of the far-right Pegida movement, tore pages out of a copy of the Quran and trampled on them.
It infuriated millions of Muslims around the world and led to demonstrations, including in Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. In Jakarta, protesters yelled, "God is Great" and "Get out, Swedish embassy!"
According to a spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Ministry named Teuku Faizasyah, the Indonesian government strongly denounced the burning of the Quran by Paludan and summoned the Swedish ambassador Marina Berg last week.
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Religious tolerance has been harmed and tarnished by this act of blasphemy, the ministry declared in a statement on January 22. "Freedom of expression should only be used responsibly."
Turkey has charged the Stockholm government with being too lenient toward groups it views as terrorist organisations or existential threats, including Kurdish groups. Stockholm has jointly applied to join NATO with Finland. NATO requires its existing members to unanimously approve the addition of new members, but Turkey claims it would only consent to Sweden's admission if the nation met its requirements.
Marwan Batubara, the organiser of the protest, criticised Paludan for its aggressive hostility toward Islam and urged Sweden, the Netherlands, and Denmark to punish those responsible and express regret to Muslims.
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Because it deeply hurt us, we demand that Sweden prosecute him in order to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. The defence of those who disparage Islam under the banner of free speech will only inspire martyrs to stand up for it.
The far-right extremist's act of Islamophobia in Sweden was "strongly rejected by the Swedish government," according to a statement from the Swedish Embassy in Jakarta.
The statement read, "This act does not in any way reflect the opinions of the Swedish government."