Jakarta – "I have no religion, but I believe in God," said Lia Eden on Wednesday, the first day of her blasphemy trial at the Central Jakarta District Court.

Judge Lief Sufijullah wanted to determine the religion of the 58-year-old – who also goes by the name Lia Aminuddin – early on in the trial. Lia believes she is both the Angel Gabriel and the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary.

In the indictment, prosecutors said Lia had distributed brochures, books and VCDs about her teachings, which, it is charged, are irreverent toward Islam.

"The defendant's statements are aimed at a certain religion, which is Islam, and those statements are at odds with the basic tenets of the religion," prosecutor Salman Maryadi told the court.

Clad in a white robe and a crown, Lia was unusually tense as she was led into the court room.

However, when the judge asked for her response to the indictment, she barely hesitated: "Neither this trial, nor any other trial in the world has the authority to persecute me because I am the Archangel Gabriel who speaks in the name of God."

Lia was arrested on Dec. 28 after thousands of Muslims demanded police shut down the Kingdom of Eden headquarters on Jl. Mahoni in Central Jakarta and disperse her followers, who call themselves Salamullah.

Saor Siagian, Lia's lawyer, said the charges were vague as no one could be tried because of his or her faith. "Faith is so abstract, it cannot be proven.

"It's ironic, this trial is going ahead though none of the people involved in the attack on the headquarters has been tried," he said.

Muslim intellectuals Dawam Rahardjo and Siti Musdah Mulia attended the trial to support Lia. "I'm here to defend freedom of religion," said Dawam, one of the country's prominent campaigners for pluralism. "The government should not interfere, even if one has decided to worship a rock."