Arientha Primanita, Camelia Pasandaran & Carla Isati Octama – Members of Indonesia's hard-line Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) stoned the Ministry of Home Affairs in Central Jakarta on Thursday, just a day after the minister earlier accused religious groups of "spreading lies" during an ongoing dispute over alcohol sales.
A crowd estimated at around 1,000 people, comprising members of the FPI and Islamic People's Forum (FUI), descended on the ministry on Jalan Merdeka Utara at 11 a.m., pelted the building with stones, breaking windows. Police reportedly arrived about an hour after the attack began.
Islamic People's Forum (FUI) secretary general Muhammad Al Khaththath said the sale of alcohol was against Islamic teachings and should be banned. "The Home Affairs minister should repent, and apologize to everybody," Al Khaththath said. "He should step down and return to [Padang, West Sumatra]."
The protest ended when police arrived, with demonstrators praying in the middle of the road, causing traffic chaos.
Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi on Wednesday lashed out at the Indonesian Council of Ulema for "spreading lies" in the wake of the government's decision to revise local bylaws regulating the sale of alcohol.
"Indonesian religious people like to comment. It's their hobby," Gamawan said. "They know nothing about the case they are commenting on. They like to spread lies that tend to be slander. Why is the MUI also commenting without bothering to check [the facts]?"
The ministry rejected on Tuesday allegations by religious groups that it had revoked regional bylaws that limit or ban the sale of alcohol in direct contravention of national legislation or presidential instructions.
The ministry said it was simply revising the bylaws. The council known as the MUI and Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia continued their attacks on the government on Wednesday.
MUI chairman Amidhan accused Gamawan of indirectly siding with alcohol producers. "The nation has not recovered from the multi-dimensional crisis of moral degradation. Alcoholic beverages are one of the sources of addictive crime," Amidhan said.
The MUI, he continued, would stage meetings with local governments and regional representatives council and urge them to defend such bylaws.
"Bylaws [banning alcohol] were enacted based on the aspirations of people in those regions. If, say, in the Indramayu district [West Java] people want to ban liquor, then it's their right," Amidhan argued.
The MUI has issued a fatwa, or religious edict, against alcoholic beverages and demanded the government to enforce it.
Gamawan said that in the last two years he had ordered nine bylaws, including from areas such as Bandung, Indramayu and Tangerang, that banned alcohol to be reviewed but had not revoked them. The bylaws, he said, were not in line with laws and regulations imposed nationally and the central government had sent letters to the regional governments asking for the bylaws to be revised.
Alcohol is classified into three categories: A (with an alcohol content of 5 percent or less), B (above 5 percent to 20 percent) and C (above 20 percent to 55 percent).
National regulations state that the sale of alcohol classified as B and C should be controlled and limited to places such as hotels, restaurants, nightclubs and duty-free shops. Alcohol classified in the A group, such as beer, can be sold anywhere.
HTI spokesman Muhammad Ismail Yusanto said revoking the bylaws for the sale of alcohol should not be allowed, insisting that it would lead to an increase in crime.
"Legalizing the distribution of the alcoholic drinks is dangerous for people's morality. With the bylaws, crime rates could be minimized," Ismail said. "It is the [national law and presidential decrees] allowing the distribution of alcohol that need to be revised."