Jakarta: This city's embattled governor was interrogated by police over alleged blasphemy on Monday, amid fears that opponents of the government are deliberately fomenting unrest to destabilise Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
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Up to 200,000 Muslims took to the streets on Friday demanding that Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, widely known as Ahok, be jailed for allegedly insulting Islam.
The rally was largely peaceful but erupted into violence on Friday night. One man died, a police officer lost his eye and 300 people were injured.
Many at the protest accused the president of protecting Ahok, a political ally who is Christian and from the country's Chinese minority.
Indonesian rock musician Ahmad Dhani told the crowd: "I am very sad and crying for having a president who does not respect the habibs (men who claim descent from the family of the Prophet Muhammad) and ulema (Islamic scholars). I want to say dog! I want to say pig!"
A poster has been circulating on Whatsapp messaging groups spruiking a so-called "defending Islam demonstration" on November 25, calling for President Jokowi to be brought down if Ahok remains a free man.
The president was sufficiently spooked by the volatility in the nation's sprawling capital to postpone his state visit to Australia, blaming unnamed "political actors" who he said hijacked the otherwise peaceful rally "to take advantage of the situation".
"[President Jokowi] would undoubtedly be feeling under pressure because he has a lot invested in Ahok," said Greg Fealy from the School of International, Political and Strategic Studies at the Australian National University.
"If Ahok is charged [with blasphemy] it makes it extremely difficult for him to win the gubernatorial election."
The position of governor is often a springboard for higher office, as demonstrated by the ascent of President Jokowi, himself a former Jakarta governor.
"Jokowi would be anxious about candidates emerging to challenge him in 2019," Dr Fealy added.
Former education minister Anies Baswedan and Agus Harimurti, the son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, are both standing in the February 15 gubernatorial elections.
"Ahok is the intermediate target, not the real one," said Muradi, a lecturer in political science at Padjadjaran University. "The president is the real target, maybe not to topple him but to downgrade his performance."
President Jokowi's ruling coalition accounts for more than 70 per cent of MPs and he is enjoying popularity levels not seen since Suharto.
"There are at least four elements mixed together: the involvement of the political elite, the huge amount of money behind the rally, groups who always oppose the government and the radicals," Mr Muradi said.
Dr Yudhoyono, whose relationship with President Jokowi is understood to be hostile, held a press conference last week to vehemently deny he had orchestrated the rally.
Ahok was accused of defaming the Koran after he appeared to suggest in an edited video transcript that voters were being deceived by a verse in the Koran.
Some Islamic groups had urged voters not to re-elect Ahok on the basis of verse 51 from the fifth sura or chapter of the Koran, al-Ma'ida, which some interpret as prohibiting Muslims from living under the leadership of a non-Muslim.
Ahok apologised for the offence caused by his comments and insisted he was not criticising the Koranic verse but those who used it to attack him.
The man who instigated the outrage when he transcribed Ahok's comments, PhD student Buni Yani, has admitted to making a mistake, claiming he misheard what Ahok said in the video.
In a carefully worded statement, Police Chief Tito Karnavian said seven expert witnesses, including linguists, would be quizzed on whether Ahok's words constituted blasphemy.
He also took the unusual step of inviting the media to cover the hearing to determine if there was sufficient grounds to name Ahok a suspect, saying the president had stressed the need for transparency.
"I think Jokowi made the right call not intervening in any way," said Evan Laksmana from Indonesia's Centre for Strategic and International Studies. "A lot of this is obviously opening salvos for the 2019 election."
However Mr Laksmana believed attempts to paint Ahok and President Jokowi in the same light and weaken the appeal of the popular president were unlikely to stick, given the election was still three years away.
with Karuni Rompies
