Indonesian police in September began investigating\u00a0Feby Indirani, the author of the short story collection Memburu Muhammad (Hunting for Muhammad), for alleged blasphemy after an Islamist group allegedly intervened with the organizers of a literary festival at which Indirani was to appear.
\n\n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n \n \n \n\n\n\n \n Click to expand Image\n \n\n\n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n Feby Indirani.\n \u00a9 Private\n \n \n\n\n \nBogor Literary Week organized an event featuring Indirani that was scheduled for September 20 but cancelled it days after the Front Persaudaraan Islam (Islamic Brotherhood Front, FPI) threatened to disrupt the discussion.
In response to a Human Rights Watch query, an Islamic Brotherhood Front representative neither confirmed nor denied the organization\u2019s role in the cancellation of the event, stating: \u201cIn principle, FPI respects every citizen's right to express opinions and carry out activities guaranteed by the constitution. However, this right must also be exercised while respecting religious values, public beliefs, and the constitutional rights of others as regulated in the applicable laws.\u201d
Indirani is a prominent author whose work often focuses on Islam, women\u2019s rights issues, and marginalized groups. After the organizers cancelled her event, she faced a wave of sexualized and gendered online harassment, as did women who spoke up online to support her. Indirani told Human Rights Watch that these attacks sought \u201cto silence women\u2019s freedom to read, write, and express their opinions safely.\u201d
The Jakarta Metropolitan Police said on September 24 that they would investigate Indirani after social media users alleged Memburu Muhammad was blasphemous. The\u00a0Ministry of Religious Affairs said on September 25 that the book contained \u201csensitive material\u201d that could \u201coffend the beliefs of religious people.\u201d
Prominent religious leaders have also called for a blasphemy investigation, including Amirsyah Tambunan, secretary general of the\u00a0Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), an umbrella body for Islamic organizations and scholars in Indonesia, Anwar Abbas, chairman of the Muslim social organization\u00a0Muhammadiyah, and Saifullah Yusuf, the social affairs minister and a Nahdlatul Ulama figure.
Under Indonesia\u2019s\u00a0new Criminal Code, the term \u201cblasphemy\u201d was replaced with a reformulated category of criminal offenses that outlaw acts or expressions of hostility against the religion or beliefs of other people or groups. It is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Indonesian authorities have an obligation to protect the right to freedom of expression, including from unlawful interference by non-state actors. The police should investigate harassment of the event organizers and Indirani\u2014including online gendered harassment\u2014rather than probing alleged blasphemy in a work of fiction.
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