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| Indonesia Bans Hard-Line Islamist Group Behind Mass Rallies | Indonesia Bans Hard-Line Islamist Group Behind Mass Rallies |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| JAKARTA, Indonesia — The Indonesian government on Wednesday officially banned a hard-line Islamist group that wants to establish a global caliphate and that organized protests that rocked the country last year. | JAKARTA, Indonesia — The Indonesian government on Wednesday officially banned a hard-line Islamist group that wants to establish a global caliphate and that organized protests that rocked the country last year. |
| The move against the group, Hizbut Tahrir, has been hailed by pluralist Muslim groups as a necessary step for halting the rise of radical Islam. But conservative Muslim organizations and human rights groups criticized the decision as unnecessarily punitive. | The move against the group, Hizbut Tahrir, has been hailed by pluralist Muslim groups as a necessary step for halting the rise of radical Islam. But conservative Muslim organizations and human rights groups criticized the decision as unnecessarily punitive. |
| “It’s a sad day for Indonesia’s fledgling democracy,” said Andreas Harsono, Indonesia director of Human Rights Watch. “Hizbut Tahrir might be a controversial group but it should have the right to appeal the banning.” | “It’s a sad day for Indonesia’s fledgling democracy,” said Andreas Harsono, Indonesia director of Human Rights Watch. “Hizbut Tahrir might be a controversial group but it should have the right to appeal the banning.” |
| The government banned the group under powers granted by a new presidential decree last week that progressive civil society groups widely opposed. Under that decree, organizations that are banned by the government lose their right to appeal. | The government banned the group under powers granted by a new presidential decree last week that progressive civil society groups widely opposed. Under that decree, organizations that are banned by the government lose their right to appeal. |
| The pluralist government announced its intention to ban Hizbut Tahrir with much fanfare in May, arguing that the group’s call for the creation of a global caliphate was a rejection of the Constitution and pluralist state ideology. | The pluralist government announced its intention to ban Hizbut Tahrir with much fanfare in May, arguing that the group’s call for the creation of a global caliphate was a rejection of the Constitution and pluralist state ideology. |
| Banning the organization has become the government’s signature move in confronting the rise of hard-line Islamism in Indonesia, whose generally moderate brand of Islam is seen as under threat by hard-line forces. | Banning the organization has become the government’s signature move in confronting the rise of hard-line Islamism in Indonesia, whose generally moderate brand of Islam is seen as under threat by hard-line forces. |
| That challenge was highlighted in April, when Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, Jakarta’s governor and the country’s highest-ranking Christian politician, was voted out of office after Hizbut Tahrir and other hard-line Muslim groups staged mass rallies against him. Mr. Basuki was later sentenced to two years in prison for blasphemy after making comments deemed insulting to Islam. | That challenge was highlighted in April, when Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, Jakarta’s governor and the country’s highest-ranking Christian politician, was voted out of office after Hizbut Tahrir and other hard-line Muslim groups staged mass rallies against him. Mr. Basuki was later sentenced to two years in prison for blasphemy after making comments deemed insulting to Islam. |
| Mr. Basuki was a close ally of the pluralist president, Joko Widodo. Analysts see the government’s efforts to ban Hizbut Tahrir as part of a broader effort by Mr. Joko to rein in the hard-line Islamist forces opposed to his administration before presidential elections in 2019. | Mr. Basuki was a close ally of the pluralist president, Joko Widodo. Analysts see the government’s efforts to ban Hizbut Tahrir as part of a broader effort by Mr. Joko to rein in the hard-line Islamist forces opposed to his administration before presidential elections in 2019. |
| Thanks to aggressive moves by Mr. Joko’s administration, many of the Islamist leaders who led the campaign against Mr. Basuki are in exile or prison. | Thanks to aggressive moves by Mr. Joko’s administration, many of the Islamist leaders who led the campaign against Mr. Basuki are in exile or prison. |
| Rizieq Shihab, the leader of the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front, has been named a suspect in a pornography case after being accused of sending racy text messages to a female follower; he fled to Saudi Arabia to avoid a police summons. Muhammad al Khaththath, another hard-line leader who oversaw one of the major demonstrations against Mr. Basuki, is in prison, charged with attempting a coup. | |
| Hizbut Tahrir, however, is the first Islamic organization to be officially banned by the government instead of its leaders facing charges at an individual level. | Hizbut Tahrir, however, is the first Islamic organization to be officially banned by the government instead of its leaders facing charges at an individual level. |
| Mohammad Nuruzzaman, head of strategic research for Ansor, a pluralist Muslim youth organization whose paramilitary divisions have aggressively disrupted Hizbut Tahrir gatherings, welcomed the decision to ban the group officially. | |
| “Hizbut Tahrir doesn’t openly call for violence,” Mr. Nuruzzaman said. But he added: “It threatens Indonesia’s national ideology and Constitution. That’s why we support the ban.” | |
| Taufik Andrie, a terrorism expert who is the director of the Institute for International Peace Building, worried that the ban would lead some followers of Hizbut Tahrir to embrace terrorism. | Taufik Andrie, a terrorism expert who is the director of the Institute for International Peace Building, worried that the ban would lead some followers of Hizbut Tahrir to embrace terrorism. |
| “I worry that members of the Hizbut Tahrir who are disappointed with the decision will view the government as repressive, and will shift from nonviolence to violence,” he said. | “I worry that members of the Hizbut Tahrir who are disappointed with the decision will view the government as repressive, and will shift from nonviolence to violence,” he said. |
| Many countries have banned Hizbut Tahrir, including China, Germany and some Arab countries, often because its call for a global caliphate is seen as a challenge to fundamental state ideology. | Many countries have banned Hizbut Tahrir, including China, Germany and some Arab countries, often because its call for a global caliphate is seen as a challenge to fundamental state ideology. |
| Still, experts cautioned that the ban may not be effective. Hizbut Tahrir functioned as an underground university-based organization during the Suharto dictatorship in the 1980s and 1990s, and may well try to return to those roots. | Still, experts cautioned that the ban may not be effective. Hizbut Tahrir functioned as an underground university-based organization during the Suharto dictatorship in the 1980s and 1990s, and may well try to return to those roots. |
| “Of all the Islamic organizations in Indonesia, this is the one that’s most likely to be able to survive underground,” said Ken Ward, a former intelligence analyst with the Australian government who has studied the group, citing its secrecy. | “Of all the Islamic organizations in Indonesia, this is the one that’s most likely to be able to survive underground,” said Ken Ward, a former intelligence analyst with the Australian government who has studied the group, citing its secrecy. |