WASHINGTON, May 4 (IslamOnline) - Gramedia, Indonesia's largest retail bookstore, has pulled at least twenty books from its shelves after receiving threats from Muslim activist organizations and the burning of books in Jakarta.
The books include those written by communist author Pramoedya Ananta Toer, banned during former President Suharto's reign .
The company's decision to pull the books off the shelves from all of its 42 outlets came after rumors that the Islamic Youth Movement (GPI) was planning to raid the bookstores on May 20th.
Press reports indicate that on April 19th, activists of some 33 organizations led by pro-Jakarta East Timorese militia leader Eurico Guterres burned copies of Marxism-advocating books at GPI headquarters written by Catholic Priest Franz Magnis-Suseno.
GPI Chairman Suaib Didu told reporters on Thursday that his group is indeed planning to raid bookstores which sell communist literature and added that a team of 99 Muslim activists will select which books should be burned.
''The burning of Franz Magnis-Suseno's books was only a symbolic action [because] all books on communism must be eliminated as they poison the younger generation,'' Didu said.
GPI has also received support from Abdul Qadir Djeelani, legislator and leader of the Islamist Crescent-Star party, who was himself a GPI chairman for 20 years.
''The action to burn the books, I think, is normal, because it is a basic right of Muslims,'' he said.
