Thousands Rally In Indonesia for Islamic Law
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4,000-5,000 men and women from Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, marched through the city's banking district |
JAKARTA,
August 3, (IslamOnline & News Agencies)- Thousands of Muslims
marched toward a meeting of Indonesian parliamentarians Saturday
August 3 to demand they incorporate Islamic law into the constitution.
In
one of Jakarta's largest demonstrations in months, 4,000-5,000 men and
women from Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia,
or the Liberation Party, marched peacefully through the city's banking
district toward the legislature where the annual session of the
People's Consultative Assembly, the country's highest constitutional
body, is meeting, Agence France-Press(AFP) reported.
A
statement issued by the demonstrators said Indonesia's
crisis of poverty and unemployment, its high number of school
dropouts, increasing crime and moral decay have resulted from the
absence of an Islamic system, as well as from bureaucrats who fail to
carry out their duties properly.
Chanting
“There is no God but Allah,” the crowd held up banners saying,
“We long for Sharia law.'” They lifted their arms above their
heads in prayer as they marched peacefully to the parliament building,
where 700 lawmakers discussed constitutional amendments
At
the 10-day assembly session which began Thursday August1, legislators
are discussing proposed constitutional amendments, one of which calls
for implementing Islamic
law, or sharia. The issue- on the agenda for the annual session of the
nation's highest legislative body is not expected to receive
widespread support among legislators.
“We
want to save Indonesia with sharia law,” said Ismail Yusanto, a
spokesman of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia or the Indonesian Liberation
party.
“For
more than 50 year's of independence, we have seen secularist leaders
destroy the country,'' Yusanto said.
"Islam
has an ideology like capitalism and communism, but Islam is
better," said one marcher, Hamzah Salahudin, 33. "We will
convey our aspirations and demand Islamic law," he told AFP.
Indonesia's
founding fathers wrote a constitution in 1945 for a secular government
and religious tolerance between the Muslim majority and Christian,
Buddhist, Hindu and other minorities.
More
than 80 percent of Indonesians are Muslim but other faiths are widely
accepted.
Jacob
Tobing, who heads the commission handling the amendments, said
legislators will meet the demonstrators for sharia law.
Last
month hundreds of people from Hizbut Tahrir rallied outside the
Philippine Embassy in Jakarta to shout their objections to the jailing
by a Philippine court of an Indonesian man on explosives charges.
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