http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/lawandorder/indonesian-publisher-holds-book-burning-for-text-that-allegedly-defames-islam/524204?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=jgnewsletter Indonesian Publisher Holds Book Burning for Text That Allegedly Defames Islam June 13, 2012
The book 'Five Cities that Ruled the World,' written by US theologian Douglas Wilson, has been accused of defaming the Prophet Muhammad. (Antara PhotoIndonesian publisher Gramedia Pustaka Utama burned hundreds of copies of a book that called the Prophet Muhammad a pirate and a murderer on Wednesday following protests by the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front. The books were burned outside the Bentara Budaya cultural hall in the Kompas Gramedia complex in Palmerah, West Jakarta. Company president director Wandi S. Brata oversaw the book burning, along with several Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) officials, including deputy chairman Ma’ruf Amin. The book, “Lima Kota Paling Berpengaruh di Dunia” (“Five Cities that Ruled the World”), was pulled from Indonesian book stores on June 9. The text, written by US theologian Douglas Wilson, explores how five cities — New York, Jerusalem, Athens, Rome and London — shaped the world. In the book, the author alleged that the Prophet Muhammad was a murderer and a pirate who attacked merchants and caravans, according to the FPI. The FPI filed a complaint with police, saying that Gramedia had defamed Islam by publishing the book. The Islamist organization also claimed that the book was still on sale in Indonesia a day after it was recalled. “Page 24 of the book contains words that are an insult to Rasulullah [the prophet]," FPI spokesman Munarman said. “This is a crime of formal offense; withdrawing the books is not enough. Rasulullah is a symbol in Islamic teachings, and defaming religions is a crime according to the Criminal Code." It is against the law in Indonesia to publish materials that are considered libelous toward a certain religion, ethnicity or nationality. Offenders face up to five years in prison and Rp 4,500 ($0.47) in fines under Article 156 of the Criminal Code. Gramedia publicly apologized in the Indonesian newspaper Republika last weekend for publishing the book. Antara/JG [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
