TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Former Constitutional Court (MK) chief justice and chairman of the Gerakan Suluh Kebangsaan (GFK) Mahfud MD shared his view on the polemic involving Islamic preacher Abdul Somad and whether a public apology is necessary to appease the blasphemy allegations against the preacher.
“He isn’t obliged to apologize because Ustad Abdul Somad had already explained the situation and his position. But it would be favorable to issue an apology,” said Mahfud in Jakarta on Friday.
Mahfud MD maintained that apologizing is part of religion’s teachings and consisted of two types: an apology because one has committed a mistake and an apology made because of a misunderstanding despite being correct.
In regards to the legal proceedings of the cleric, Mahfud argued that the alleged blasphemy was being analyzed by the police, which he said would decide whether the case should be continued or dropped.
“Intentions are determined from the context from where he is speaking, in what forum it was said, these can reveal one’s intention, and [to determine Abdul Somad’s intentions] is the task of the ones receiving the report,” said Mahfud.
