Police to Investigate Video of Man Asking for Removal of 300 Quran Verses

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Police’s Directorate of Cyber Crime will investigate a video showing a man Saifuddin Ibrahim asking the Religious Affairs Minister to delete 300 verses of the Quran.

“The National Police, especially the Cyber Crime Directorate, will examine the contents of the video,” said the National Police spokesman Inspector General Dedi Prasetyo on Wednesday, March 16.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD asked the National Police to investigate the video as it triggered a public uproar. According to him, the statement made by the self-proclaimed priest has the potential to divide religious communities in the archipelago.

“It creates uproar and a lot of people angry. On this basis, I ask the police to immediately investigate it, and if possible, shut down the account immediately because it has not been closed until now,” said Mahfud.

He opined that Saifuddin's request to delete the verses of the Qur'an is blasphemy. In this case, the penalty is imprisonment of more than 5 years.

In his video that went viral on social media, Saifuddin encouraged the Religious Affairs Minister to delete 300 verses of the Qur'an printed in Indonesia. The verses, he added, triggered intolerance and radicalism, as well as promoted hostility towards people of other faiths.

The video is no longer found on Saifuddin Ibrahim's Youtube account, yet the footage has been spread across various social media platforms. Tempo is trying to reach him for confirmation but so far there has been no response.

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ANTARA