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Indonesian Mob Burns 2 Christian Churches Protesting Light Blasphemy Sentence

By Howard M. Friedman

In the Indonesian town of Temanggung in Central Java yesterday, a Muslim mob set two churches on fire in protest of what they saw as too light a sentence being imposed on a Christian man for blasphemy.  AFP reports that violence broke out after a court sentenced Antonius Bawengan to five years in prison for distributing leaflets insulting to Islam.  Some 1500 protesters who threw stones at police shouted that Bawengan should be sentenced to death or turned over to the public.  This violence comes two days after a mob killed three members of the Ahmadiyah sect in a move to prevent them from holding worship services. (See prior posting.) Pressure is growing for the Indonesian government to take action against religious extremism.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on February 08, 2011 (boomark / email).