Indonesian App Allows Public to Report ‘Deviant’ Religious Groups

Estimated read time 1 min read

Indonesian human rights groups warned on Monday that a mobile application released by the Jakarta Prosecutor’s Office to monitor “deviant” faiths could worsen the persecution of religious minorities.

The Smart Pakem app, released on Friday, contains a list of religious groups in the Jakarta area that are considered to have strayed from mainstream Islam, including Ahmadiyah and Gafatar, and allows members of the public to report on the activities of such groups.

“The application could lead to the persecution of people who are considered to have different beliefs. Because of that, we urge the Jakarta Prosecutor’s Office to delete it,” Muhammad Isnur, coordinator of the Indonesan Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), told BenarNews.

Isnur said minority religious groups had already been persecuted, forced from their homes and in some cases killed for beliefs that are considered “misguided.”

In most cases, they were victims of false and misleading information, he said.

“It is not impossible that some people will use this application to make false reports that could lead to violence against people,” Isnur said. “This is dangerous.”

Full story: BenarNews

Rina Chadijah
Jakarta

Copyright ©2018,BenarNews. Used with the permission of BenarNews.

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