Indonesia bans Islamic HizbutTahrir organisation

The Indonesian Government issued an order to ban the operation of Hizbut Tahrir, an Islamic organisation that wants to establish a global caliphate, under a new decree of President Joko Widodo.

(Source: ABC News)

Jakarta (VNA) – The Indonesian Government on July 19 issued an order to ban the operation of Hizbut Tahrir, an Islamic organisation that wants to establish a global caliphate, under a new decree of President Joko Widodo.

According to Indonesia’s Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, the disbandment aims to protect national unity.

The decree signed last week by President Joko Widodo gives the government almost unfettered power to ban organisations deemed against the constitution and the official state ideology known as Pancasila.

The measures follow months of sectarian tensions in the world's most populous Muslim nation that shook the government and undermined Indonesia's reputation for practicing a moderate form of Islam.

Hizbut Tahrir, along with other groups such as the violent Islamic Defenders Front, was thought to stand behind a series of massive protests in Jakarta. Hizbut, already banned or circumscribed in some countries, is estimated to have tens of thousands of members in Indonesia.-VNA

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