Religion poisons everything. Or so it might seem to an Indonesian man who was beaten by an angry Muslim mob and is now facing five years behind bars after writing “God does not exist” on his Facebook page.
On Friday, Indonesian police confirmed that they had charged a civil servant identified as Alexander Aan with blasphemy after his Facebook activites were reported to the authorities by the Indonesia Council of Ulema, known as MUI, and other Indonesian Islamic organizations.
Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation.
when Alexander arrived at work at the Dharmasraya Development Planning Board (Bappeda) on Wednesday, a group of men, also understood to comprise government officials, attacked and beat him before police arrived and took him into custody.
Alexander, a civil servant, is now facing five years in jail for writing “God does not exist” on a Facebook page he moderated called “Ateis Minang” (“Minang Atheists”).
Blasphemey is defined under the Indonesian Criminal Code “as publicly expressing feelings or doing something that spreads hatred, abuse or taints certain religions in Indonesia in a way that could cause someone to disbelieve religion.”
Alexander has been quoted by Indonesian media sources as saying:
“If God indeed exists, why do bad things happen. There should only be good things if God is merciful.”
Alexander said he was born a Muslim but ceased religious activities in 2008. About his recent arrest and beating he was quoted as saying:
“I have no idea what the problem is. When I arrived at the office, a mob came and beat me, and took me to the police.”
Apparently Alexander can avoid jail time if he "repents" and accepts one of six official state religions. For any freethinker, the choice between jail or pledging allegiance to an imaginary god is no choice at all. Indeed, such a choice is but a cruel reminder of the simple truth that religion poisons everything.
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