The case had triggered public outrage over the past few days, with the youth wing of the Muhammadiyah, Pemuda Muhammadiyah (PM), urging police to immediately take action against Kace.
Muhammadiyah is Indonesia's second-largest Muslim organization after the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).
Bali police apprehended Kace from his hideout in the Banjar Untal-Untal hamlet of Ulang village, Kuta Utara sub-district, Badung district, Bali province at 7:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday.
From Bali, he was taken to Jakarta on Wednesday afternoon for questioning, according to chief of the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim), Senior Commissioner Agus Andrianto.
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Kace, a former Muslim who has converted to Christianity, was arrested following a police probe into complaints filed by representatives of Muslims, who accused him of repeatedly insulting Islam and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in videos that he uploaded on his YouTube channel.
Police investigators have named him a suspect and detained him at the Bareskrim prison within Central Jakarta's Salemba Penitentiary. He will remain in detention from August 25, 2021 to September 13, 2021.
In some of his remarks, which went viral, Kace had, for instance, said Muhammad bin Abdullah (the prophet) was "surrounded by devils and liars," ANTARA noted.
He is also alleged to have intentionally shown disrespect to the teachings of Quran and changed the greeting for Muslims.
Prior to his arrest, the Indonesian Communication and Informatics Ministry had disclosed that the contents of Kace's videos had violated the rules of Indonesia's Electronic Information and Transaction (ITE) Law.
In a bid to prevent the proliferation of blasphemous content on social media platforms, the ministry has provided a special website (https://www.aduankonten.id/) where content violating the law can be reported by the public, according to officials.
Regarding the blasphemy case, MUI deputy secretary for legal and human rights affairs Ikhsan Abdullah said he is optimistic Kace will be tried on the basis of the principle of equality before law.
"We do hope the legal process of this blasphemy case is conducted based on the principles of equality before the law and transparency," he said in a statement that ANTARA received on Thursday.
Abdullah affirmed that MUI's central executive board and leaders of all MUI provincial chapters commend the police action against Kace.
"Along with the Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah, and all Muslim-based organizations affiliating with MUI, we continue to monitor the legal process for this blasphemy case," he remarked.
Meanwhile, People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Deputy Speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid and the Indonesian Islamic Students Movement (PMII), one of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) wing organizations, also lauded police over Kace's arrest.
To prevent others from repeating Kace's "unlawful acts," law enforcement agencies, including the prosecutors' office and the district court, must bolster deterrence by awarding Kace optimal punishment, he said.
"Do not let the blasphemy that Kace has done be repeated by him or other people as it may threaten the unity of interfaith communities and the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia," Wahid argued.
Kace could be awarded optimal punishment by the panel of judges as a deterrent for other people, he said, referring to Indonesia's blasphemy law (PNPS No.1/1965) and Article 156a of the Criminal Code, which prescribes a maximum five-year sentence for any person found guilty of committing a blasphemy-related offense.
Deterrence is indispensable to maintain harmony and tolerance in the country's interfaith communities and to avoid the nation from getting dragged by anti-religious individuals into disunity and clashes, Wahid remarked.
Meanwhile, PMII General Chairman Muhammad Abdullah Syukri highlighted the importance of stopping all unlawful acts that could threaten the unity and harmony of interfaith communities in the country.
Syukri argued that the fierce crackdown on those committing criminal offenses that may threaten the unity and harmony in multi-faith communities is indispensable.
Therefore, he appealed to members of multi-faith communities in the country to avoid any narratives of hatred and lies, according to a press statement released by PMII that ANTARA received here on Thursday.
Instead, the communities must preserve the public sphere with constructive narratives that may help create a harmonious society, he added.
Muhammad Kace's case has extended the list of blasphemy cases in Muslim-majority Indonesia's modern history.
Blasphemy cases that have attracted public attention in the past have involved Ki Pandji Kusmin's short story titled Langit Makin Mendung (The Darkening Sky), the Prophet's Hut Sect, Tabloid Monitory's survey, and religious sect leader Lia Eden.
One case that triggered massive rallies in Jakarta involved Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok), who was accused of insulting the Quranic verse of al-Maidah in a speech in 2016.
In May 2017, the North Jakarta district court found Ahok, who was outgoing Jakarta governor at that time, guilty of blasphemy, and sentenced him to two years in prison.
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Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
