This was a request from a security institution."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla said here on Monday that he had ordered Indonesian Minister of Informatics and Communication Rudiantara to block Islamic websites that were spreading radicalism.
"I asked Rudiantara to block websites that were found to be clearly part of a propaganda for radicalism, following a thorough study," he stated in his office.
He added that Islamic websites carrying content on radicalism were blocked following a request from a security institution.
"This was a request from a security institution. In a meeting today, I ordered (the minister of informatics and communication) to conduct thorough selection," he affirmed.
Kalla pointed out that not all Islamic websites would be blocked by the government, but only those carrying content spreading radicalism.
"Not all of them (will be blocked). We will not block a website simply because it has an Islamic name. Only those clearly promoting radicalism consistently (will be blocked). If they only carry interpretations or content that are not binding, they will not be selected among those to be blocked," he explained.
Moreover, seven Islamic websites lodged a protest and complaint over the blocking of their content by the Ministry of Informatics and Communication on the request of the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) on Tuesday.
Leaders and newsmen of aglislamiccenter.com, hidayatullah.com, kiblat.net, salam-online.com, panjimas.com, arrahmah.com, and gemaislam.com visited the ministrys office on Tuesday to meet Danrivanto Budhijanto, the expert staff for legal and strategic regulation affairs.
Mahladi, the chief editor of Hidayatullah, who acted as the speaker for the delegation, stated that their websites were blocked without being informed about what they had done wrong.
"It just happened. We did not know what was wrong. We were not informed before," he said.
He noted that no regulation regarding negative content had been violated.
In response, Budhijanto extended his apologies over the inconvenience caused due to the blocking of the websites.
He said that his side had blocked them following a request from the BNPT, and that he would mediate a meeting between them and the security agency.
The Informatics and Communication Ministry recently blocked 19 websites, following a request from the BNPT, as it was believed that the sites were spreading radicalism.
(Reporting by Fransiska Ninditya/Uu.F013/H-YH/INE/KR-BSR/A014)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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