.... Five years ago, Joko won the presidency on a promise to increase jobs, crack down on corruption and bolster human rights. But during his re-election campaign, he embraced elements of Indonesia's religious right.
His running mate was conservative cleric Ma'ruf Amin, who supports Sharia law and believes that homosexuality should be criminalized. Amin is now Indonesia's vice president. That was seen as an effort to eat into Prabowo's conservative support base and appease those who claimed he was not Islamic enough.
Joko denied that he befriended hardliners to win the election, suggesting his outwardly secular values had not been compromised.
"We would like to work with all elements of society. We would like to work with everyone to develop this country, but not with those who want to ruin this country in terms of its ideology and in developing our economy. There is no compromise for me," he said.
.... While the President upholds that Indonesia is a tolerant and diverse society, rights groups say there is rising intolerance from hardline religious groups, especially against religious minorities and the LGBT community.
In 2016, Jakarta's Chinese Christian governor (a Joko ally) Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known as Ahok, was accused of insulting the Quran and jailed on blasphemy charges. Massive rallies calling for his jailing paralyzed the capital.
Ahok was released in January after serving just under two years in jail, but the incident showed religious fundamentalism to be a powerful force. [CNN] Read more
