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Jail Sought for US Man Who ‘Blasphemed’ About Noisy Prayers
Fitri R. | December 14, 2010

Jailed US national Gregory Luke, 64, is seen behind bars at the Praya town court holding area in Lombok on Dec. 14. Judge Suhartoyo said Luke had been found guilty of two counts of blasphemy and one of disorderly conduct. (AFP Photo/Pikong) Jailed US national Gregory Luke, 64, is seen behind bars at the Praya town court holding area in Lombok on Dec. 14. Judge Suhartoyo said Luke had been found guilty of two counts of blasphemy and one of disorderly conduct. (AFP Photo/Pikong)
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masmon2
11:41am Dec 16, 2010

Putrimawar,

So you think that all Indonesians that are not Moslems should leave Indonesia if they don't agree with what you do.

By that token, then all Indonesian Moslems that are not tolerant towards other faiths should also leave Indonesia.

Indonesia may have a majority Moslem population, but it is NOT a Moslem country..

Personally I think the yank involved in this case showed very bad judgement - does he deserve a jail sentence, no I don't think so.

pakGuru
11:28am Dec 16, 2010

@putrimawar:

perhaps it is the muslim way of life but i thought indonesia had a constitution, with a judicial, legislative etc wherein a person's rights are protected by the authorities, in this case the police?

sure, the guy committed some kind of crime - he says she says - since the police are not investigating but rather just taking the word of the 'witnesses'. but why are they not investigating the ransackers? if a person argues with another, does that automatically allow destruction of property? and heres the joke: what if he was renting the house? what did the house owner do to deserve this treatment?

muslim way of life? or is it the lombok way of life?

kales
10:54am Dec 16, 2010

The state of a country is determined by the culture of its people and this is the state of Indonesia.

BilboBaggins
10:39am Dec 16, 2010

Putrimawar is a fine example of that arrogance.

BilboBaggins
10:37am Dec 16, 2010

@devine It has been like this all along.

I've been here 12 years and I don't remember it like this for the first few years. Not in Java anyway.

Muslims didn't seem so arrogant back then as many do now

Central Lombok. Prosecutors are seeking a seven-month jail term for an American national charged with blasphemy.

Gregory Lloyd Luke, 64, is standing trial for an incident on Aug. 22 in which he is alleged to have stormed into a prayer room, or musholla, during prayers near his house in Kuta village, pulled out the speaker cables and insulted Islam.

He was then attacked by a mob and his home ransacked.

No one has been arrested for the attack on Luke or his house, which caused damage estimated at Rp200 million ($22,500).

Baiq Nurjanah, the prosecutor, said on Tuesday at the Praya District Court in West Nusa Tenggara that Luke deserved to be jailed for seven months and fined Rp 2,500 for the alleged blasphemy and vandalism.

He presented the speaker cables to the court as evidence.

But Luke’s lawyer, Isnaini, argued that the sentence demanded was too heavy.

She said Luke had acted out of ignorance and lack of foresight, and had never meant to blaspheme Islam, given that he was himself a Muslim.

“He’s already begged forgiveness for all that he has done, so we call on the judges to please consider a lighter sentence for him,” Isnaini said.

The panel of judges then asked Luke to take to the stand and issue an apology in Indonesian, which he did.

“Gentlemen, I apologize for my mistakes at the musholla on that night,” he said.

“I’ve heard all the witness’s testimonies so far and have done as my lawyer has said, and I echo her call to the judges that the sentence against me be the lightest possible.”

The court will hand down its verdict today.

Luke told reporters later he would accept the court’s verdict and the punishment imposed against him.

Luke faces three counts of blasphemy and disorderly conduct that carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

He previously strenuously denied the charges against him, saying he was assaulted without ever having set foot in the musholla and had simply asked that the amplifiers be turned down.

An acquaintance also testified that Luke’s grasp of Indonesian was too poor to have made the offensive remarks attributed to him by the villagers.