A convert to Christianity in the west Java town of Tasikmalaya has been imprisoned for insulting Islam.

The Christian Post reports that “Abe”, who converted from Islam to Christianity, was set upon by a militant Islamic group at his home on March 8th. They bustled him out of his house and struck him about the head. Police arrived and took Abe into protective custody.

He has now been locked up for more than fifty days awaiting trial on charges of blasphemy against Islam, which carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment.

He claims that while he has been in custody he has been visited several times by representatives of the Indonesian Ulema Council, MUI, and that these visitors have tried to force him to say the Syahadat and affirm himself as a Muslim. Having done this, they say, he will be free to go.

They know that I used to be a Muslim.
(Mereka tahu bahwa saya dulunya Muslim.)

Abe hails from a strict Muslim family, some of his family are well-known in the area as religious teachers, and this makes his situation even more complex.

Abe had been working at the Gereja Sidang Jemaat Pentakosta (GSJP), the Indonesian Pentecostal Church, as a preacher. He says he converted to Christianity in 1998 after a pastor had helped him recover from a stroke. After that he dedicated his life:

…to follow Christ as a preacher in my neighbourhood. I won’t desert Jesus now.
(…untuk mengikut Kristus dengan menjadi penginjil di kampung halaman saya. Saya tidak akan meninggalkan Yesus sekarang.)

Pastor Andreas from the Gereja Bethel Indonesia (GBI), Bethel Church, who has been attending to Abe while he is locked up, says that the original incident at Abe’s home had been planned. He said that reporters and camera crews were ready before anything happened.

Update 19th May, 2006

Abe, or Abraham, was sentenced to four and a half years in a Tasikmalaya court on the 17th. The three judges agreed that he had insulted the Muslim prophet Muhammed and therefore found him guilty of blasphemy against Islam.

Specifically, he is said to have once pointed out some differences between Christianity and Islam to members of his (Muslim) family. On another occasion, again with family members present, he is said to have stated that Muhammad was not the last prophet and added some bad words about him such as that he died from being poisoned.

Outside Courthhouse.

Upon being sentenced the courtroom descended into chaos as some Muslims present were unhappy with the lightness of the sentence, they shouted and banged their chairs. Police and religious leaders managed to hold them back.

Reports:
http://www.pikiran-rakyat.com/cetak/2006/052006/18/0321.htm
http://id.christianpost.com/dbase.php?cat=missions&id=216