Thousands of Indonesians march in Jakarta to support Christian governor

Over 10,000 Indonesians took to the streets of Jakarta to express their support for the Christian governor who is currently facing blasphemy charges.

The police started the investigation against Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama regarding the blasphemy case last week, the Catholic Herald reported.

On Saturday, religious leaders, legislators and members of human rights groups marched at the National Monument calling for unity. Many waved the national flag as the crowd chanted "United Indonesia cannot be defeated."

"We are gathering here not to protest but to show that we are not easily divided by religious or political issues," said Budiman Sujatmiko, a lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.

The blasphemy case against Purnama stems from his statement in which he warned that a Quranic verse was being misused to urge Muslims not to vote for him in the coming elections.

Some Islamic groups cited verse 51 from the fifth chapter of the Quran, al-Ma'ida, to tell Muslims not to support Purnama. The verse is seen by some as a commandment for Muslims not live under the leadership of non-Muslims while others have said that it only applies at a time of war.

Asia News reported that a professor named Buni Yani has confessed that he had misquoted the governor by "mistake."

In the original statement, Purnama was quoted as saying, "do not believe everything that people say ... because often you are deceived by using verse 51 of Al Maidah."

The professor reportedly omitted the word "using" which seemed like the governor was saying that Muslims are being deceived by the said verse.

On Nov. 4, a mass protest against Purnama ended up in violence resulting in severe injuries to police officers and protesters.

Purnama was reportedly subjected to eight hours of questioning at the National Police headquarters on Tuesday as part of the investigation against him. Ahok's lawyer Sirra Prayuna said that seven defense witnesses and 14 experts will testify for the governor.

The governor had repeatedly asked for forgiveness regarding his statement, adding that he never intended to insult Islam or the Quran.