And loses, at least for now
A
decision by Indonesian national police to ban a sold-out June 3 performance in
Jakarta by the American pop star Lady Gaga, which has already sold a whopping
52,000 tickets, has pushed the country’s laid-back urbanites into outrage at
the country’s thin crust of Islamic militants.
Indonesia's
hardline Islamist organizations including the thuggish Islamic Defenders Front
(FPI), which regularly assault women who do not adopt conservative dress, said
the American pop star’s performance would corrupt the nation's moral fiber.
Lady
Gaga’s followers, however, called “little monsters,” were outraged, saying the
national police had knuckled under to Islamic fundamentalists who don’t
represent anything but a small number of rural Indonesians. It was expected to
be the singer’s biggest concert on her Asia tour, which has taken her to South
Korea, Hong Kong and other cities.
The ban
appears to have ignited considerable anger, with some observers claiming the
26-year-old entertainer, nee Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, has as many as
1.3 million rabid fans in the country who have been permanently turned against
the Islamists.
Over
the past several years, a growing war has been going on for Indonesia’s
laid-back, moderate conservative soul, with analysts saying the main reason
hardliners have been making strong gains is that President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono has been indecisive in dealing with them, and that the National
Police have a discomfortingly close relationship with the hardliners,
particularly the FPI, which they use to do their best to intimidate anybody who
violates convention. Recently police in Aceh province flogged youths they
described as “punks.”
Despite
the growing Islamic fundamentalism, ticket sales for the sold-out concert have
continued strong, with promoter Big Daddy released another 2,000 tickets
Monday. The Indonesian Council of Churches (PGI), a Christian organization,
also threw its support behind the concert Tuesday, explaining that Indonesia’s
constitution protects freedom of expression. Gomar Gultom, secretary general of
the PGI, said it was the job of religious leaders — not pop stars or the police
— to keep the nation’s moral fiber intact.
“It is
the duty of religious figures to guide people to have a clear mind and stand
against pornographic temptations,” he said.
Although
the concert was canceled in Jakarta, the possibility remains that Lady Gaga
could perform in another Indonesian city, probably in more laid-back Bali as
long as local police support the event, the Indonesian news portal Detik.com
reported.
One
Indonesian lawmaker, Ahmad Basarah of the House of Representatives' legal affairs
commission, said the National Police cannot choose to only ban imports pushing
western ideology when Middle Eastern influences often run counter to
Indonesia's Pancasila ideology, which stresses tolerance for all religions.
"The
government shouldn't discriminate when upholding the law," the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician said. "If they dare to
cancel shows that push a liberal-capitalistic ideology like Lady Gaga, then
they should also take firm action against demonstrations pushing ideologies
from the Middle East."
The FPI
called the pop diva a “dangerous” influence on Indonesia’s youth. The
organization’s Jakarta chairman Salim Alatas told Agence France-Presse that FPI
members would mobilize 30,000 supporters to forcibly prevent Lady Gaga from
stepping off her plane.
“We
will stop her from setting foot on our land. She had better not dare spread her
satanic faith in this country,” FPI Jakarta chairman Salim Alatas told AFP.
“Her style is vulgar, her sexual and indecent clothes will destroy our
children’s sense of morality. She’s very dangerous.”
The
Muslim Defenders Team, a legal aid organization known for representing Islamist
and terrorist groups, claimed that Lady Gaga teaches fans to worship the devil.
Michael
Rusli, president director of Big Daddy, dismissed the claims as ridiculous on
Monday. Rush was not available for immediate comment on Tuesday after the
announcement of the cancellation.
Democratic
Party lawmaker Nova Riyanti Yusuf criticized the National Police's decision,
adding that Lady Gaga's concert wouldn't corrupt the nation's sense of
morality.
"Whether
someone goes to hell or heaven doesn't depend on whether they watch concerts or
not," Nova said. "It depends on their deeds and their hearts."
But a Prosperous
Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker expressed support for the National Police's
decision, calling Lady Gaga's dress too "obscene" and her dances too
"erotic."
"[Lady
Gaga's performance] is obviously against the national culture and
immoral," Indra said. "[The concert] would violate the Pornography
law." Indra said that going ahead with the planned concert would likely
cause chaos in the capital.
Asia
Sentinel
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