(4/5/2010)
Troubles continue to mount for Ibnu Rachal Farhansyah, the young man who posted inflammatory and defamatory statements against Balinese Hinduism on his Facebook account. [See: Silence is Often a Virtue]
Postings on the Bali Hindu high holy day of Nyepi likening the holiday to feces infuriated many Balinese, prompting on line calls for his execution and imprisonment.
The thousands of admonitions and threats that immediately followed Ibnu's misguided postings brought the young man to his senses who issued a plea for forgiveness on Facebook.
And while a number of Hindu leaders have urged acceptance of the young man's apology, calling for the public to remain calm, many insist the young man be punished for his religious blasphemy.
The Secretariat of the Forum for Religious Harmony (FKUB) - an organization comprised of religious leaders from all the religious communities found on Bali – have agreed to make a formal police complaint against Ibnu Rachal Farhansyah on behalf of the FKUB and the provincial office of religious affairs.
The charges of defamation, insult and religious blasphemy are punishable by five years imprisonment if the young man is found guilty.
Ibnu hails from Jakarta and is reported to have lived in Bali for four months where he is employed at a supermarket located near the Simpang Siur intersection. Efforts by the press to make contact with the man who stays near Sanur have been unsuccessful. The Facebooker has reportedly gone into hiding and de-activated his mobile telephone.
With the young man's photo posted on Facebook and personal details available from his employers, Bali police should have little problem bringing Ibnu in for questioning.
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