Reuters, Jakarta :
One of the two hopefuls in Indonesia’s presidential election has been accused of being a closet Christian, the other of being a foreigner and unfit to lead the nation.
As the race for the presidency tightens, mudslinging between supporters of Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and ex-general Prabowo Subianto is increasing, forcing even the police to get involved.
Jokowi’s team asked the police this month to arrest the publisher of a little-known tabloid after it falsely reported that the Muslim governor from the Javanese city of Solo was an ethnic Chinese Christian.
A national police spokesman said authorities were investigating the case against Obor Rakyat, or People’s Torch, a newspaper available in Islamic boarding schools and mosques across Java.
Jokowi has been forced to defend himself against the attacks, which are mainly focused on his race and religion – potent topics in a country that is 95 percent native Indonesian and has the world’s largest Muslim population.
