Experts testify in defense of psychic Permadi
Experts testify in defense of psychic Permadi
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Two respected experts on Islam testified
yesterday that the people who brought soothsayer Permadi Satrio
Wiwoho to court for allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad had
done so in order to divide Moslems.
Muhammad Imaduddin Abdurrachim and Ridwan Saidi told the
Sleman District Court that Permadi aimed to praise Prophet
Muhammad when he told a seminar last year that the Prophet was an
example of a "good dictator".
Neither Imaduddin nor Ridwan named the individuals which they
claimed had insisted on bringing Permadi to court.
However, it is common knowledge that Permadi's allegedly
blasphemous comment was first made a public issue by Din
Syamsudin, a Moslem scholar who chairs the ruling Golkar party's
department of research and development.
Permadi is said to have made the offending 'dictator' remark
during a closed workshop at Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University
on April 20, 1994. The comment was reportedly made in affirmation
of a participant's contribution during the seminar's
question-and-answer session.
Imaduddin, who is a member of the Association of Indonesian
Moslem Intellectuals' Council of Scholars, said that Permadi
meant to praise, rather than insult, the Prophet.
"His statement should not be taken out of context," he told
the court.
Imaduddin said Permadi's comment had been exploited by members
of a "certain circle" who did not like to see Moslem
organizations enjoying good relations with the government.
"Like the case of Sri Bintang Pamungkas, that of Permadi has
been blown out of proportion to set Moslems against one another,"
said Imaduddin, who is known as a consultant to corporate
managers.
Charges
Sri Bintang, a former legislator of the Moslem-oriented United
Development Party, is facing charges of insulting President
Soeharto by allegedly participating in a demonstration against
the Indonesian government in Germany in April this year.
From the outset, numerous influential Moslem leaders have
publicly defended Permadi and expressed criticism of those who
have insisted on his being tried.
Intellectual Ridwan Saidi testified yesterday that it was
unfitting to try Permadi on charges of insulting the Prophet
Muhammad because, he said, the soothsayer is an admirer of the
Prophet.
Ridwan said he had worked with Permadi for five years at
Hankamnas, a state agency in charge of drafting the state policy
guidelines. He added that he had been close friends with the
controversial figure for more than 25 years.
"Moslems in general are not offended by Permadi's comment. It
was only certain individuals who made an issue out of Permadi's
remark," said the former legislator and official of the United
Development Party.
He said that neither the Moslems who have demonstrated in
front of Permadi's house nor members of the Indonesian Ulemas'
Council (MUI) have the right to claim they represent all
Indonesian Moslems in condemning the soothsayer.
The MUI had itself issued controversial edicts on occasion, he
said. For example, it once ruled that the state-sponsored SDSB
lottery was halal, or religiously permissible, even though
numerous Moslem leaders were opposed to the fund-raising scheme
because of its speculative nature, he added.
Today the court will hear evidence from senior advocate Adnan
Buyung Nasution and Islamic religious teachers Yusuf Hasyim and
Ali Yafie. (02/pan)