Spokesperson Denies JK Insults Christian Teachings in Viral 'Martyrs' Death' Video

Husain stated that the accusation followed the viral circulation of JK’s statement mentioning that both parties in the Poso and Ambon conflicts used the term ‘mati syahid’. Husain explained that the circulating video post only featured a portion of JK’s statement.

“However, upon investigation, the accusation resulted from context cutting. We firmly deny that accusation,” said Husain when contacted on Sunday (12/4/2026).

Husain noted that JK’s statement was delivered during a speech at the Campus Mosque of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Yogyakarta on Thursday (5/3/2026). In his full statement, JK emphasised that no religion teaches its followers to kill one another.

“JK described his efforts to reconcile the Poso and Ambon conflicts to the UGM academic community. He first corrected the beliefs of the conflicting Muslim and Christian groups, stating that they had erred in using religious jargon as justification, which led to thousands of lives lost on both sides and made the conflicts difficult to stop,” he explained.

Husain described the social reality during the conflicts in Poso and Ambon over 20 years ago, where both Muslim and Christian groups called for ‘holy war’ and claimed that killing the enemy or dying in battle would lead to paradise. He described this as a historical fact.

“It was this mistaken view on both sides that Mr JK first corrected. That no religion permits killing one another. This was conveyed to the war commanders at the time,” he said.

Quoting JK’s actions, Husain stated that both conflicting parties had crossed the bounds of humanity by killing children, women, and the elderly—acts that clearly violated values of compassion.

Husain said the Poso and Ambon conflicts, which occurred 27 years ago, were successfully reconciled by Jusuf Kalla as mediator through the Malino I Negotiations for Poso in 2001 and Malino II Negotiations for the Ambon Conflict in 2002. At that time, JK involved Islamic and Christian religious figures, field commanders from both conflicting sides, community leaders from both parties, and the government.

“That is why Mr JK had to correct their misguided understanding. This historical fact can be confirmed with the surviving figures from the peace negotiations for both Poso and Ambon,” he added.