Statue of ancient Chinese general stokes tension in Indonesia

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Indonesia has urged officials to stand up to mob pressure after Muslim and nationalist protesters called for a 30-meter-tall statue of an ancient Chinese general in an East Java town to be torn down.

The brightly-painted statue of Guan Yu, a former general who is worshiped by some Chinese, was inaugurated in July in a temple complex in the fishing town of Tuban, and is claimed to be Southeast Asia's tallest such representation of the deity.

A statue of ancient Chinese general Guan Yu is covered in East Java Province, in Indonesia. /Photo via The New York Times‍

The statue in Tuban, about 100 km west of the city of Surabaya, has been partially covered up after the protests, provoking both praise and ridicule on social media in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country.

"If they ask for the statue to be torn down, authorities cannot bow to such pressure," Teten Masduki, chief of staff to President Joko Widodo, told reporters.

Protesters demonstrated this week outside Surabaya's parliament against the statue, some wearing paramilitary-style outfits and waving placards that read "Demolish It" and "We are not worshippers of idols".

A crane is used to cover the statue of Chinese deity Guan Yu with a cloth in Tuban, west of Indonesia's second-biggest city of Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, on August 6, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Officials of the Kwan Sing Bio Temple in Tuban declined to comment, but media have quoted residents as saying the statue was good for tourism.

Indonesia is a secular state whose constitution enshrines religious freedom and diversity, but there are concerns that rising intolerance threatens its reputation for moderate Islam.

A statue of Guan Yu in Yuncheng, northern China's Shanxi Province /AP Photo

Muslims form about 85 percent of the population, but there are also substantial numbers of Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and other minorities.

Religious tension has soared this year after Islamist-led rallies saw Jakarta's incumbent governor, a member of a so-called double minority who is ethnic Chinese and Christian, put on trial during city elections over allegations of insulting the Koran.

Source(s): Reuters