REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Abdul Kadir Karding, Secretary General of the National Awakening Party (PKB), has said that members of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) will support KH Ma'ruf Amin in the dispute with the defendant of alleged religious blasphemy case, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok).

Karding said NU members will support Kiai Ma'ruf if Ahok and his lawyers report Kiai Ma'ruf to police for his testimony during a trial of blasphemy case on Tuesday. "Kiai Ma'ruf Amin should not worry about Ahok's plan to sue him, because we, students and members of NU, will stand behind Kiai," Karding said here on Wednesday.

Kiai Ma'ruf is not only the general chairman of the Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI) but also the chairman of the advisory board of NU, the largest Muslim organization in the country, he added.

Karding stated that it was improper for Ahok to accuse Kiai Ma'ruf of lying, as Kiai Ma'ruf is a respected and an honest Muslim leader. The lawmaker also criticized Ahok, an incumbent in the upcoming Jakarta gubernatorial election, and his lawyers for accusing Kiai Ma'ruf of supporting a certain candidate in the gubernatorial race.

The accusation is a tactic of Ahok to influence public opinion regarding the integrity of the MUI chairman, he remarked. He reminded Ahok and his legal team to stop making up stories that could increase tensions in the public at large.

Ahok faces blasphemy charges for his statement during a September 2016 speech wherein he cited Surah al-Maidah verse 51 of the Quran. 

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