JAKARTA -- Thousands of Muslims have flocked to the streets of Jakarta on Friday, calling for the arrest of the city's governor, an ethnic-Chinese Christian. The demonstration is shaping up to be the largest since those preceding the collapse of the Suharto regime in 1998.

More than 150,000 people are set to take part in the protest, and some reports say the figure could swell to 350,000. The authorities are deploying more than 20,000 security personnel as a safeguard against possible violence or terrorism.

The rally was called for by an Islamic group that is demanding the arrest of Gov. Basuki Tjahaja "Ahok" Purnama, claiming he insulted the Quran. The demonstrators marched toward the National Monument in central Jakarta and conducted Islamic prayers there. The government is not identifying this as a demonstration, but is instead calling it a "mass prayer."

Indonesian Muslims attend a rally calling for the arrest of Jakarta's Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama in Jakarta on Dec. 2. © Reuters

A similar rally calling for the governor's arrest was held in early November. What started as a peaceful gathering turned violent after participants began trying to force their way through a police barricade outside the presidential palace. The policed responded by shooting tear gas at them. One person was killed, and 350 people, including security personnel, were injured.

Purnama is Jakarta's first Christian governor since the 1960s and the first of Chinese ancestry. He was Joko Widodo's deputy governor for two years and replaced him as governor when Widodo became president in 2014.

The governor has taken a hard line against corruption in the bureaucracy and has won praise for his programs to ease Jakarta's traffic problems. However, his outspokenness and tough stance on squatters have hurt his approval ratings. His Christianity has also been a source of controversy.

Purnama is currently on leave as he prepares for re-election in the coming February vote. The Jakarta gubernatorial race is seen as a springboard to the presidency, and political tension is heating up ahead of the election.

President Widodo has said he will not support a particular candidate, though he remains close to Purnama. Former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wants to see his son Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono get the top job in Jakarta. Meanwhile, Prabowo Subianto, who ran against Widodo in the 2014 presidential election, is supporting former Minister of Education and Culture Anies Baswedan-Sandiaga Uno.

http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Policy-Politics/Muslims-flood-Jakarta-streets-to-protest-Christian-governor

Did they vote him, if they did I am not sorry to say they are fools_

Muslim and violence .God help us.

Islam is truly a religion of piiissssssss.....