Scenes From Jakarta's Anti-Ahok Protests

More than 100,000 protestors, many of them hard-line Islamists, took to the streets of the Indonesian capital to demand that Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama be arrested on charges of blasphemy. The demonstration, which was organized by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), was dubbed Aksi Damai 4 November (November 4th Peace Rally) by protestors and the Indonesian press. But as night fell, the demonstration quickly turned ugly.

Protestors torched cars and clashed with the police, who fired tear gas on the crowd. As the demonstrators began to disburse, angry mobs appeared in North Jakarta—attacking passing vehicles, looting at least one convenience store, and massing outside the home of the embattled Jakarta governor in an alleged attempt to force their way into his gated complex.

The protests, one the largest to hit the Indonesian capital in years, are the latest in a series of attempts by the FPI to demand the governor, who is popularly known as Ahok, step down from office. The Islamists say Ahok—a Chinese Indonesian Christian—can't be governor in a Muslim-majority country like Indonesia.

Ahok has gained widespread support for his brash, nonsense demeanor, but he faces in increasingly heated election this February. Indonesian President Joko Widodo accused "political actors" of using the demonstration to attempt to damage Ahok ahead of the election.