Indonesian atheist might embrace Islam after arrest, police say

Jan 30, 2012, 10:09 GMT

Jakarta - An Indonesian atheist who was detained after declaring God did not exist on Facebook was considering abandoning his lack of religious faith and embracing Islam, police said Monday.

Officers arrested Alexander Aan, a 31-year-old civil servant in Dharmasraya district in West Sumatra province, this month and charged him with blasphemy after he declared on his Facebook page that 'God does not exist.'

'His parents came and told us that he wanted to repent,' Dharmasraya police chief Chairul Aziz said by telephone.

Aziz said Aan was not charged because he was an atheist but because he blasphemed against Islam on the Facebook page called Minang Atheists, which Aan moderated.

'He said Islam was this and that and that the Prophet Mohammed was like this and that,' Aziz said.

'If he wants to be atheist, that's fine, but don't insult religions,' he said.

Aziz said even if Aan renounced atheism, the case against him would proceed.

Aan's arrest has been condemned by human rights activists who argued that authorities should not interfere in a citizen's personal beliefs.

Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population. Atheism is not illegal, but the government officially recognizes six major religions - Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism.