A more than fifteen-minute-long video has recently gone viral on social media in Indonesia, as it sparked anger and discussion on the issue of religious persecution. The video was secretly recorded by Elianu Hia, the father of a non-Muslim student named Jenny Hia. In the video, the student’s parents are seen arguing with a teacher at SMKN 2 Padang (a vocational school) regarding the regulations on the use of the hijab in public schools for non-Muslim students. Elianu complained to the school for repeatedly forcing his daughter Jenny to wear the hijab even though she is not a Muslim.

Indonesia is known as a pluralistic country with multi-ethnic cultures and various religions.  Pancasila, as the State’s philosophy, means people of all faith live in harmony with one another. The fact that children are forced to wear a hijab at school goes against this philosophy.

According to a recent report, Fauzi Bahar, the mayor of Padang, when asked about the reasons behind his policy at the time, responded, “The reason was so that students could avoid being bitten by mosquitoes infected with dengue fever.” He added, “After we put the hijab on the girls, the number of students getting dengue fever dropped dramatically because there was no place for the mosquitoes to bite. When the girls were not veiled, mosquitoes bit their legs, thighs, arms, and necks. When the body was veiled, there was no place for the mosquitoes to bite.”

Source, photo: Persecution.org