TikToker’s Jesus Comment Leads to Blasphemy Conviction in Indonesia
A casual comment about Jesus needing a haircut has landed an Indonesian TikToker in jail for nearly three years. This case shows the rising conflict between social media expression and religious beliefs in the world’s largest Muslim nation. Ratu Thalisa, a transgender woman who commands almost 450,000 TikTok followers, faced serious consequences after her livestream comment angered religious groups. The court found her guilty under Indonesia’s Electronic Information and Transactions law. The law’s impact is significant – authorities have secured 421 convictions from 560 charges between 2019 and 2024. Religious conservatism continues to gain momentum in Indonesia, where 93% of adults practice Islam. This case joins a growing list of social media blasphemy charges. Just recently, another influencer received a two-year sentence for posting a TikTok video that included an Islamic prayer.
Livestream Comment Triggers Legal Storm
A controversy erupted after Ratu Thalisa’s TikTok livestream on October 2, 2024. A viewer suggested she should cut her hair to look more masculine. The Muslim transgender content creator, known online as Ratu Entok, responded by showing an image of Jesus Christ on her phone and said, “You should not look like a woman. You should cut your hair so that you will look like his father”.
Religious communities, especially Christian groups, reacted with immediate outrage. Five Christian organizations quickly filed formal complaints with Indonesian authorities, which led to Thalisa’s arrest on October 8. The court in Medan, North Sumatra, later decided her statements threatened public order and religious harmony in society.
The court found Thalisa guilty under Indonesia’s controversial Electronic Information and Transactions (EIT) law. She received a two-year and ten-month prison sentence with a hefty fine. This case stands out because it’s rare to see a Muslim individual charged with insulting Christianity, as most previous cases dealt with perceived insults to Islam.
Human rights organizations have strongly criticized the verdict. Amnesty International’s Indonesia executive director, Usman Hamid, called the ruling an overreaction to social media comments. While he acknowledged Indonesia’s right to ban religious hatred, he said Thalisa’s remarks didn’t qualify as incitement.
This case explains the far-reaching effects of Indonesia’s EIT law, which has faced growing criticism since its 2008 introduction and 2016 amendment. Between 2019 and 2024, authorities charged 560 people under this law, and 421 were convicted. Social media influencers have become easy targets for prosecution, as recent cases with content creators accused of religious offenses show.
Religious Groups Demand Action
Digital Rights Face Religious Test
Religious sensitivities and digital rights have become a major challenge in Indonesia’s digital world. The Electronic Information and Transactions (EIT) Law gives authorities more power to watch social media platforms for religious content. In spite of that, most blasphemy cases come from people’s complaints rather than government monitoring.
Protecting religious harmony while ensuring free speech creates a delicate balance in the legal system. International human rights standards say blasphemy laws should only limit speech that promotes “advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that incites discrimination, hostility or violence”. But 95 countries still have laws that punish blasphemy, and Indonesia enforces these rules more strictly than most.
These laws face several hurdles in the digital space. Content moderation systems don’t understand cultural nuances well enough, which leads to mistakes in interpreting religious discussions. The quick spread of online information has made it harder to enforce blasphemy laws, and law enforcement must adapt their methods.
Article 301 of Indonesia’s revised criminal code gives the government more control over religious content on social media. Article 302 takes on religious conversion by making it illegal to encourage people to leave their faith.
Digital rights have taken a big hit. Authorities handled 560 cases under the EIT Law between 2019 and 2024. Politicians in places like West Java have created their own rules that target religious minorities and limit what they can say online.
Human rights groups promote moving away from criminalizing blasphemy. They want to tackle intolerance and discrimination instead. The law’s broad meaning gives judges too much freedom to decide cases, which often leads to restrictions on free speech online.
This shows how religious beliefs increasingly shape online content rules. Social media platforms must find ways to respect faith while keeping space open for different views and honest dialog. This becomes even more important in Indonesia, where culture and religion influence both policy decisions and public discussions.
The case of Ratu Thalisa marks a turning point in how Indonesia deals with social media posts and religious matters. Her comment about Jesus’s hair might not mean much to others, but her prison sentence shows what happens when someone disrespects religion online.
The numbers tell a troubling story. Indonesian courts have convicted 421 people under the Electronic Information and Transactions law from 2019 to 2024. These convictions show how strictly the country handles religious discussions online. Conservative religious values now play a bigger role in Indonesian society.
Content creators must now think twice before discussing anything religious online. Laws have become tougher. Human rights groups warn that this could hurt free speech, as authorities watch digital platforms more closely through new criminal codes and local rules.
This case shows Indonesia’s biggest problem: keeping religious peace while protecting people’s right to speak freely online. More and more people face blasphemy charges for their social media posts. This makes it hard to find the right balance in the world’s largest Muslim country.
