Muslim Anti-LGBTQ Groups Protest Coldplay Concert in Indonesia

metroweekly.com:

gay Pride flags during performances as a show of solidarity with the LGBTQ community.The band was scheduled to play before a crowd of 70,000 at Gelora Bung Karno stadium in the capital city of Jakarta on Wednesday, November 15, as part of its “Music of the Spheres World Tour,” which sold out within hours of tickets going on sale, reports Agence France-Presse.Outside the concert, at least 300 conservative Muslim demonstrators calling themselves the “anti-LGBT movement” chanted and held banners accusing Coldplay of spreading “LGBT propaganda” and damaging the country’s “faith and morals.”They also booed and heckled concertgoers, accusing them of being LGBTQ supporters, demanding the show’s cancellation, and denouncing the band.

The same protest group also staged demonstrations at several locations in Jakarta in the run-up to the concert.The same protest group also staged demonstrations last week at several locations in Jakarta, including outside the British Embassy, reports NBC News.When some of the protesters began pushing and shoving, police attempted to step in and restore order.

That created back-and-forth altercations between police and protesters, with 4,000 police in total being deployed to secure the concert.Jakarta police spokesman Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko told reporters that the protesters did not have a permit to stage a rally.Anwar Abbas, the deputy chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council, Indonesia’s most powerful Islamic regulatory body, criticized officials for allowing the show to continue.“We know that Coldplay supports LGBT, but now the question is, is the LGBT behavior in line with… our constitution?” he said in a statement on Wednesday. “There are six religions recognized in this country, and not one of.