Rizieq’s escalated political presence cannot be separated from erroneous government strategizing in confronting the illiberal and intolerant provocation this front man of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) displays.

To his followers, Rizieq’s three years and seven months as fugitive in Saudi Arabia fortified what he represents to these masses. He is the new political magnet. Tens of thousands flocked to the Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Ban