“And their saying, ‘Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.’ And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but another was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain.” (Qur’an 4:157)

Given that the Qur’an teaches that Jesus was not crucified but someone else was, who was made to resemble Jesus, it’s hard to find Islamic fault with what Abdul Somad said. If Jesus was not crucified, the cross is not a symbol of redemption, as it is for Christians, but of deception, and hence is “an element of the devil.”

“Faced with the clamour provoked by Somad’s statements, interfaith dialogue activists urged Christians not let their emotions prevail to the point of undermining the sense of national unity.”

The Christians are not the ones that Indonesia has to worry about letting their “emotions prevail to the point of undermining the sense of national unity.”

“Muslim preacher insults the cross, outraging even Muslims,” Asia News, August 20, 2019: