Indonesia's president said on Monday his country remains a model of moderate Islam, countering critics who point to mass rallies by radical Muslims and the jailing of a Christian politician for blasphemy as evidence its reputation is crumbling.
"Pluralism has always been a part of Indonesia's DNA," Joko Widodo told Reuters in an interview at the presidential palace in Jakarta. "Despite many challenges, Islam in Indonesia has always been a force for moderation."
Indonesia's state ideology includes national unity, social justice and democracy alongside belief in God, and enshrines religious diversity in a secular system of government.