JAKARTA (The Straits Times/ANN): Chaotic scenes of men in white robes and matching turbans celebrating the return of Indonesian firebrand cleric Rizieq Shihab from self-exile in Saudi Arabia have been hogging the media spotlight for over a week now.
Carrying posters of their "grand imam" and chanting "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great), thousands had welcomed him at Jakarta's international airport last Tuesday (Nov 10), causing massive jams and sparking fears of a coronavirus spike in a country with nearly half a million cases and more than 15,000 deaths -- the highest in South-east Asia.