Edited clip shared in false Indonesian posts that Muslim cleric admitted being 'communist'

The video has been viewed more than 360,000 times since it was uploaded on TikTok on June 15, 2023.

In the two-minute 54-second video, Panji can be heard saying in Indonesian: "I am a communist, I am a communist". He then continues to talk about China's development in the past 25 years.

The post's caption reads: "Panji Gumilang has declared that he is a communist." Sticker text on the video meanwhile adds it is proof that "communists now dare to teach their beliefs".

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Screenshot of the false post, taken on September 13, 2023

Panji, leader of Al-Zaytun Islamic boarding school in Indonesia's West Java province, was arrested on suspicions of blasphemy and hate speech on August 2, 2023.

His school sparked uproar in conservative circles and protests outside its compound when social media footage in late April showed women praying in the same row as men. Women are usually expected to pray behind men in traditional Islamic prayer.

Another practice that sparked controversy was allowing women to give a sermon in Friday prayers, a task usually reserved for men in traditional Islamic teaching.

Communism remains one of Indonesia's most sensitive taboos.

Members and suspected sympathisers of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) were massacred across the Southeast Asian nation in the mid-1960s. The bloody spectacle ushered in the long rule of dictator Suharto, whose fervent anti-communist stance remains decades on.

The killings led to the collapse of the now-banned PKI, once among the biggest in the world behind China and the Soviet Union.

The video has racked up more than 2.4 million views after it also circulated with the false claim on TikTok here and here, Facebook, Instagram, video-sharing app SnackVideo, and on a YouTube channel that belongs to local media outlet Tribunnews.

Deceptively edited

But a keyword search on Google found the video is part of longer footage posted on Al-Zaytun's YouTube account on March 30, 2023 (archived link).

The nearly two-hour footage shows Panji holding a sermon to Year 12 students of the school.

The clip shared with the false claim starts at the 34:06 mark of the longer video.

An analysis of the original video found Panji was actually recounting a conversation with a business partner from China.

"This is the weakness of Indonesians, including me, I also have this weakness," he said in Indonesian. "'What is your religion?' I asked -- even though I have said multiple times to never ask someone's religion. But I really wanted to ask, because it's a Chinese citizen. Even though it's not good socially ..."

"Buddhist? No, no. Hindu? No. Christian? No. So, what is it then? 'I am a communist, I am a communist', they said politely," Panji continued, quoting the business partner.

"China has communists, they are well mannered, polite, willing to listen, and willing to communicate," the Muslim cleric also said. "This indicates the success of education in China."

These parts had been omitted in the video circulating online with the false claim.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the clip in the false post (left) and the genuine video (right):

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Screenshot comparison of the clip in the false post (left) and the genuine video (right)

Panji clarifed his comments in a segment on the talk show "Kick Andy", posted on Indonesian broadcaster Metro TV's official YouTube account on June 18, 2023 (archived link).

Talk show host Andy F. Noya asked Panji: "There is a video circulating in which you said 'I am a communist.'"

Panji said he asked a Chinese business associate their religion.

"I asked, What is your religion? Before they replied, I asked: Is it Buddhism? 'Oh no.' Hinduism? 'No'. Confucianism? 'No.' Christian? 'No, I am a communist.' This is a story I was telling the students," Panji said.

"I was repeating that person, the young executive director, when asked about their religion, they said, 'I am a communist," he added. "It was cropped in the front, and it was cropped at the end, all that is left is 'I am a communist, I am a communist, I am a communist.' Like a broken record."

AFP had previously debunked other false claims about Al-Zaytun school here, here and here.