As judges at the Jakarta court started recapping the evidence presented in the trial ahead of the verdict, hundreds of demonstrators wearing white Muslim skullcaps protested against Purnama outside the building Tuesday.
However, the North Jakarta District Court convicted Ahok of blasphemy under Article 156 (a) of the Criminal Code and sentenced him to two years' imprisonment.
Judges also ordered that Purnama, who had been free while seeking re-election, be detained immediately.
Nearly five months after the controversial case began, a panel of five judges from North Jakarta District Court handed down the decision on Tuesday, leaving his supporters stunned.
He denied that he meant to cause any offense to Islam, but Abdul Rosyad, another judge in the case, said that the reason for the harsh sentence was that "the defendant did not feel guilt, the defendant's act has caused anxiety and hurt Muslims". "If someone like Ahok, the governor of the capital, backed by the country's largest political party, ally of the president, can be jailed on groundless accusations, what will others do?" On Twitter, some Indonesians have declared the verdict makes them ashamed of their country.
"We are here because we are disappointed with prosecutors who were blind and deaf to the aspirations of Muslims", said Bahruddin Rabbani, an Islamic boarding school teacher from Banten, a neighboring province of Jakarta.
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Tuesday's ruling was a surprising outcome as prosecutors had requested a one-year jail term suspended for two years.
"It is possible to not vote for me because you are being manipulated (by people) using Al-Maidah:51 of The Qur'an".
Jakarta's first non-Muslim governor and Chinese-ethnic minority, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama also known as Ahok, arrives at court for his verdict in Jakarta, Indonesia May 9, 2017.
Tobias Basuki, an analyst from Jakarta think-tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said previously the saga surrounding Ahok was "a litmus test of Indonesian Islam - are we tolerant or intolerant?"
It was expected Ahok would stay in office until October when he would hand over the capital to Mr Baswedan. Purnama's team have accused the prosecution of calling biased witnesses, saying that many were not even present when the alleged blasphemy took place. "If he can be sent to jail, what could happen to others?" he said, pointing out that more than 100 citizens have been convicted of blasphemy in the past decade.
The development came as foreign-based rights groups and local critics have censured the government for not doing enough to protect religious minorities.
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