We’re not safe living anywhere: Ahmadis

CITYSat, 10/22/2011 12:37 PM

We’re not safe living anywhere: Ahmadis

The Jakarta Post, Bekasi

The imam of the Al-Misbah Ahmadiyah mosque in Jatibening, Bekasi, recently called on members not to congregate for Friday prayers for safety reasons following an official ban on Ahmadiyah religious practices in Bekasi.

Rahmat Rahmadijaya, the imam, said, “It’s up to them if they want to pray here anyway. I won’t send them home,” he said, adding that about 50 of the 200 registered followers were regulars at the mosque.

However, dozens of Ahmadiyah members still went to the mosque on Friday — a week after the Bekasi municipality officially banned the sect — and conducted Friday prayers under police guard.

“[Intimidation] makes us stronger. Members are even more determined to go to the mosque,” Vera, a member, told The Jakarta Post.

Congregation members later left the mosque peacefully after the weekly service concluded.

The Bekasi municipality ruled last week that the decree banning Ahmadiyah religious practices had been passed in order to meet the demands of local people.

The Ahmadiyah are not considered a Muslim group by mainstream Muslims, as the sect’s teachings are considered to deviate from mainstream Islam.

However, residents of Jatibening told the Post that there had never been any conflict between Ahmadiyah members, who mostly live outside the housing complex, and them.

Hartinah, who has lived in the neighborhood since before the mosque was built in the 1980s, said there had been no problems between Ahmadiyah followers and residents.

“As a child, I, along with neighbors, often joined Koran recitations or breaking of the fast events at the mosque. They are friendly and have never forced us to follow their beliefs, so we have no problems with their presence,” she said.

Hartinah said that people had started to leave the mosque following the spike in reports of violence against Ahmadiyah members throughout the country.

“I’m not sure who is right, but the presence of vigilante group members around here scares me more,” Hartinah said.

Imam Rahmat said that after the Bekasi decree issuance, he had been intensively communicating with the police. “When there are rumors that certain groups will come, the police deploy officers to guard the mosque,” he said.

Ahmadiyah members have not been holding regular events other than weekly Friday prayers and sermons.

Firdaus Mubarik, public relations officer of the Ahmadiyah Indonesia Congregation, told the Post that the organization had stopped holding national events after thousands attacked the Ahmadiyah Indonesia Congregation in Parung, Bogor, in 2005.

“We are no longer safe anywhere in Indonesia,” Firdaus said.

Concerning the appointment of Nasaruddin Umar as the religious affairs deputy minister tasked with “eliminating possible religious conflicts” during the recent Cabinet reshuffle, Mubarik said he was pessimistic that it would have any impact on the Ahmadis.

“As far as I know, Nasaruddin was involved in the drafting of the 2008 joint ministerial decree banning Ahmadiyah religious practices. Besides, [the problem solving] is not in the hands of ministers, but of the President [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono],” he said.

Firdaus pointed out that the incidence of violence against Ahmadis had increased and worsen during Yudhoyono’s leadership.

“Before Yudhoyono came to power, the eviction of 300 Ahmadis living in Lombok [West Nusa Tenggara] in 2002 was the biggest tragedy for us. During Yudhoyono’s leadership, we’ve seen worse and even lost several members, who were killed during the incidents,” Firdaus said. (swd)

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/10/22/we-re...ahmadis.html

Ahmadiyah officially banned [by Bekasi municipality]

HEADLINESFri, 10/14/2011 6:54 AM

Ahmadiyah officially banned [by Bekasi municipality]

Hans David Tampubolon, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Bekasi municipality has officially banned the religious practice of the Ahmadiyah sect on Thursday, a move pluralists deemed as the legitimation of a violation of the spirit of the Constitution.

The head of the Bekasi Agency for State Unity, Politics and Community Protection, Agus Dharma, said that the issuance of the decree banning Ahmadiyah’s religious practices was passed in order to meet the demands of local people.

“Ahmadiyah activity has caused unrest among Bekasi residents. [The decree was] issued to prevent conflicts resulting from different beliefs among local residents,” Agus said.

The decree was signed by acting Bekasi mayor Rahmat Effendi, and involved all city institutions contained under the Regional Consultative Council (Muspida).

The decree accentuated a 2008 joint ministerial decree, and an Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) edict from 2005, demanding Ahmadiyah be disbanded because it was heretic and blasphemous.

There are around 200 Ahmadiyah followers in Bekasi, according to the city administration.

Commenting on this latest development in Bekasi, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Usman Hamid said it was time for all civilians to rise up and conduct forms of civil disobedience in protest against a government that has legitimazed a discriminative regulation that basically violated the spirit of the Constitution, which guarantees people’s religious freedoms and rights.

“Civil disobedience is not intended as a violation of the law but as a [peaceful] protest. The law, right now, no longer represents the rights of minorities,” Usman told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Usman also said that the Bekasi administration’s move was a sign that the values of democracy in the country have faded away.

“The main pillars of democracy are equal citizenship and human rights. Without them, there can be no democracy. Democracy does not stop with the ballot box.”

Separately, Ahmadiyah spokesman Mubarik said that the nation’s legal system had done little to support minorities.

“The most horrific example is the fact that the murderers of three Ahmadiyah followers have not been brought to trial until now,” Mubarik said, in referring to an incident that occurred earlier this year when three Ahmadiyah followers were brutally murdered by a mob of fundamentalists in Cikeusik, Banten.

Mubarik, however, stressed that for the time being, Ahmadiyah followers would comply with the Bekasi decree, banning their activities.

“Our compliance does not mean that we are not going to fight back.

We will fight for our rights through our legal representatives, who have submitted a judicial review to the Supreme Court on every discriminative decree and regulation issued in the country,” he said.

“It will be a long fight. But people need to realize that Ahmadiyah followers are basically free citizens. Their right to freedom [of religion] must not be curtailed. Any decree or regulation that curtails citizens’ rights is a violation of the Constitution and, therefore, for the sake of the law, such decrees and regulations must be annulled,” he added.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/...banned.html

Demands to ban Ahmadiyah flare across archipelago

HEADLINES Mon, 03/21/2011 12:26 PM

Demands to ban Ahmadiyah flare across archipelago

Slamet Susanto and Jon Afrizal, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta/Jambi

Demands to ban Ahmadiyah have increased in a number of regions amid recent calls from some US congressmen asking the Indonesian government to revoke laws that discriminate against the Islamic sect.

In Yogyakarta, some 300 people from different Muslim organizations grouped under the Islamic Peoples’ Front (FUI) staged a rally on Sunday demanding the provincial administration ban Ahmadiyah in the province.

Taking law into own hands: Members of the Islamic People’s Front (FUI) speak in front of police after sealing the office of minority Islamic sect Ahmadiyah in Yogyakarta on Sunday. Yogyakarta provincial administration has refused to ban the sect’s activities. JP/Slamet Susanto

Riding on motorcycles, the protesters traversed the main streets of Yogyakarta — a city that has long been respected for tolerance. The demonstrators reportedly shouted anti-Ahmadiyah sentiments in a rally that was said to be orderly and peaceful.

“Please remember Islam teaches peace. So don’t become easily provoked by the enemies of Islam by contributing to anarchy. March in two rows so you won’t disrupt the traffic,” protest coordinator Abu Almer told participants.

The protesters expressed support for the Indonesian Ulema Council’s (MUI) edict declaring that Ahmadiyah must be disbanded because of heresy and blasphemy against Islam. “Ahmadiyah must be disbanded unless they no longer use the name and symbols of Islam,” Abu Almer said.

The group also urged the provincial administration to implement the joint ministerial decree on banning Ahmadiyah activities and to issue a bylaw banning the sect.

The group symbolically closed the Ahmadiyah office in Kotabaru by attaching a piece of cloth with the word “sealed”. “This is a symbol of our demand,” Abu Almer said.

Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X has repeatedly said he would not issue a special bylaw to ban Ahmadiyah, arguing that the province was peaceful and tolerant and that the authority to ban the sect lays with the central government.

In Padang, West Sumatra, Governor Irwan Prayitno said that he was ready to issue a gubernatorial regulation banning Ahmadiyah activities in the province within two days.

Irwan also said his administration would try to send a letter to the President urging a ban of Ahmadiyah since regional administrations could only ban the sect’s activities.

“In other countries such as Pakistan and Malaysia, Ahmadiyah has become a cult and not a part of Islam,” Irwan told a Cult Surveillance Coordinating Agency (Bakorpakem) forum on Friday evening.

In Palu, Central Sulawesi, the provincial branch of MUI also expressed support for the ban of Ahmadiyah activities. “Ahmadiyah is heretical because it has turned away from Islamic teachings,” MUI branch chairman Saggaf Aldjufri said, as quoted by Antara news agency on Saturday.

Central Sulawesi Governor H.B. Paliudju has previously called on local Ahmadis to return to Islamic instruction and not influence other Muslims with their teaching.

“I call on Ahmadis to temporarily stop their activities until further decision is made by the central government regarding the existence of Ahmadiyah in the country,” the governor said.

In Jambi, the provincial MUI branch said that it has been monitoring the activities of Ahmadis in the province to see if what they practiced was heresy.

Ahmadis are differentiated between those who believe Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is a prophet — thus considered heresy because Islam recognizes Muhammad as the final prophet — and those who consider Mirza a preacher.

The Jambi branch chairman Handri Hasan said a survey team had been sent to regions where Ahmadis resided. “If they only considered Mirza Ghulam Ahmad an Islamic preacher then it will not be a problem,” he said.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/21/demands-ban...

Police coercing members to quit faith, sect claims

World

Police coercing members to quit faith, sect claims

Tom Allard HERALD CORRESPONDENT
March 19, 2011

JAKARTA: Members of the Ahmadiyah religious sect have been pressured by Indonesian security personnel to abandon the faith amid continual harassment of them, sect leaders say.

The military and government ministers have defended their actions, saying there has been no intimidation, only efforts to protect Ahmadis from violence.

Ahmadis have come under increasing attacks in the past 18 months, culminating in the killing of three adherents by a mob of hundreds of Islamists in Banten province last month.

Advertisement: Story continues below The government denounced the violence and 12 people have been arrested.

But since the incident, several provincial governments have introduced edicts banning Ahmadiyah, while the Minister for Religious Affairs, Suryadharma Ali, has continued his campaign for the group to be outlawed entirely.

Ata ur-Rahman, an Ahmadiyah preacher from Cirebon, in west Java, said 12 Ahmadis in his area had been summoned in recent days by the military or district chief to sign a petition disavowing their faith.

“So far only five have signed it and left Ahmadiyah,” Mr Ata said.

Others had been visited at their homes, he said. More than 50 such approaches had been documented in West Java.

“The military guys told them, ‘This is for the sake of security … We don’t want things that occurred in other places happening here too … Therefore, we ask you to join mainstream Islam. Don’t follow a false sect,”‘ Mr Ata said.

Ahmadis follow the Koran and observe most Islamic traditions but they believe that a late 19th-century Indian religious figure, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was the messiah foreshadowed in the Hadith.

The belief angers some orthodox Muslims, who view any deviance from the tenet that Mohammed was the final prophet as deeply offensive.

There are more than 200,000 Ahmadis in Indonesia, where the faith was introduced in the 1920s. However, since a presidential decree was issued in 2008, Ahmadiyah adherents are forbidden from proselytising and must observe their religion in private.

The deadly attack in February was captured on video and the shocking footage went viral online. A censored version was shown widely on Indonesian and international television.

It prompted much soul-searching about Indonesia’s commitment to its constitutional right to freedom of religion.

However, incidents of harassment have continued unabated. In West Java, there have been attacks on the homes of Ahmadis, prompting police to question followers of the sect. The perpetrators of the attacks were not arrested.

The local military commander in West Java reportedly demanded the replacement of an Ahmadi cleric at a mosque in Bandung with a preacher from the conservative Indonesian Ulemas Council.

In East Java, Ahmadis were told this month to remove the signs outside their mosque.

In South Sumatra, Ahmadis were ordered to cancel a celebration of the Prophet Mohammed’s birthday, said Basuki Ahmad, a preacher from Palembang.

“We are only allowed to hold small gatherings inside our mosques now,” Mr Basuki said.

Five provinces and six regencies have banned the sect since the killings in Banten.

“These decrees place officials on the side of militants who increasingly have been carrying out attacks on Ahmadiyah,” said Phil Robertson, of Human Rights Watch.

But the Minister for Justice and Human Rights, Patrialis Akbar, said there had been no violations by the military or police because they were trying to foster communication between Ahmadis and aggrieved Muslim groups.

The Defence Minister, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, said: “There’s no negative element, there’s no coercion whatsoever.”

© 2011 AAP | Copyright © 2011 Fairfax Media
URL: www.smh.com.au/world/police-coercing-...1c0dt.html

Police Say Ahmadis Wanted Banten Raid to Happen, Name 14 Suspects

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Police Say Ahmadis Wanted Banten Raid to Happen, Name 14 Suspects

Farouk Arnaz | March 06, 2011

Recent violence targeting the Ahmadiyah community in the Cikeusik subdistrict of Banten only erupted because the Ahmadis wanted it to happen, the National Police’s chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi said on Thursday.

The Feb. 6 attack saw some 1,500 people attack Ahmadiyah members who had refused to leave the house of a local leader of the sect in Umbulan village. Three Ahmadis were killed.

“I would like to quote one Ahmadi [we questioned] as saying he did physical exercises every day. The Ahmadis were also equipped with spears, slingshots, machetes and two sacks of stones,” Ito said. He then said the Ahmadis wanted the clash to happen.

“According to the theories of victimology, this clash did not merely occur because of insufficient numbers of police personnel dispatched to the site. It happened because the victims wanted the clash to take place.”

Ito added that a total of 14 suspects have so far been named in the case, including 12 from among the attacking mob.

“We are still hunting for one of the suspects, Abrori. He was from Gadod in Pandeglang district. He assaulted the victims until they died,” he said.

Ito also said a police officer and one Ahmadi had been named suspects. He refused to identify the police officer, but he said the Ahmadi suspect was named Deden Sudjana, a man who led 16 others in safeguarding the home that was attacked.

This is not the first time Deden is declared a suspect, but police backtracked on Feb. 18 on the earlier decision to name Deden a suspect for his presumed role in the violence.

Deden was allegedly seen in a video of the attack circulating on the Internet, asking a police officer to let the assault take place as 1,500 people descend on the house in Umbulan.

“Deden has been accused of provocation, beating, throwing [objects] and possession a sharp weapon. He is also guilty of disobeying police orders at the scene. His incitement triggered the clash, when he said that if police cannot control the masses, [they should] let the assault take place,” Ito told reporters.

He confirmed that a police officer had been charged in the case for violating the police’s code of ethical conduct, as well as Article 359 on negligence resulting in the death of a human being.

A police source separately identified the suspect as Chief. Brig. T.B. Ade Sumardi, the leader of the Sabhara division at the Cikeusik Police, charged with protection, patrol and anti-riot duties. The source said Ade was at the scene but failed to prevent the incident from happening.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/police-say.../426623

Government Warns Muhammadiyah Against Politicizing Ahmadiyah Issue

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Government Warns Muhammadiyah Against Politicizing Ahmadiyah Issue

March 06, 2011

Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam has struck back at Indonesia’s second largest Muslim organization, which has been critical of the government’s inability to resolve the “Ahmadiyah problem.”

Dipo warned on Sunday against politicizing the Ahmadiyah unrest because it had the potential to “create communal conflicts.”

Commenting specifically on calls by Din Syamsuddin, the head of Muhammadiyah, for the government to ban the sect, Dipo said religious leaders needed to help maintain peace and tolerance in society.

Asked about Din’s call for the government to take action against a number of regional laws curtailing the rights of the Islamic sect, Dipo said the government had already issued a 2008 law banning the group from spreading their faith.

Hard-liners use the law to justify their attacks on the persecuted group.

Dipo said all elements in society should follow the law in dealing with Ahmadiyah.

He said regional governments should be aware of the law and were “responsible for the harmonious lives of their people.”

Late last month, Din said that Muhammadiyah’s stance on Ahmadiyah had not changed since it had issued a fatwa against the group in 1933. Muhammadiyah labels Ahmadiyah “misleading.”

Din said Muhammadiyah, however, would not actively seek the dissolution of the sect though the government needed to be firm in dealing with the issue.

“The government should be able to take firm action, instead of being hesitant. With its firm stance, it can prevent certain groups of people from … handling the Ahmadiyah problem,” he said.

“It is the state’s power to take stern action by referring to our Constitution because the existence of a group in society is the state’s business,” he said.

Din said Muhammadiyah would do its best to prevent its members from being mislead by Ahmadiyah followers.

Antara

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/government-warns.../426955

Muhammadiyah demands firm against on Ahmadiyah

NATIONAL Fri, 03/04/2011 8:10 PM

Muhammadiyah demands firm against on Ahmadiyah

Antara, Jakarta

Muhammadiyah Chairman Din Syamsuddin has urged the government to take firm measures against Islamic sect Ahmadiyah, which believers are constantly under a threat of violence from the predominantly Sunni Muslims in the country.

“We ask the government not to let the problem drag on, because by ignoring and letting the issue continue, impatient people could take the law into their own hands,” Din said Friday after a dialog with Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi in Jakarta, state news agency Antara reported.

Also attending the dialog on Ahmadiyah with the home affairs minister were leaderships of Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), both were among the largest Muslim mass organizations in Indonesia.

“Take firm action as soon as possible,” Din said because delaying to address the issue would provoke instability.

The state must not stand still when there is a group or organization asking other religious believers to join them, while the teaching insults Muslims, he said.

“It will create social unrest. The state must be present here, the government has the authority to enforce the law in order to prevent any unrest. But it should not take too long,” he said.

He suggested that the government should intensify giving guidance to Ahmadiyah followers. Islamic mass organizations are ready to help the government guide them, according to the Muhammidyah chairman.

“I personally would like to call on Ahmadiyah followers to come back to Islam, that Prophet Muhammad SAW is the last one. Islam clearly rejects a new prophet after Prophet Muhammad SAW,” he said.

Besides Din Syamsuddin, Muhammadiyah leaders attending the meeting with the minister were Muhammadiyah Secretary General Agung Danarto and Majelis Tarjih Chairman Syamsul Anward.

From NU, those who were present were NU Secretary General Syuhud, Deputy Chairman As`ad Said Ali, dan Katib Am Malik Madany.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/04/...ahmadiyah.html

Jakarta mulls banning Ahmadiyah

JAKARTA Fri, 03/04/2011 6:57 PM

Jakarta mulls banning Ahmadiyah

Andreas D. Aditya, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo has announced plans to follow in the footsteps of a number of regions that have issued bans to prevent members of the Ahmadiyah sect from practicing their religion in public.

“If ncecessary, we can even go further to not only issue a gubernatorial decree, but instead issue a bylaw on this. The administration will have a discussion with the City Council,” Fauzi said Friday.

Previously, East and West Java and South Sulawesi have issued such bans on the sect.

Fauzi said he planned to send officials to East and West Java to study their bans.

Calls for the banning of the Ahmadiyah sect and its teachings have been increasingly heard from various Muslim elements across Indonesia over the past few weeks.

Three members of the sect were brutally murdered and several others were seriously injured in a planned mob attack in Cikeusik, Pandeglang, Banten, last month.

Members of the sect have faced similar violence and discrimination in past attacks on their homes and property, including in Gegerung village, West Nusa Tenggara, where in February 2006 at least 12 Ahmadi families were forcibly evicted from their homes by local authorities and ordered to live in a refugee-style camp. (dre)

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/04/grave...java.html

After East Java, West Java Bans All of Ahmadiyah’s Activities

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After East Java, West Java Bans All of Ahmadiyah’s Activities

Yuli Krisna & Eras Poke | March 04, 2011

Bandung. West Java joined a string of other regional governments on Thursday in banning activities of the Ahmadiyah sect.

West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan said he issued a gubernatorial regulation, No. 12 of 2011, banning the activities of the Ahmadiyah in the province. He said it was effective immediately.

“This gubernatorial regulation is a follow-up to the joint ministerial decree and a 12-point joint agreement which was also signed by representatives of the Ahmadiyah,” Ahmad said.

He was referring to a 2008 joint ministerial decree that prohibits the Ahmadiyah from practicing their faith in public and spreading their beliefs. The decree, which stopped short of banning the sect altogether, has been criticized by human rights activists as it is frequently used to justify violence against the Ahmadiyah community.

The joint agreement Ahmad referred to was recently signed and outlined some of the prohibitions on Ahmadiyah activity.

He said the gubernatorial regulation was based on the desire of the government to prevent any social conflict from breaking out because of the activities of the Ahmadiyah, which many mainstream Muslims consider a deviant sect.

“We are not in a position to dissolve the Ahmadiyah organization, but we are in a position to follow up on the joint ministerial decree and the 12-point agreement,” h e said.

The regulation prohibits Ahmadis from trying to spread Ahmadiyah teachings orally, in writing or through electronic media. That also means all signboards containing the name of the organization must be taken down from public places, including mosques and schools. Ahmadiyah attributes may no longer be visible anywhere in West Java.

“Ahmadiyah mosques are mosques for all. All Muslims should be allowed to enter those mosques,” Ahmad said. He added that religious authorities will also organize Islamic events in mosques identified as Ahmadiyah mosques to put an end to alleged exclusivism there.

The West Java regulation forbids people from launching any unlawful action against the Ahmadiyah community, but it also calls on the public to help monitor and report any violation by Ahmadiyah members.

Saerodji, who heads the West Java office for religious affairs, said there were some 17,000 Ahmadis in the province.

Sugiyanto, head of the West Java High Prosecutor’s Office, said the regulation was aimed at protecting Ahmadis from the attacks they had experienced in the past.

“We want to protect the Ahmadiyah community from anarchic actions. If there are violations of the 12-point agreement, let the authorities deal with it,” Sugiyanto said.

“This is no longer a mere call but has been laid down into a written regulations. The public should not take matters into their own hands.”

West Java Police Chief Insp. Gen. Suparni Parto said the regulation was a good solution and added that police would now no longer hesitate to take action against whomever violated it.

The spokesman for the Ahmadiyah community in the western part of West Java, Rafiq Ahmad Sumadi Gandakusuma, told the Jakarta Globe they had not been invited to discuss the new regulation.

Earlier this week, authorities in Surabaya, the country’s second-largest city and capital of East Java, issued a similar regulation banning the display of any Ahmadiyah attributes and any efforts by the group to spread its faith in the province.

In the province of Banten, Lebak district recently said it would issue a bylaw banning the Ahmadiyah, and Pandeglang district already issued such a decree on Feb. 21.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/after...activities/426642

Ministers Back Moves to Tighten Grip on Ahmadiyah

NEWS

Minister’s Call to Outlaw Ahmadiyah Angers Non-Governmental Organizations

amelia Pasandaran, Ulma Haryanto & Ronna Nirmala
| March 02, 2011

At the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, supporters of the Islamic People’s Forum (FPI) united behind the slogan ‘Ban Ahmadiyah or [Face a] Revolution’. (JG Photo/Yudhi Sukma Wijaya)

As thousands of hard-liners gathered at Jakarta’s Hotel Indonesia traffic circle demanding the immediate disbandment of the Ahmadiyah, the Indonesian government voiced its support of moves adopted by a string of local administrations aimed at further restricting the sect’s activities.

“It is the authority of the regional head [to issue decrees on Ahmadis],” Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar said on Tuesday at the Presidential Palace. “Ahmadis insist on violating the law by spreading their beliefs. Religious freedom should not be translated into desecration of religion.”

Ahmadiyah, a minority Islamic sect, has long been at the center of a dispute between human rights activists that support its existence and Islamic hard-liners that want it disbanded.

Thousands of demonstrators from the Islamic People’s Forum (FUI) – including those supporting the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) – rallied toward the National Monument Square, with many in the crowds vowing they would continue to demonstrate until they see Ahmadiyah banned entirely.

The government in 2008 issued a joint ministerial decree banning the sect from practicing its religion openly and spreading its beliefs.

Muhammad Noval, a member of the Islamic Anti-Apostasy Peace Alliance, or Ada Api, said they now had an appropriate word to describe President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

“SBY is an Ahmadi. If you see what he has done in regard to protecting the Ahmadiyah, what other word would be better to describe him than Ahmadi?” he said. “If he [Yudhoyono] does not like to be referred to as an Ahmadi, then he should issue a decree banning them!”

Separately, Julia Satari, a leader from the youth organization Pemuda Pancasila, said she wanted to offer her condolences to Yudhoyono, because in her assessment he was too lazy to resolve the issue of the Ahmadiyah.

“Ahmadis absolutely disturb the comfortable existence of Islamic worshipping. They [Ahmadiyah] are illegal according to the Constitution.”

Among the demonstrators was 7-year-old Rizdian Rangga, carrying an FPI flag. Rizdian told the Jakarta Globe he had skipped school for the massive rally. When asked why, Rizdian said: “To follow my father, and to disband the Ahmadiyah.”

FPI leader Habib Rizieq, who led the rally, condemned local media as being a tool of international Zionist groups.

Along with at least 10 other representatives from the demonstrators, Rizieq was eventually received at the Presidential Palace to discuss the demands of the protesters.

Muhammad Al-Khaththath, secretary general of the FUI, said that in the meeting with a delegation from the palace, which he said included ministers, he had told the government the “real story” about the Ahmadis.

“I saw them slightly shocked when they heard the truth about the Ahmadiyah. The Ahmadis are fakers of religion and troublemakers, I told them. It opened their eyes and hearts,” Al-Khaththath said, adding that he was certain that a presidential decree would soon be issued in regard to the Ahmadis.

Rizieq, however, said: “Our president is, after all, a politician. We should know that a politician’s promise is rarely proven.”

The governor of East Java, Soekarwo, recently issued a decree banning the sect from spreading its beliefs through any media and forbidding the display of its name in public, including signposts on mosques.

Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi said he believed Soekarwo’s decree had been issued in total support of the 2008 joint ministerial decree.

“The regulation issued by the East Java administration should do an even better job in enforcing the SKB [the 2008 joint ministerial decree]. The governor [Soekarwo] obviously believes that a gubernatorial regulation needs to be issued for better supervision [of enforcement of the decree].”

Gamawan said that organizations demanding the disbandment of the Ahmadiyah were backed by proof that the Ahmadis had indeed violated the primary points of the decree — spreading their beliefs.

He said they had done so by putting up signs and placards citing the name Ahmadiyah in public, on top of mosques, prayer halls, educational institutions and other structures.

The minister also accused Ahmadis of wearing attributes of their organization, the Jamaah Ahmadiyah Indonesia, on their body.

The East Java governor on Tuesday said he would not have any problems with JAI board members or followers launching a legal case against his anti-Ahmadiyah decree.

“It is better that they take legal action, rather then start demonstrating, or even trigger anarchic actions,” Soekarwo said.

“We are a country that follows the law.”

Additional reporting by Antara.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/ministers...ahmadiyah/426055

Government Supports Ahmadiyah Ban in East Java

NEWS

Government Supports Ahmadiyah Ban in East Java

Camelia Pasandaran | March 01, 2011

East Java Governor Soekarwo, right, issued a decree on Monday to ban Ahmadiyah in the province. The central government showed its support for the decree on Tuesday. (AFP Photo)

The central government on Tuesday supported moves by the East Java governor to ban Ahmadiyah in the province.

“It is regional head’s authority and [Ahmadiyah] has long been banned everywhere,” said Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar said at the presidential palace before the cabinet meeting.

Patrialis emphasized the joint ministerial decree that strongly warns Ahmadiyah followers against spreading their beliefs.

“So if they did spread it, the local government may take action,” he said.

Ahmadiyah, an Islamic sect, has long been the at the center of a dispute between human rights activists that support its existence and Islamic hard-liners that want it disbanded.

East Java Governor Soekarwo recently released a decree to totally ban the sect in East Java. Under the decree, Ahmadiyah followers are banned from spreading their beliefs through any forms of media and are forbidden to display the sects name in public and mosques.

The move has gained supported by the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), which stated that the ban was necessary to stem demonstrations against the sect.

The minister said that by spreading their beliefs, Ahmadis had triggered conflict in many places throughout the country.

“Religious freedom should not be translated into desecration of religion,” Patrialis said. “Freedom to believe in a certain religion should not be banned. However, people should not believe in a religion and carry out its beliefs in different way to that religion. Ahmadiyah has tainted religion.”

Home Affairs Minister Gawaman Fauzi said that banning Ahmadiyah was allowed as long as it did not contradict a higher regulation.

“We will evaluate it,” Gamawan said.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/government...java/425918

Best to Disband Ahmadiyah, Religious Minister Says

NEWS

Best to Disband Ahmadiyah, Religious Minister Says

Fitri | February 28, 2011

Minister Suryadharma Ali meeting with top religious leaders in Lombok, Mataram, on Sunday. At the meeting, the minister said he was in favor of banning Ahmadiyah but that religious leaders, not the government, had the power to make such a decision happen. (JG Photo/Fitri)

Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara. Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali told a gathering of Islamic leaders on Sunday that the Ahmadiyah sect should be outlawed, but that the government did not have the power to make the decision.

To shouts of “Disband Ahmadiyah” from an audience that included the heads of about 500 Islamic boarding schools and the leaders of at least nine Islamic organizations, the minister seemed to urge religious leaders to take the lead in pushing for the minority Islamic sect to be disbanded.

“We [the government] do not have the right to disband Ahmadiyah,” he said. “That right lies in the hands of you esteemed ulema. We, the government, only have the right to regulate and control, not to disband or excommunicate.”

Suryadharma told the audience in Mataram, Lombok, which included leaders from the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Muhammadiyah and Hizbut Tahrir, that MUI branches across the country had declared Ahmadiyah a deviant sect.

On those grounds, he said, any request by religious leaders to have the sect disbanded was reasonable and had his approval.

The minister’s statement came on the same day that Habib Rizieq, leader of the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), called on Muslims nationwide to attend a march on Tuesday demanding the banning of Ahmadiyah.

In a sermon in Jakarta, Rizieq invited Muslims from across Indonesia to attend a rally at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Jakarta to protest the sect.

Suryadharma said the government had not issued an official statement in regard to banning Ahmadiyah, but that he would favor any proposal to outlaw the sect.

“I admit that the government has not issued any such statement,” he said. “However, I personally am of the opinion that it would be best if Ahmadiyah was disbanded. In this case, there lies a question: If we let them be, will the problem eventually be resolved? And if we disband them, will the problem go away?

“If we leave them the way the are, the problem will only become much bigger. Ahmadiyah deserves to be disbanded.

“Once they are disbanded, harmony will be guaranteed. I have pushed members of Ahmadiyah to form a new sect that is devoid of any and all attributes of Islam, not to ever use the word or symbol of the mosque in any of their prayer halls, and never to accept the Koran as their holy book if they call themselves Ahmadiyah. My preference would be that they all leave Ahmadiyah and follow the right path by entering into Islam.”

He also urged religious leaders in the audience to work harder to bring what he called the “correct” teachings of Islam to isolated corners of the country, to prevent deviant sects from flourishing in those areas. He then posed a question for those supporting the rights of Ahmadis.

“ The problem now is that those who oppose Ahmadiyah are fighting against those campaigning for religious freedom,” he said. “If we work toward disbanding [Ahmadiyah], those fighting for religious freedom will accuse the government of getting in the way of religious freedom.

“So my question is, does religious freedom mean the freedom to insult someone else’s religion and rewrite the teachings of someone’s religion?”

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/regional...ahmadiyah/425228

Regional Indonesian Politicians to Ban Or Curb Ahmadiyah

NEWS

Regional Indonesian Politicians to Ban Or Curb Ahmadiyah

Fitri, Eras Poke, Heru Andriyanto & Antara | February 26, 2011

A man sells books titled “Mengapa Saya Keluar dari Ahmadiyah” (“Why I Left Ahmadiyah”) during a recent FPI rally in Jakarta. (Beritasatu Photo/Ulin Yusron)

Regional chiefs in some Indonesian provinces are moving ahead with plans to either ban completely or restrict the activities of Ahmadiyah followers in their areas, claiming the Muslim sect has stirred up community conflicts.

The mayor of Samarinda, Sjahrie Jaang, said he would curb all Ahmadiyah activities in the East Kalimantan capital and would also soon move to close down its mosques.

“The regulation on halting the activities of the Ahmadiyah was signed today,” he told reporters after a meeting with local police, religious leaders and community representatives on Friday.

He said he would meet with Ahmadiyah leaders in the area to enforce the regulation, advising them to halt their activities and close their houses of worship.

“This decision was taken as a form of firm action by the city administration on the Ahmadiyah issue in order to maintain security by preventing potential sources of conflict in society,” the mayor said.

When asked about the size of the Ahmadiyah community in Samarinda, Sjahrie said it was “insignificant” but if no firm action was taken immediately, it was likely to grow. “This is why we need to stop their activities now,” he said.

Representatives of the Indonesian Council of Ulema in Samarinda lauded the administration’s plans.

“The mayor’s decision is a relief to us all,” said Zaini Naim, the local chapter’s chairman. “This will stop the people from taking the law into their own hands.”

According to M. Faozal, a spokesman for West Nusa Tenggara’s provincial government, the governor was about to issue a bylaw that would outlaw the spread of Ahmadiyah teachings. “Ahmadiyah often triggers conflict in many regions, including West Nusa Tenggara,” the spokesman said on Friday. “The governor wants to prevent conflict; We’re calling on the Ahmadiyah to stop causing conflict.”

Limiting the Ahmadiyah community’s activities was necessary as a way to prevent potential conflicts, Faozal said, adding that the government hoped its followers would return to the “rightful path of Islam.”

Some Muslim leaders in West Nusa Tenggara said they welcomed the plan and hoped the governor would issue the regulation as soon as possible to prevent more clashes.

“They [Ahmadis] persist that there is no difference between Ahmadiyah and Islam, while there is a significant difference,” Saiful Muslim, head of the provincial branch of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), said. “No dialogue held with them has produced any solution to the problem.”

Some Muslim groups have accused Ahmadiyah of heresy, saying that they profess their founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, to be the final prophet — a tenet that runs against Islamic beliefs that reserve that claim for the Prophet Muhammad.

Ahmadiyah community leaders, however, say that it has never claimed Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as a prophet but rather as the promised messiah, a concept that is accepted in mainstream Islam.

Saiful also claimed that Ahmadiyah followers refused to integrate with surrounding communities, which caused anxiety among their neighbors.

According to Saiful, the MUI also disagreed with a plan to forcibly relocate a group of Ahmadis to a remote area in Lombok’s southwest, saying that such a policy would only cause more conflict.

“I fear that once they are moved to Sekotong they will be attacked by the people there,” he said. “It is better for them to integrate with their neighbors and assimilate to accepted norms.”

East Nusa Tenggara’s governor, Frans Lebu Raya, meanwhile, said residents should ignore calls to take part in a rally in Kupang over the weekend to express solidarity with the besieged Ahmadiyah community in other parts of the country. The governor said the call was a hoax instigated by agitators.

In Jakarta, Edwin Pamimpin Situmorang, deputy attorney general for intelligence, said that his office was still examining a 2008 government regulation that put restrictions on the Ahmadiyah community. “We are still examining the joint decree on Ahmadiyah to assess its effectiveness, and how the recent incidents could have happen,” he said.

“In my opinion, it hasn’t been effective yet because most people do not fully understand its contents. For instance, there is a view that the decree bans Ahmadiyah, while in fact it doesn’t.”

The decree was issued in June 2008 by the Attorney General’s Office and ministries of religious and home affairs. While it does not expressly ban the existence of Ahmadiyah, it does stop Ahmadiyah followers from spreading information contrary to mainstream Muslim interpretation.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/regional...ahmadiyah/425228

Bashir Says Ahmadiyah Worse than the PKI

NEWS

Bashir Says Ahmadiyah Worse than the PKI

Heru Andriyanto | February 24, 2011

Firebrand cleric Abu Bakar Bashir talks to journalists inside a temporary cell at the South Jakarta District Court before his trial reconvened on Feb 24

Firebrand cleric Abu Bakar Bashir on Thursday attacked Ahmadiyah as being “poisonous” to Islam.

Speaking to reporters at the South Jakarta District Court on Thursday, Bashir said the government must disband the Muslim sect or face being disbanded itself.

He also described the Ahmadiyah sect as being crueler than the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

“Ahmadiyah must be disbanded, or the government must step down. Ahmadiyah is a poison against Islam. It is crueler than the PKI.”

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/bashir...the-pki/424764

MUI Official Blames Government for Bogor Attack

HOME

MUI Official Blames Government for Bogor Attack

Vento Saudale | February 24, 2011

A religious figure told a court on Wednesday that the government’s failure to outlaw Ahmadiyah was to blame for a 2010 attack on the Islamic sect in Bogor’s Cisalada village.

Khaerul Yunus, a member of the advisory board of the Bogor branch of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), told Cibinong District Court that the existence of Ahmadiyah was in violation of a 1965 law on religious blasphemy.

That law, he said, makes it illegal to “publicize, recommend or organize public support” for non-orthodox versions of the six religions recognized by the state.

“From that, your honor, it is clear that Ahmadiyah has violated the law,” Khaerul said, to cheers from members of conservative Muslim groups who packed the courtroom.

Ahmadiyah preaches that there was another prophet after Muhammad, while mainstream Muslims believe that Muhammad was the last prophet, Khaerul added.

He told the panel of judges that the attack on the Ahmadiyah community was the result of the government’s lax attitude toward sects in the country.

“The government does not take strict measures [against sects]. There is an MUI edict from 2005 banning Ahmadiyah and the joint decree from three ministers in 2008 that bans Ahmadiyah from spreading its faith,” he said.

“The government merely issued the regulation but has failed to check whether it is being followed.”

The attack in October 2010 saw a mob burn down houses, schools and a mosque in Cisalada, which is home to about 600 Ahmadiyah members.

Also taking the witness stand on Wednesday was Rendy Apriayansah, a Cisalada resident who was allegedly stabbed by an Ahmadiyah member during the mob attack.

He told the court that he and 10 of his friends went to the Ahmadiyah housing complex to “have a discussion” with the leaders of the group after noticing that there was a television set inside the sect’s mosque.

“There should not be a television set inside a mosque,” he said.

“But after we had spent about 15 minutes inside the mosque, the electricity suddenly went off and we ran outside. I was stabbed by an Ahmadiyah member when I tried to escape through the front door.”

When questioned by the presiding judge, Astriwati, about how he knew he had been stabbed by an Ahmadiyah member, Rendy went back and forth before being reminded by the judge that he was under oath.

“I think I was stabbed by an Ahmadiyah member,” he replied.

Bogor Police deployed 150 officers to secure the hearing, which was adjourned until March 9. Vento Saudale

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/mui...bogor-attack/424671

Ahmadi in Court Over Stabbing as Banten District Bans Sect Entirely

NEWS

Ahmadi in Court Over Stabbing as Banten District Bans Sect Entirely

Vento Saudale & Ulma Haryanto | February 24, 2011

Ahmad Nuryamin, an Ahmadi accused of wounding a 15-year-old boy, told the Cibinong District Court on Thursday that he had panicked and “accidentally” stabbed one of about 200 men who attacked and looted his village last year.

“I saw Rendy [the victim] coming from the opposite direction carrying a samurai sword. I pulled my knife and accidentally stabbed him,” Ahmad told the panel of judges.

Ahmad, a 35-year-old farmer and trader, said he had just returned home from fishing and had the knife on him when he heard a commotion outside.

Earlier, Ahmad had claimed his knife had been in its sheath during the entire attack.

Rendy was believed to have been part of a mob of some 200 people who on Oct. 1 burned and looted homes, schools and a mosque in Cisalada village in Bogor, West Java, home to about 600 followers of the Ahmadiyah.

Two witnesses gave accounts of the attack to the court, but neither saw the stabbing. “I remember people brandishing machetes, samurai swords and bamboo spears,” one witness told the judges.

The court adjourned the case until March 3.

Meanwhile, in the neighboring province of Banten, the Ahmadiyah is being curtailed even beyond the 2008 joint ministerial decree that bans the sect from practicing its religion openly and proselytizing, media reports indicate.

Lebak district would soon issue a bylaw banning the sect entirely, and the administration of Pandeglang district already issued such a decree on Monday, Antara news agency reported.

“The [deadly] clash in Cikeusik [on Feb. 6] is strong evidence that people reject the existence of the Ahmadiyah. Therefore there will be a bylaw banning it soon,” Lebak District Chief Mulyadi Jayabaya was quoted as saying by the Coordinating Ministry for People’s Welfare on Thursday.

On Feb. 6 a mob of about 1,500 people attacked about 20 Ahmadiyah members in Cikeusik village, which also falls under Banten’s jurisdiction, resulting in the death of three Ahmadiyah members.

Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare Agung Laksono said in a statement that he appreciated all plans by local administrations to issue bylaws that are created “to better people’s lives.”

“It is the right of every district and provincial administration, together with councilors, to draft and issue bylaws,” he added.

However, Indonesian commissioner to the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, Rafendi Djamin, said such statements harmed Indonesia’s international image as a democracy.

“Within Asean, Indonesia was perceived as one of the states with a strong democracy, with freedom of the press and speech, and a critical civil society. But this image will fade if our law enforcement cannot prevent intolerant acts happening everywhere,” he told the Jakarta Globe.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/ahmadi-in...sect-entirely/424927

PPP lawmaker interrupts plenary, discussing Ahmadiyah

NATIONAL Tue, 02/22/2011 2:50 PM

PPP lawmaker interrupts plenary, discussing Ahmadiyah

Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Hasrul Azhar, the House Islamic United Development Party (PPP) chairman, has proposed the establishment of legislative inquiry on Ahmadiyah.

Hasrul interrupted a House of Representatives’ plenary session suddenly on Tuesday, only to ask House speakers to officially declare the minor Islamic sect Ahmadiyah illegal.

“Ahmadiyah has become the source of social conflicts and violence. It is deviant and could bring deviance to Muslims.

“Therefore, I request this forum declare that Ahmadiyah is deviant and must be disbanded,” Hasrul told the session.

Said Abdullah of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) responded Hasrul’s statement by saying it was only the government that had the authority to decide Ahamdiyah’s fate in Indonesia.

“It is very inappropriate to judge Ahmadiyah in this forum. The House of Representatives is neutral and must accommodate Indonesia’s unity in diversity [bhinneka],“ he said.

Hasrul replied, “It was just a proposal. We may also propose to establish an inquiry on Ahmadiyah!“

Tuesday’s plenary session was scheduled to endorse a proposal to establish an inquiry into corruption in the Indonesian taxation system, which has triggered heated tensions between lawmakers.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/02/22/ppp-lawmaker...ahmadiyah.html

Ahmadiyah’s Critics Are the Ones Who Should Declare a New Faith

OPINION

Ahmadiyah’s Critics Are the Ones Who Should Declare a New Faith

Bramantyo Prijosusilo | February 22, 2011

As Islamist right-wingers are dominating Indonesian public opinion in regard to the Ahmadiyah sect, it would be wise to reflect on the fact that when performing their obligatory prayers, all Muslims must recite Al Fatiha, the opening chapter of Islam’s holy book, known as “the mother of the Koran,” and that the sixth verse of that chapter translates as “show us the straight path.”

Even the Prophet Muhammad recited this verse every time he performed sholat . Taken at face value this can mean one of two things: Either the prophet was acting like a fool before God and pretended not to know “the straight path,” or he was sincere in his prayer and genuinely needed God’s guidance and grace to keep on the straight and narrow path. Therefore, if any Muslim claims to be following this path and knows how to herd others along the same route, surely this person is speaking out of arrogance rather than knowledge and is far from following the footsteps of the gentle and humble Muhammad.

Whoever claims to know the straight path should not recite Al Fatiha in his or her sholat. When you know something, should you stand before God and ask for that thing to be revealed to you? God is all-knowing, and thus asking God for something that you already have would be silly and disrespectful. Therefore, all thinking Muslims (and the Koran repeatedly urges us to think) should refrain from claiming clear and certain knowledge of the straight path, for to do so is tantamount to claiming superiority to the spiritual knowledge of our beloved prophet, who is our spiritual beacon. Can one claim to be Muslim while believing oneself to have greater knowledge about spiritual matters than Muhammad?

Recently people claiming to have superior knowledge of Islam and to represent Muslims have been calling for the Ahmadiyah sect to be banned in Indonesia if its members continue to call themselves Muslim and to use Islamic symbols. The only acceptable option for the Ahmadiyah sect to continue to exist in Indonesia, they say, is for them to declare that they are followers of a new, different and separate religion.

Many lay Muslims seem to agree with this solution, but what its advocates tend to forget is that to become a Muslim, one need only to declare that there is no god but God and Muhammad is his prophet. This simple declaration of faith has been enough to make someone a Muslim since the time Muhammad begun preaching Islam in 7th century Arabia. All Ahmadiyah followers say this declaration of faith each time they perform sholat.

While some people who call themselves learned in matters of Islam declare that the Ahmadiyah sect has left Islam, let us recall a hadith (tradition) that tells us how Muhammad was seriously upset when, in battle, one of his disciples put to the sword an enemy who recited the declaration of Islamic faith. The tradition tells us that the disciple defended his actions by claiming that his victim had only declared his faith because he was afraid of death, but the prophet rebutted him, declaring that only God knows the truth in man’s heart.

Are not these religious experts who would judge others telling us that they know more about Islam than the Prophet Muhammad? Ahamdiyah followers not only profess the declaration of faith that makes them Muslims, they also perform the prescribed prayers, pay the zakat alms for the poor, fast during Ramadan and, if they are able, make the pilgrimage to Mecca to follow the rituals of the hajj at least once in their lifetime.

Just like mainstream Muslims, Ahmadiyah followers also believe in the six pillars of faith: in God, in his angels, in his books, in his prophets, in fate and in the Day of Judgment. The small difference between the Ahmadiyah faith and the belief of the mainstream is that Ahmadis believe that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was a prophet — the Messiah, Jesus in his second coming. That there will be a Messiah near the end of time is a belief also held by mainstream Muslims, only most Muslims believe that the Messiah has not yet revealed himself.

Still, believing that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is the promised Messiah should not exclude one from the Islamic community, for to be a Muslim, since the times of the Prophet Muhammad, one is obliged only to declare that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is his prophet. Perhaps the scholars of this new type of Islam — one that preaches hatred and violence — have added to the declaration of faith, and now to be a Muslim one also should declare that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is definitely not the promised Messiah.

If only these knowledgeable scholars would be honest and state their new declaration of faith, things would be much simpler, because in doing so they would also openly declare a new religion, somewhat different to the message of peace and love brought to mankind by Muhammad 1,400 years ago.

One important Islamic doctrine is that there is no priesthood. Muhammad had many disciples of all backgrounds — powerful and humble, male and female, young and old, black and white, free man and slave — but they were taught that in the eyes of God all people are equal and only their faith and deeds can differentiate them in front of God. Scholars of Islam have constricted the word ulema to mean only scholars of religious disciplines, thus excluding all other branches of knowledge that, in their search for truth, are also fundamentally Islamic.

They have elevated their status to become “priests” within Islam, with the authority to declare what is righteous and what is forbidden in the eyes of God. Instead of forcing Ahmadiyah people out of Islam with violence, intimidation and murder, it is these people who should declare a new non-peaceful, priest-led, non-Islamic religion.

Bramantyo Prijosusilo is a writer, artist and broadcast journalist in East Java.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/ahmadiyahs...faith/423998

Ahmadis Receive Promise of Protection From Central Sulawesi Police

NEWS

Ahmadis Receive Promise of Protection From Central Sulawesi Police

February 21, 2011

Palu. Central Sulawesi Police on Monday pledged to monitor the conditions of Ahmadiyah followers in the province and protect them from violence.

“We’re keeping a close eye on the Ahmadis and we are asking the people [of Central Sulawesi] not to resort to anarchy,” Central Sulawesi Police Chief Brig. Gen. Dewa Parsana said after a meeting with the local Ahmadiyah officials, representatives of Islamic organizations and government officials in Palu.

Dewa promised to protect Ahmadi followers from the threats of violence.

“All citizens have the right to be protected,” he said.

There are around 100 Ahmadi followers in Central Sulawesi, according to Ahmad Nadjamuddin, a representative of Palu’s Ahmadiyah community.

“We can only pray for the safety of our brothers,” Nadjamuddin said.

Over in Cianjur, West Java, however, the local chapter of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) reiterated that the only way for attacks against the minority sect’s followers to stop was for them to leave Islam and declare a new religion.

“Ahmadiyah is deviant and deviating,” said the head of Cianjur’s MUI office, Abdul Halim. “If they keep insisting to be a part of Islam, conflicts will keep on happening. Why aren’t they brave enough to stand up for what they believe in and declare themselves a religion outside of Islam?” he said.

MUI has a 2005 fatwa labeling Ahmadiyah a deviant Muslim sect and its followers as apostates.

On Sunday, MUI defended itself against critics who say the fatwa has contributed to the violence against the minority sect.

“There’s not one religion in this world that teaches violence,” Amidhan, chairman of the MUI, said on Sunday.

Antara, JG

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/mui...its-fatwa/423827

MUI Denies Ahmadiyah Attacks a Result of Its Fatwa

NEWS

MUI Denies Ahmadiyah Attacks a Result of Its Fatwa

Dessy Sagita & Camelia Pasandaran | February 21, 2011

Police officers inspecting the damaged house of an Ahmadi after it was attacked by a Muslim mob in Pandeglang, Banten, earlier this month. (AP Photo)

Two weeks after a deadly attack on Ahmadiyah followers in Banten, the Indonesian Council of Ulema has called on the government to investigate cases of religious violence.

The group, known as the MUI, also defended itself against critics who say its edict denouncing Ahmadiyah has contributed to the violence against the minority sect.

“There’s not one religion in this world that teaches violence,” Amidhan, chairman of the MUI, said on Sunday.

He said many people had misunderstood the council’s 2005 fatwa labeling Ahmadiyah a deviant Muslim sect and its followers as apostates.

“Indeed, point No. 1 of that edict calls for a ban on Ahmadiyah,” he said, “but point No. 3 clearly states that any violence against Ahmadiyah followers is strictly prohibited.”

He said the misinterpretation had damaged the MUI’s reputation, making it a target for critics who claim the organization has incited hatred and encouraged attacks on the sect.

“No belief, whether it is heretical or not, deserves to be treated violently, and we are fully aware of that fact,” he said. “Therefore, I don’t understand why the MUI is linked to these violent acts.”

On Friday, hard-line Muslim groups rallied in Jakarta to demand the government disband Ahmadiyah. The chairman of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), Habib Riziq, said that “Ahmadiyah must not exist in Indonesia” and should be dismantled at all costs.

He warned of a revolution if the president failed to disband the sect, going as far as to call for the government to be toppled.

Amidhan dismissed such threats and said the Feb. 6 attack in Banten, which left three Ahmadis dead, and the government’s response, had led some groups to believe they were above the law. He urged the government to punish those responsible.

“The government and the police need to act fast to find the real culprits and provocateurs behind the incident . They must investigate both the attackers and the Ahmadiyah members who were at the scene,” he said, adding that the only way to properly resolve the issue was through the courts.

Meanwhile, in response to an outpouring of criticism over its slow response to a spate of attacks on minority groups, the government plans to revise the Law on Mass Organizations to make it easier to disband groups that advocate violence.

Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi said the revision would be part of this year’s national legislative program.

“The new law is expected to be more strict and shorten the time it takes to disband an organization,” he told the Jakarta Globe in Mamuju, West Sulawesi, on Saturday.

The law currently requires a lengthy process of collecting evidence of illegal behavior, followed by a freezing of the organization, before it can be disbanded.

Gamawan said the law made it difficult to disband organizations, even ones like the FPI that have openly called for revolution.

“We need evidence, because if we did it without evidence, the government would be accused of breaking the law,” he said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Feb. 9, three days after the Banten attack, called for organizations that advocate violence to be shut down.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/mui...its-fatwa/423827