Hard-Line Group Lashes Out At Bekasi Ahmadis

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Hard-Line Group Lashes Out At Bekasi Ahmadis

Ulma Haryanto | November 15, 2011

More than 30 people claiming to be from the notorious Islamic Defenders Front besieged an Ahmadiyah mosque in the Jatibening area of Bekasi on Monday, demanding it be sealed off.

Local Ahmadiyah leader Rahmat Rahmadijaya told the Jakarta Globe that the group tried to place a placard in front of the mosque to make clear that Ahmadis were not allowed to worship.

“It happened around 2 p.m., about 30 people entered the mosque. They wanted to hang up a placard stating that Ahmadiyah is banned, based on the Joint Ministerial Decree, a West Java gubernatorial decree and a decree by the Bekasi mayor,” Rahmat said, referring to the activists.

Human rights groups have blamed the 2008 joint ministerial decree for increasing violence against followers of the minority Muslim sect.

The Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy said the number of attacks rose from three in 2006 to 50 in 2010.

Earlier this year, West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan 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. A similar decree was signed by Bekasi’s acting mayor, Rahmat Effendi, and went into effect last month.

The Ahmadiyah mosque had faced weekly threats from the local Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) branch and had to hold its Friday prayers under protection from Bekasi Police. There are around 200 Ahmadis in the area.

Bekasi Police Chief Sr. Comr. Priyo Widyanto denied there had been a siege.

“It is a lie. The truth is that the Bekasi municipality was only trying to hang a placard in front of their mosque, banning Ahmadiyah,” Priyo said, adding that the event was also witnessed by officials from the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), the Inter-Religious Communication Forum (FKUB) and the FPI.

The police chief of Pondok Gede district, Sr. Comr. Burhanuddin, said police were aware of hard-line Muslim groups’ opposition to the presence of Ahmadis and had “secured” the area.

Firdaus Mubarik, a spokesman for the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI), said the Bekasi anti-Ahmadiyah decree could be used by hard-line groups to legitimize their harassment.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/...bekasi-ahmadis/478494

Trial Begins for FPI Members Accused in Ramadan Raids

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Trial Begins for FPI Members Accused in Ramadan Raids

Rahmat | November 08, 2011

Abdurrahman Assagaf, left, head of the Makassar chapter of the Islamic Defenders Front, and members Arifuddin, middle, and Ruswandi Abubakar sit in court on Tuesday. (AFP Photo)

Makassar. Three members of the hardline Islamic Defenders Front appeared in court in Makassar on Tuesday to answer to charges of assault and property destruction stemming from raids on an Ahmadiyah complex and restaurants during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan in August.

Abdul Rahman Assagaf, head of the South Sulawesi chapter of the group, known as the FPI, appeared with two other members, Arifuddin and Ruswandi Abubakar.

“The three defendants are alleged to have abused and assaulted the owner of Warung Coto and another restaurant in AP Pettarani [street], Makassar, in August,” Prosecutor Muhammad Adnan said as he read the indictment aloud in court.

Abdul is also facing charges of incitement of violence for a later attack by an FPI group on an Ahmadiyah complex.

In the Aug. 14 attack, the LPI, a unit of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), smashed several windows at the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) complex, including at its mosque, and damaged a car and a motorcycle parked in the compound.

The 30-strong mob also attacked Ahmad, the lone person guarding the JAI secretariat, and two paralegals from the Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) who tried to stop the attack. LPI members also scuffled with riot police sent to the scene to restore order.

The three defendants have been charged with assault and destruction of property for their alleged roles in restaurant raids carried out by the FPI on Aug. 12, during which about 50 FPI members convoyed through the streets looking for open restaurants and food stalls shortly after Friday prayers.

The mob forced three restaurants on Jalan Pettarani to close, and made the owners sign written statements promising that they would not operate during daylight hours for the remainder of the fasting month.

If convicted of the charges, the three defendants face up to five years in prison each.

About 100 police officers were on hand to ensure order during the 15-minute hearing. A group of 50 FPI members showed up to voice support for their comrades, but the scene remained calm.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/trial-begins.../477185

Ahmadiyah activity banned during Idul Fitri in S. Sulawesi

NATIONALFri, 08/26/2011 6:57 PM

Ahmadiyah activity banned during Idul Fitri in S. Sulawesi

The Jakarta Post

The South Sulawesi administration says it forbids members of the Ahmadiyah Muslim community to conduct religious activities during the upcoming Idul Fitri holiday.

South Sulawesi governor Syahrul Yasin Limpo said according to his subordinate’s report, the condition in the province was conducive, but he said he was concerned that Ahmadiyah members would still conduct activities over the holiday, which could promote violence.

“We don’t want a repeat of conflicts, we will guard the Ahmadiyah mosque,” Syahrul said Friday as quoted by tempointeraktif.com

Syahrul refused to comment on whether Ahmadis could conduct worship activity in their mosques. “I cannot answer that. But their religious activities are certainly forbidden.”

South Sulawesi Police head, Insp. Gen. Johny Wainal Usman also stipulated that no Ahmadiyah activities could be carried out during Idul Fitri.

South Sulawesi Ahmadiyah spokesman M. Mahtiar Ahmad said he was disappointed by the governor’s decision.

He said that the government should protect Ahmadiyah because it was peaceful and did not threaten Indonesia’s sovereignty.

“Insya Allah [God willing] we cam continue to practice our worship activities. I hope the police remove the police tape surrounding our mosque.”

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/08/26/ahmadiyah-activity...sulawesi.html

South Sulawesi outlaws Ahmadiyah

HEADLINES Thu, 03/03/2011 4:32 PM

South Sulawesi outlaws Ahmadiyah

The Jakarta Post

Following in the footsteps of East and West Java, South Sulawesi Governor Syahrul Yasin Limpo issued on Thursday a ban on the Ahmadiyah sect from practicing their religion publicly.

Syahrul said that the sect was neither registered as a mass organization nor a religious organization in the administration.

“For that reason, I don’t think it should be a problem should the administration prohibit its activities here. We also won’t give them a permit to [to practice their religion publicly],” said Syahrul as quoted by tribunnews.com on Thursday.

He said he had issued a circular to ban all activities of the Ahmadiyah Indonesia Congregation (JAI) in the province, referring to a joint ministerial decree from the government that bans members of JAI from propagating their religious teachings, but allows them to maintain their faith and perform their daily religious duties.

Earlier on Thursday, West Java Governor Ahmad Heriyawan also issued a similar decree, telling Ahmadis to stop performing their activities in the province.

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

Organizations demand govt disband Ahmadiyah in S. Sulawesi

NATIONAL Tue, 03/01/2011 7:21 AM

Organizations demand govt disband Ahmadiyah in S. Sulawesi

Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar

The South Sulawesi Islamic People’s Forum (FUI), comprised of 18 Muslim organizations, rallied Tuesday demanding that the local government issue a regulation disbanding Ahmadiyah in the area.

They rallied in front of the Regional House of Representatives building.

South Sulawesi FUI secretary Siradjuddin said Ahmadiyah had been declared heretical in 1974 by the Indonesian Ulema Council and that stance was further strengthened by the joint decree prohibiting the spread of Ahmadiyah’s teachings.

“But in reality Ahmadiyah is still in existence. That is clearly a violation and an abjection toward Islam,” he said.

The police ordered the Jamaah Ahmadiyah mosque emptied and stood guard at the mosque and the secretarial building.

“Ahmadiyah activities will be shut down until the situation is safe,” South Sulawesi Police chief Insp. Gen. Johny Wainal Usman said.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/01/organizations...sulawesi.html

Indonesian Media Flaws Fuel Interreligious Conflict, Experts Say

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Indonesian Media Flaws Fuel Interreligious Conflict, Experts Say

Ulma Haryanto | February 03, 2010

Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) protesting in front of the Ahmadiyah secretariat in Makassar. (Antara Photo)

The Indonesian media must learn from the mistakes made in covering the bloody sectarian conflict in Ambon as it seeks to report on the disturbing increase in similar interreligious violence breaking out across the country, experts say.

Eni Mulia, executive director of the Association for National Media Development (PPMN), told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday that most of the media coverage of these disputes touched only on the violence itself, without putting into context why it erupted or how it could be resolved.

“Religious conflicts happen almost every day or at least every other day, yet no newsroom in this country has the capacity or resources to facilitate open discussion of this topic, while some chose to avoid it altogether,” she said at a training seminar.

“So we feel it would be right to train journalists on how to act or face conflicts to find a peaceful resolution in covering religious conflicts.”

Eriyanto, a researcher from the Indonesian Survey Circle and one of the guest speakers at the seminar, elaborated on the role of the mass media in covering the bloody sectarian conflicts in Sampit, East Kalimantan, and Ambon, Maluku.

Reports of fatalities from the Ambon conflict, which ran from 1999 to 2006, vary from 4,000 to as much as 10,000, while an estimated 860,000 people were displaced.

“When regions in Ambon were segregated into Muslim and Christian areas, the media became a tool for propaganda,” Eriyanto said.

He added this role was filled by fundamentalist media outlets such as the Voice of Maluku Muslim Crusaders, a radio station backed by the Laskar Jihad.

The latter, who have since been disbanded, were a Java-based militant Islamic group that fueled the Ambon strife by recruiting and sending a constant stream of fighters to the conflict zone.

Eriyanto said his research showed that 80 percent of reporters who filed stories on that conflict were not always writing from the scene, but were basing their reports mostly on witness accounts that were subjective, one-sided and often simply hearsay.

“At a time when it was dangerous, even life-threatening, to go to the other religion’s area, these journalists, who were obviously unprepared for covering a religious conflict, could only rely on their limited sources,” he said.

“False or unverified news only made the situation worse, while reporters became emotionally involved and could only report from their own areas.”

Ambon today remains relatively sensitive to religious strife and its Muslim and Christian communities continue to live in segregation, as confirmed by two Ambon reporters taking part in the seminar: Firman Attamimi from the Ekspresi Ambon daily and Harry Radjabaycolle, a contributor for Jakarta-based TVOne .

“This is why I joined the seminar,” Firman said.

“I think that of all the provinces in Indonesia, Ambon is one of the most conflict-prone areas and that’s also why peace journalism has become important, because it teaches reporters how to stay balanced in covering these kinds of incidents.”

The seminar, held from Jan. 24 to 28, drew journalists from across the country. Among those invited to speak were Ihsan Ali Fauzi from Paramadina University and Burhanuddin Muhtadi, an analyst with the Indonesian Survey Institute.

Others served as mentors for participants, including Tempo editor Jajang Jamaludin, Media Indonesia deputy director for daily news Usman Kansong and Ade Wahyudi, from radio station KBR68H.

Former Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) director Asfinawati spoke on the legal framework for religious freedom, while Ahmadiyah’s Zafrullah Ahmad Pontoh, Indonesian Churches Union (PGI) member Gomar Gultom, and Dewi Manti, representing the animist Sunda Wiwitan, sect, spoke about the challenges facing their respective religions.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/indonesian...say/420624

HRW News Release: Hate Crimes Against Religious Minorities a Troubling Trend

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HRW News Release: Hate Crimes Against Religious Minorities a Troubling Trend

February 03, 2010

New York. Indonesian police should arrest those responsible for attacking an Ahmadiyah congregation in South Sulawesi province and protect vulnerable religious minorities throughout the country, Human Rights Watch said in a statement released on Thursday.

On Jan. 28, 2011, police “evacuated” members of an Ahmadiyah congregation from their mosque in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi, amid increasingly threatening protests by members of a militant Islamist group, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI). FPI militants then attacked the mosque, destroying property and breaking windows.

“Indonesian police may have thought they were taking the Ahmadiyah out of harm’s way, but they let the mob go on a rampage,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities need to send a message that hate crimes won’t be tolerated by prosecuting those responsible.”

The attack on the Ahmadiyah community in South Sulawesi underscored a troubling trend in Indonesia, Human Rights Watch said. Religious extremists are harassing religious minorities, particularly members of the Ahmadiyah community, and law enforcement officials are failing to hold those responsible to account. The Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy, a Jakarta-based group working on religious freedom, recorded 50 cases of attacks in 2010 against the Ahmadiyah community.

In the Makassar attack, hundreds of FPI protesters gathered on Jan. 27 outside the mosque, where hundreds of Ahmadiyah were holding an annual prayer ceremony, the Jalzah Salanah and demanded that they end the ceremony. Jamaluddin Feli, the Ahmadiyah imam in Makassar, told Human Rights Watch that the community tried to speed up the ceremony and that some members left the following morning.

When the mob returned at around 4 p.m. the next day, members of the Ahmadiyah congregation barricaded themselves inside. At about 8 p.m., the South Sulawesi chief of police, Insp. Gen. Johny Waenal Usman, arrived and asked the congregation members to evacuate the building for their safety. They initially refused, saying that it was their property, and held hands to prevent being removed. Police entered the mosque and pressured the Ahmadiyah to leave with them in trucks to the police station.

Feli said most of the congregation members agreed to leave and asked the police to guard the mosque from the protesters. As the main group of Ahmadiyah left, the protesters broke into the mosque and yelled at the remaining Ahmadi members to leave – some congregation members had remained in the center, hidden upstairs. By 10 p.m. all of the remaining Ahmadiyah members had left. The police provided no protection to the mosque and did not intervene when the mob smashed the windows, committed vandalism, seized financial records and tore down religious placards.

The Indonesian authorities’ pattern of ineffectiveness reflects a political, legal, and social framework that propagates a culture of religious discrimination, Human Rights Watch said. Since August, Religious Affairs Minister Ali Suryadharma has repeatedly called for the Ahmadiyah faith to be banned in Indonesia. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has failed to repudiate those statements, leading many to believe that he supports such an action.

In recent years Islamist militants have repeatedly attacked and burned Ahmadiyah homes and mosques. Anti-Ahmadiyah violence has increased since Yudhoyono announced a prohibition on teachings or public displays of the Ahmadiyah religion in June 2008.

In July 2010, municipal police and hundreds of people organized by militant Islamist groups forcibly tried to close an Ahmadiyah mosque in Manis Lor village. On October 1, mobs attacked the Ahmadiyah community in Cisalada, south of Jakarta, burning their mosque and several houses.

The Ahmadiyah faith was founded in what is now Pakistan in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. The Ahmadiyah community is banned in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, and has come under attack in Bangladesh. There are approximately 200,000 Ahmadis in Indonesia.

The Ahmadiyah identify themselves as Muslims but differ with other Muslims as to whether Muhammad was the “final” monotheist prophet. Consequently, some Muslims perceive the Ahmadiyah as heretics.

Indonesian law facilitates discrimination against the Ahmadiyah. The June 2008 decree requires the Ahmadiyah to “stop spreading interpretations and activities that deviate from the principal teachings of Islam,” including “spreading the belief that there is another prophet with his own teachings after Prophet Muhammad.” Violations of the decree can result in prison sentences of up to five years. Human Rights Watch has consistently called for the government to rescind this decree, as it violates the right to freedom of religion. At the time of signing the decree, officials said it was necessary to help stop further violence.

“The 2008 decree has not stopped violence against the Ahmadiyah community, as officials said it would, but fueled further hatred and intolerance,” Pearson said.

Prohibiting the Ahmadiyah from practicing their religion also violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by Indonesia in 2006, which protects the right to freedom of religion and to engage in religious practice “either individually or in community with others and in public or private.” The treaty also protects the rights of minorities “to profess and practice their own religion.”

“The Makassar violence is not an isolated incident – time and again the police are ineffective in protecting religious minorities,” Pearson said. “Indonesia’s reputation as a rights-respecting country will suffer unless President Yudhoyono acts to end the violence against the Ahmadiyah and lifts the ban on their religious practices.”

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/hrw-news...troubling-trend/420541

Rights watch condemns police lax on Ahmadiyah attack

NATIONAL Thu, 02/03/2011 6:40 PM

Rights watch condemns police lax on Ahmadiyah attack

Ina Parlina, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Human Rights Watch condemned the National Police for “tolerating” hate crimes in South Sulawesi during the attack of an Ahmadiyah congregation recently.

“The Indonesian Police may have thought they were taking the Ahmadiyah out of harm’s way, but they let the mob go on a rampage,” Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch said Thursday. “The authorities need to send a message that hate crimes won’t be tolerated by prosecuting those responsible.”

On January 28, 2011 police “evacuated” members of an Ahmadiyah congregation from their mosque in Makassar of South Sulawesi, amid increasingly threatening protests by members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI). The FPI later attacked the mosque, destroying property and breaking windows.

Elaine added that the police should arrest those responsible for attacking an Ahmadiyah congregation in South Sulawesi, as well as protect vulnerable religious minority groups throughout the country.

She asserted that the attack on the Ahmadiyah community in South Sulawesi underscored a troubling trend in Indonesia.

“Religious extremists are harassing religious minorities, particularly members of the Ahmadiyah community, and law enforcement officials are failing to hold those responsible to account.”

The Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy, a Jakarta-based group working on religious freedom, recorded 50 cases of attacks in 2010 against the Ahmadiyah community.

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/02/03/rights...attack.html

Raging FPI Mob Disrupts Annual Ahmadiyah Prayers in Makassar

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Raging FPI Mob Disrupts Annual Ahmadiyah Prayers in Makassar

Rahmat | January 29, 2010

Makassar. Dozens of protesters from the Islamic Defenders Front surrounded an Ahmadiyah center in Makassar on Friday, demanding that the sect disband.

Clad in white, members of hard-line group, also known as the FPI, arrived on motorcycles and tried to storm the center where around 50 Ahmadis were holding an annual prayer gathering called Jalzah Salanah.

More than 50 armed officers from the Mamajang Police and Makassar Police prevented the demonstrators from entering the center.

The FPI, however, continued to chant and yell threats at the panicked Ahmadiyah members, who hid inside a mosque in the center on Jalan Antang and locked the gates.

“We give you 24 hours to disband and bring down that sign that reads Jamaah Ahmadiyah,” Habib Reza, leader of the FPI in South Sulawesi, shouted during Friday’s rally.

“If you don’t do this, we will come back on Saturday and forcibly tear it down,” he added.

Habib cited a 2005 edict issued by the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) and a 2008 state decree that deemed the Ahmadiyah a deviant Islamic sect and restricted its religious activities.

Mainstream Muslims reject the Ahmadis’ belief that sect founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is the last prophet, which runs counter to Islamic tenets reserving that distinction for the Prophet Muhammad. [**]

“All of you are atheists! Come back to Islam,” Habib said, as the crowd chanted “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is great.”

“If you refuse to disband yourselves, you are welcome to enter any other religion. Do not use the name of Islam,” Habib said.

Police officers later attempted to ease tensions by offering to mediate between FPI and Ahmadiyah leaders.

However, Habib said he would only speak to the head of the South Sulawesi Ahmadiyah community if he agreed to “immediately disband” the sect that day.

After the protest, the hard-liners dispersed at around 6:30 p.m. and promised to return to the Ahmadiyah center the next day.

But after evening prayers, the protesters flocked to the site again and held speeches for another 20 minutes.

According to Ismail Hasani, from the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, there were about 50 recorded cases of violence or intimidation against the Ahmadiyah last year.

The statement is erroneous. Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian did not make any such claim of being last prophet. Please visit Alislam.org/messiah for further info.

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Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/raging-fpi-mob...makassar/419684