Muslim sect braces for Indonesia Ramadan violence

	August 02, 2011 Tuesday Updated 11.29 pm

SE Asia

Home > Breaking News > SE Asia > Story

Aug 02, 2011

Muslim sect braces for Indonesia Ramadan violence

Ahmadiyah leaders said they feared the worst after a court last week handed down sentences of only a few months in jail to hardliners who killed three sect members in a vicious mob attack. — PHOTO: REUTERS

JAKARTA - AS MOST Indonesian Muslims started the fasting month of Ramadan peacefully this week, followers of the minority Ahmadiyah Islamic sect braced themselves for hatred and bloodshed.

Ahmadiyah leaders said they feared the worst after a court last week handed down sentences of only a few months in jail to hardliners who killed three sect members in a vicious mob attack.

‘The extremists say this is a holy month, everything must be pure and sacred. So we, the Ahmadiyah followers, must be cleared out,’ Ahmadiyah spokesman Firdaus Mubarik told AFP.

The sect is unorthodox in that it does not believe Mohammed is the last prophet of Islam. It claims 500,000 followers in Indonesia, where it has existed in relative calm since the 1920s.

Islamic vigilante groups, emboldened by a decree ordering the sect to stop spreading its beliefs in the Muslim-majority country, have recently started targeting the Ahmadiyah in an ugly wave of hate crimes.

‘For us, the fasting month doesn’t mean there’ll be peace for us to perform our religious obligations. On the contrary, there are more opportunities for Muslim extremists to mobilise and incite people to attack us,’ Mr Mubarik said. — AFP

URL: www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_697509.html

Indonesian Muslims demand Ahmahdiyah be outlawed

	July 30, 2011 Saturday Updated 3.30 pm

SE Asia

Home > Breaking News > SE Asia > Story

Jul 30, 2011

Indonesian Muslims demand Ahmahdiyah be outlawed

Members of Indonesia's Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) rally on the streets in Jakarta July 30, 2011. Members of the FPI are demanding the government to disband Ahmadiyah sect. Indonesia's Assembly of Indonesian Muslim Clerics (MUI) considers the Ahmadiyah sect to be 'heretical' for believing that Mohammad was not Islam's final prophet. — PHOTO: REUTERS

JAKARTA — HUNDREDS of conservative Muslims held a noisy but peaceful rally in Indonesia’s capital on Saturday to demand the government outlaw an Islamic sect they consider heretical.

Nearly 1,500 white-robed protesters - gathering days after a court sentenced 12 men to less than six months in jail for lynching three Ahmahdiyah sect members - marched through the streets until they reached the presidential palace.

Some held placards that said ‘Disband Ahmadiyah or Revolution’ and ‘War against Ahmadiyah.’

Cleric Muhammad Rizieq Shihab shouted through his bullhorn that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should ‘not be a coward.’ ‘Disband them!‘ he said, as the crowd of 1,500 cheered and chanted ‘Allah Akbar’ or ‘God is great’.

Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim and secular nation of 240 million, has a long history of religious tolerance.

But experts say a small, extremist fringe has grown more vocal in recent years and is seeking - with some success - to impose its will on police, the judicial system and the government. They’ve been emboldened by the inaction of Mr Yudhoyono, who relies on the support of Islamic parties in Parliament, and does not want to offend conservative Muslims by taking sides. — AP

URL: www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_696548.html

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