Ahmadiyah Mosque in Duren Sawit Sealed

Ahmadiyah Mosque in Duren Sawit Sealed

BERITAJAKARTA.COM — 11/17/2011 7:42:52 PM

A building which used as Mosque by Ahmadiyah pilgrim on Jl Madrasah Block J No. 28 at RT 02/10, Durensawit, East Jakarta was sealed by East Jakarta Building Supervision and Control (P2B) Sub-Department on Thursday (11/17) due to its building had violated building permit. In the permit, two-story building which established above land with 200 square meters width was only a house. But in fact, the house was used as Mosque by the owner. In this sealing, there was no resistance from building’s owner in the location.

Task Executor (Plt) of East Jakarta Supervision and Control Sub-Department Head, Bambang Sudjimanto who led directly this sealing stated that his party has sent the first warning letter (SP) 1 until third warning letter before sealing. By sealing, he hopes there is no more activity which done by Ahmadiyah in the mosque. “We had sent warning letter. But, they ignored it until we finally did seal to its building,” he expressed, Thursday (11/17).

District Head of Durensawit, Wahyu Supriatna said that after doing sealing, his party will also control them every day for 24 hours. It is conducted as an effort to prevent conflict which can occur anytime. If there found the same activity, they will follow up it firmly.

Meanwhile, Azis (27), one of Ahmadiyah pilgrim who is also as mosque manager stated that since brawl in Cikeusik, Pandeglang, Banten some time ago, it causes no more activity in the mosque. If there any activity, it is only the implementation ied ul Adha prayer and slaughtering to the qurban cattle several days ago. In fact, only about 60 pilgrims from Duren Sawit, Kramatjati and Tebet who joined it.

As matter of fact, the activity inside the mosque has been going on since 1997 ago. But, after sealing, he plans to report it to Jakarta Ahmadiyah manager.

He continued that a house which used as the mosque is awqaf house from Abdul Somad who is a manager of Ahmadiyah in East Jakarta. “Previously, there were about 300 pilgrims who active in this mosque. Besides before brawl in Cikeusik, they routinely held recitation in the mosque,” he said. — Translator: adi

URL: www.beritajakarta.com/2008/en/newsview.aspx?idwil=0&id=21164

Indonesia: Open letter on human rights violations against the Ahmadiyya in West Java

Indonesia: Open letter on human rights violations against the Ahmadiyya in West Java

Ref: TG ASA 21/2011.034
Index: ASA 21/032/2011

Gamawan Fauzi
Minister of Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs
Jl. Medan Merdeka
Utara No.7
Jakarta 10110
Indonesia

14 October 2011

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT
Peter Benenson House, 1 Easton Street
London WC1X 0DW, United Kingdom
T: +44 (0)20 7413 5500 F: +44 (0)20 7956 1157
E: amnestyis@amnesty.org W: www.amnesty.org

Dear Minister,

OPEN LETTER ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AGAINST THE AHMADIYYA IN WEST JAVA

We are writing to raise our concerns about intimidation, threats and violence against several Ahmadiyya communities at the hands of certain religious groups and organizations, as well government officials in the province of West Java. These include attacks on the property of Ahmadiyya members, closure or takeover of Ahmadiyya places of worship, and members of the community being threatened in attempts to force them to denounce their beliefs.

We are particularly concerned that government authorities – including the police – are failing to protect these communities and, in some cases, actively taking part in their persecution. There is also evidence that a provincial regulation entitled “Regulation of the Governor of West Java No. 12/2011 concerning Prohibition of Activities of the Indonesian Ahmadiyya Congregation in West Java” (Regulation of the Governor of West Java No. 12/2011) issued on 3 March 2011 is being used by attackers to justify such unlawful actions.

Article 3 of the Regulation, among other things, “prohibits followers of the Ahmadiyya community from carrying out activities… related to the spreading of interpretation and activities that deviate from the fundamental teachings of Islam”. These activities include spreading Ahmadiyya teachings, installing their signboards in public places and on their places of worship and educational institutions, as well as using anything that could identify them as Ahmadiyya followers.

Below we highlight a number of cases documented by Amnesty International in West Java province. We urge the Indonesian government to ensure prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigations into these reports and take steps to ensure such attacks are not repeated. Indonesia must abide by its international legal obligation to respect and protect the freedom of thought, conscience and religion of all individuals and communities in the country.

1. ATTACKS ON AHMADIYYA PROPERTY AND INTIMIDATION OF COMMUNITY

At 11pm on 29 March 2011 in the village of Sukagalih, Sukaratu sub-district, Tasikmalaya district, approximately 100 people reportedly attacked a house belonging to the Ahmadiyya. According to eye witnesses, some of the attackers were from the As-Syafiiyah Islamic boarding school in Cikatubang located 500m from the village. There were four people in the house: a man, aged 63; his wife, aged 55; their daughter, aged 21; and a wheelchair-bound grandmother, aged 86. The attackers smashed their windows with plant pots, stones and bricks while shouting obscenities and religious slogans.

After a few minutes, the attackers entered the house through the front door, smashing furniture and electrical goods. The attackers then moved on to a small bamboo house at the back of the main property. After the family living in this house escaped, it was set on fire and razed to the ground with all of its contents.

Within days of this attack, two banners were erected immediately outside the main house and at the entrance of the road leading up to the house. The banner outside the house read:

“We support the West Java Governor Regulation No. 12/ 2011 that the Ahmadiy[ya] does not put its name on any place of worship, educational institute or anything else that belongs to Ahmadiy[ya] and ask for a presidential decree to be issued soon to dissolve Ahmadiy[ya].”

The banner at the entrance to the road leading to the attacked house read:

“Thank you to the Governor of West Java for issuing Governor Regulation [No.] 12/2011 on the prohibition of Ahmadiy[ya] activities and the spreading of Ahmadiy[ya} teachings.”

Both the banners were signed by a coalition of groups including the Islamic Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam, FPI) and the Islamic Reform Movement (Gerakan Reformasi Islam, GARIS).

On the morning of 30 March 2011 at least six students from the boarding school were reportedly detained by the police for their involvement in the attack and taken to the Tasikmalaya District Police Station (Polres). However, they were released without charge later that evening after a demonstration by students from the boarding school in front of the police station. The local military village “guidance” officer (Bintara Pembina Desa or Babinsa) told the Ahmadiyya victims that the police had received threats of more violence against Ahmadiyya houses if the detainees were not immediately released.

2. CLOSURE OR TAKEOVER OF AHMADIYYA PLACES OF WORSHIP

In the ten days after the Governor of West Java issued the Regulation, the Babinsa officer and the Bojongpicung Sub-district Police approached elders of the Ahmadiyya community in the village of Cipeuyem, Haruwangi sub-district and asked them to allow a non-Ahmadiyya preacher to use their place of worship at prayer time. The elders denied their request.

At around 2pm on 13 March 2011, a group of around 50 people from Cipeuyem village reportedly arrived at the Ahmadiyya place of worship led by the Head of the Indonesian Ulema Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia, MUI) in the village. They then collected all the books they could find in the place of worship and set them on fire on the pavement.

Later the same day, members of the Bojongpicung Sub-district Police (Polsek), the Bojongpicung military (Koramil), the local village administration, and the same religious leader who had earlier led the book burning, reportedly called the Ahmadiyya elders to a meeting and pressured them to close the Ahmadiyya place of worship. On 17 March 2011 in a second meeting with the same people, under the pressure of intimidation, two members of the Ahmadiyya community were forced to sign a letter saying they agreed the place of worship should be closed. Following this incident, the local Ahmadiyya community has been too frightened to continue to use this place of worship.

In the nearby hamlet of Neglasari, Sukadana village, Campaka sub-district, Cianjur district, a non-Ahmadiyya preacher has taken over an Ahmadiyya place of worship.

After a banner supporting the Governor of West Java’s Regulation was put up near the main group of Ahmadiyya houses in Neglasari, members of the Ahmadiyya community were reportedly invited to a meeting on 16 March 2011 to brief them on the Regulation. The meeting was attended by local representatives of the Attorney General’s Office, the Cianjur District Police, local representatives from the Ministry of Religion and the village administration, as well as several religious leaders. Three days later, one of those religious leaders then visited the head of the Neglasari chapter of the Ahmadiyya asking to use the Ahmadiyya place of worship for a gathering of 1,000 of his followers. Alarmed at the large number of this congregation – usually the Ahmadiyya congregation is around 20-50 people – the Ahmadiyya elders asked the local police to intervene.

In a meeting held on 21 March 2011 at the Campaka Sub-district Police Station, the head of the local police reportedly called for the planned prayer gathering to be cancelled. Nevertheless, later that day, the non-Ahmadiyya leader turned up with a congregation of 500 people and used the Ahmadiyya place of worship without permission from the Ahmadiyya elders. In attendance were around 200 public order (Dalmas) police officers from the Cianjur District Police and officers from Campaka, Sukanegara, Pagelarang and Cibeber Police Sub-districts. The Ahmadiyya members present reported that the police officers did not take any steps to prevent this, but only stood and watched.

Since then, their place of worship has frequently been used by other leaders from around Sukadana village and some of these prayer meetings are organized to “educate” the Ahmadis about Islam. The Ahmadiyya community around the place of worship has been unable to use it for several months and complaints to police have not been followed up.

3. THREATENED IN AN ATTEMPT TO FORCE THEM TO DENOUNCE THEIR BELIEFS

On 1 April 2011 a local village head reportedly approached a family in Sukadana village, Campaka sub-district and told them they must make a decision to either leave the Ahmadiyya faith or leave their homes, and offered Rp 300,000 [US$ 35] if they signed papers denouncing their faith. The family decided to leave the area not long after and is now trying to collect money to build another house closer to the core Ahmadiyya community in Sukadana village.

Since the Regulation was issued, Ahmadiyya families in Sukagalih village, Sukaratu sub-district also reported receiving visits every few weeks by village administration staff and FPI members and associated leaders. The Ahmadiyya members reported being given invitation letters asking them to attend meetings where they would be expected to leave the Ahmadiyya faith. Those who agreed to attend are made to sign a register. Officials have reportedly informed the Ahmadiyya members that “if you do not want to sign, we will not be responsible for what might happen to you”.

Amnesty International has obtained a copy of one of the invitation letters (dated 9 May 2011) from a group called the Association of Victims of the Ahmadiyya Deviant Sect (Ikatan Masyarakat Korban Aliran Sesat Ahmadiyah, IMKASA) reportedly set up by the Soldiers to Defend Islam (Laskar Pembela Islam, LPI). The heading of this invitation says in big letters: “Don’t die unless you’re a Muslim”, which Ahmadiyya members have found threatening.

4. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL’s CONCERNS

The duty of a state to respect and ensure respect for human rights is key to ensuring the enjoyment of these rights by individuals and communities within the state. This duty is provided for, among others, in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Indonesia is a state party. It includes the obligation of states to do their utmost to prevent people’s rights being violated or abused, both by state officials and by others. If abuse has taken place, a state is obliged to investigate and prosecute those responsible in fair proceedings, and ensure reparations for victims. The police, as the arm of government charged with law enforcement, has a key role to play in ensuring that human rights are not violated or abused, as well as in the investigation of such violations and abuses when they do occur.

Under Article 2(1) of the ICCPR, human rights must be protected “without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status”.

In an authoritative General Comment on Article 2 (non-discrimination) of the ICCPR, the Human Rights Committee, the expert group tasked under the Covenant to oversee its implementation, has stated that “[t]here may be circumstances in which a failure to ensure Covenant rights as required by Article 2 would give rise to violations by States Parties of those rights, as a result of States Parties’ permitting or failing to take appropriate measures or to exercise due diligence to prevent, punish, investigate or redress the harm caused by such acts by private persons or entities”.

Article 14 (1)(g) of Law No. 2/2002 on the Indonesian National Police also provides that “the police have a duty to investigate all criminal acts in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code and under relevant legislation”.

Indonesian police have failed to investigate these attacks and bring those responsible to justice. Amnesty International is concerned that this failure runs contrary to Indonesia’s obligations under both the ICCPR and Indonesian laws.

Amnesty International is also concerned that the Regulation of the Governor of West Java No. 12/2011 and the closure or takeover of Ahmadiyya community places of worship denies the Ahmadiyya community their right to freedom of religion or belief.

The right to freedom of religion or belief is guaranteed in Article 18(1) of the ICCPR which provides that:

“[e]veryone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom… either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.”

The Human Rights Committee has stated that:

“[t]he freedom to manifest religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching encompasses a broad range of acts. The concept of worship extends to… various practices integral to such acts, including the… display of symbols… and the freedom to prepare and distribute religious texts or publications.”

Further, threats by local government officials against the Ahmadiyya in an attempt to force them to denounce their beliefs are in violation of Article 18(2) of the ICCPR which provides that “[n]o one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice”.

According to the Human Rights Committee, “[a]rticle 18(2) bars coercion that would impair the right to have or adopt a religion or belief, including the use of threat of physical force… to compel believers or non-believers to adhere to their religious beliefs and congregations, to recant their religion or belief or to convert”.

The right to freedom of religion is also enshrined in the Article 28E (1) of the Indonesian Constitution which provides that “[e]very person shall be free to choose and to practice the religion of his/her choice”.

According to Indonesian human rights lawyers, the Regulation of the Governor of West Java No. 12/2011 is also in violation of the Article 10 (3)(f) of Law No. 32/2004 on Regional Autonomy. In the autonomy law, the powers to make regulations on matters of religion are in the domain of the central government. Provincial or local-level regulations are therefore invalid to the extent that they are inconsistent with higher laws, such as national laws or regulations, according to the hierarchy of laws in Article 7(1) of Law No. 10/2004 on Law-making.

5. Recommendations

In order to remedy this situation, Amnesty International calls on your department to immediately take the lead in ensuring the following:

• Order the central police to undertake a thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the intimidation, threats and violence against the Ahmadiyya community in West Java;
• Ensure that the findings of the investigation are made public and are submitted, wherever relevant, to the Public Prosecutor so that all those suspected of involvement in human rights-related offences are brought to justice in proceedings which meet international standards of fairness and without the imposition of the death penalty, and that victims are provided reparations;
• Revoke the Regulation of the Governor of West Java No. 12/2011 and all other regional and national regulations that restrict the activities of the Ahmadiyya community in Indonesia or otherwise violate their right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion;
• The central government must ensure that any regulations issued at the provincial and at the district level are in compliance with human rights protections as provided in the 1945 Indonesian Constitution and Indonesia’s obligations under international law, in particular the ICCPR; and
• Denounce all public statements inciting discrimination and violence against the Ahmadiyya and take steps to ensure that all religious minorities in Indonesia, including the Ahmadiyya, are protected and allowed to practise their faith free from fear, intimidation and persecution.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. We would be pleased to discuss this matter with you.

Yours sincerely,

Donna Guest
Asia-Pacific Deputy Director

Cc: General Timur Pradopo
Head of the Indonesian National Police

Patrialis Akbar
Minister of Justice and Human Rights

Suryadharma Ali
Minister of Religious Affairs

Ahmad Heryawan
Governor of West Java Province

Ifdhal Kasim
Head of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM)

Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 31 on Article 2 of the Covenant: The Nature of the General Legal Obligation Imposed on States Parties to the Covenant, UN Doc. CCPR/C/74/CRP.4/Rev.6, 21 April 2004, para. 8.

Human Rights Committee General Comment No. 22: The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Article 18): UN Doc. CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4, 30/07/1993 para. 4.

Human Rights Committee General Comment No. 22: The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Article 18): UN Doc. CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4, 30/07/1993 para. 5.

© Amnesty International
URL: www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/...asa210322011en.html

Lightly on the lynch mob

	Sunday July 31st 2011

Religious persecution in Indonesia

Lightly on the lynch mob

Jul 31st 2011, 9:54 by R.C. | PENANG

SO, WHAT sort of sentence do you think a man convicted of killing someone by smashing in his skull with a stone might get in Indonesia? Life? Thirty years in prison? Twenty? Five? No. Three months, apparently.

At least, that was the sentence handed down by a court in Java on July 28th against Dani bin Misra. He was part of a frenzied mob of Sunni Muslim chauvinists, about 1,000 strong, that hacked and beat to death three members of the minority Ahmadi sect of Islam in February. Eleven others were on trial (including the cleric pictured above, white turban on the left). None of the guilty received more than six months for their crimes; none of them were even accused of murder. The ringleader was convicted of nothing more terrible than illegal possession of a machete; he got just over five months.

Considering the horror of the killings, these verdicts were risible and have been condemned as such by all and sundry—human-rights groups, the American government (which usually leans over backwards to be nice towards its new friend and the world’s largest Muslim country), the EU, as well as Indonesian civil-rights organisations.

It’s a terrible verdict for Indonesia, and for Indonesian justice. On the subject of religious tolerance—and the related matter of Islamic terrorism—it’s as if the country always takes two steps forwards and then quickly takes another step back. A few weeks ago a court finally sentenced one of the country’s most culpable terrorist leaders to a meaningful prison sentence; now another court gives these perpetrators nothing more than a slap on the wrist for what was clearly an awful murder. Furthermore, no one could have been in any doubt as to the savagery and barbarity of the attack on the Ahmadis; it was all caught on film and posted (temporarily) on YouTube.

Most worryingly, the verdicts would seem to give a virtual green light to anyone else who wants to attack the Ahmadiyah, a sect that many Muslims regard as illegitimate and heretical (they face terrible persecution in Pakistan). As Human Rights Watch has said: “The…verdict sends the chilling message that attacks on minorities like the Ahmadiyah will be treated lightly by the legal system. This is a sad day for justice in Indonesia.”

In theory the rights of the Ahmadis to freedom of worship and expression should be protected by the country’s constitution, like everyone else’s. But the government has partly gone along with the more extremist Muslims who wanted the sect banned completely; as a result, the sect has been stranded in a legal twilight zone. Many have argued that this invites attacks on the sect; these latest verdicts also point in that direction. The present government wants to be known as progressive and democratic at home and abroad—putting the Suharto years behind it, as it were—but that aspiration will remain well out of reach unless it does a great deal more to protect vulnerable minorities within its own borders.

(Picture credit: AFP)

URL: www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2011/07/religious-persecution-indonesia

Indonesia: Ahmadiyya killings verdicts do nothing to stem attacks

News & Events

Indonesia: Ahmadiyya killings verdicts do nothing to stem attacks

Posted: 29 July 2011

The verdicts imposed against 12 people accused of killing 3 members of the Ahmadi community in Indonesia, show that religious minorities face ongoing discrimination, Amnesty International said today.

Earlier today, a court in Serang District, West Java sentenced 10 men and 2 boys to between three and six months’ imprisonment for their involvement in the killing of three Ahmadis.

Three members of the Ahmadiyya community were beaten to death on 6 February this year when a 1,000 strong mob wielding rocks, machetes, swords and spears stormed the house of an Ahmadi leader in Cikeusik, West Java.

Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director, said:

“The attacks in Cikeusik sent a frightening signal to religious minorities in Indoneisa.

“These verdicts do not indicate that the government is treating attacks against religious minorities, especially the Ahmadiyya, as seriously.”

“The government must show its willingness to stem the rising tide of discrimination and abuse against the Ahmadis and other religious minorities.”

The Ahmadiyya are a religious group who consider themselves a part of Islam, although many Muslim groups say they do not adhere to the accepted belief system.

Amnesty International has documented numerous cases of intimidation and violence against the Ahmadiyya community by radical Islamist groups in various parts of Indonesia. These include attacks and burning of Ahmadiyya places of worship and homes.

The Ahmadiyya community are also discriminated against in law, including by a 2008 joint ministerial decree forbidding the Ahmadiyya from promoting their activities.

In September 2010, Indonesia’s Minister of Religion, Suryadharma Ali, called for the Ahmadiyya to be banned. Several provinces across Indonesia have also brought in local regulations restricting the group’s activities.

The decrees include prohibiting the Ahmadiyya from distributing pamphlets, putting signs in front of their offices and places of worship, as well as forbidding them from wearing anything to indicate that they are Ahmadiyya members.

Sam Zarifi said:

“It is crucial that the Indonesian authorities ensure the protection of the Ahmadis from any kind of intimidation or attacks. President Yudhoyono’s government must also immediately repeal the joint ministerial decree and revoke local regulations that restrict their activities.

“It is high time that Indonesia develops a concrete strategy to strengthen respect for freedom of religion and religious tolerance, which has clearly deteriorated in recent years.”

In most cases, those who commit acts of violence against the Ahmadiyya are not punished and the authorities often blame the minority for “deviant views” when attacks occur.

© Amnesty International
URL: www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=19598

Indonesia sends ‘chilling message’ in mob trial: HRW

World

Indonesia sends ‘chilling message’ in mob trial: HRW

July 28, 2011AFP

Two days after a Muslim lynch mob killed members of a minority Islamic sect two churches have been set alight. — AFP Photo

SERANG: An Indonesian court on Thursday sentenced religious fanatics who killed three members of a minority Muslim sect in a frenzied mob attack to between three and six months in jail.

Dani bin Misra, a 17-year-old who smashed a victim’s skull with a stone, received three months for manslaughter.

Idris bin Mahdani, who led the mob of more than 1,000 Muslims in the February attack, was convicted of illegal possession of a machete and received five months and 15 days in jail.

Twelve people stood trial but none faced murder charges in what human rights activists said was a travesty of justice in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country.

The unprovoked violence against the Ahmadiyah sect members in Cikeusik, western Java, was one of the most horrific in a long line of attacks on the minority group in Indonesia in recent years.

A secretly filmed video of the attack brought religious violence in Indonesia under the international spotlight, and provoked condemnation from the United States, Italy and international rights groups.

“When the Cikeusik video went viral, people around the world were shocked and appalled by the savagery of the mob kicking and slashing three men to death,” Human Rights Watch Deputy Director for Asia Phil Robertson said.

“But instead of charging the defendants with murder and other serious crimes, prosecutors came up with an almost laughable list of ‘slap-on-the wrist’ charges.

“The Cikeusik trial sends the chilling message that attacks on minorities like the Ahmadiyah will be treated lightly by the legal system. This is a sad day for justice in Indonesia.”

©2010 DAWN Media Group. All rights reserved
URL: www.dawn.com/2011/07/28/indonesia-sends...hrw.html

Survivors Recount Violence in Cikeusik

INDONESIA

Survivors Recount Violence in Cikeusik

Ulma Haryanto | May 16, 2011

The house in Cikeusik, Banten, where a mob attacked an Ahmadiyah community in February. Three Ahmadiyah members were killed in the attack. (Antara Photo)

Ahmad Masihuddin, Irwan and Bebi are the lucky ones.

Ahmad recalls the moment when a man attempted to mutilate his genitals, while Irwan has developed an intense fear of water. Bebi cannot speak, due to a dislocated jaw, and must eat through a straw.

Despite the fear of reprisals, two of these three men — Ahmad and Irwan — met with the Jakarta Globe over the weekend to recount their memories of the bloody attack against a small group of Amhadiyah sect members in the village of Cikeusik, Banten, on Feb. 6.

On that day, three Ahmadis — Roni Pasaroni, Warsono and Tubagus Chandra — were killed by a 1,500-strong mob. Much of the violence was captured on video, and footage of Ahmadi men stripped of their clothes and being brutally beaten with stones and bamboo sticks can be seen on YouTube.

Twelve men are facing charges in relation to the attack. If found guilty their maximum sentences could range from 12 years in jail to the death penalty.

But Irwan and Ahmad say that even the harshest of punishments for those 12 men will not blot out the acts of cruelty they witnessed and endured on that day. Nor will guilty verdicts dampen the attendant rage and frustration they feel at a police force that is widely seen as having stood by and allowing the violence to unfold.

“Police pronounced me dead when my muddy, naked body was thrown into a police truck,” Ahmad said. “If I did not use the martial arts knowledge I learned through the years, I’d be among the dead.”

The police had collected Ahmad’s battered body after he had been dragged through the dirt by a group of enraged attackers. “Along the way, people slashed me with machetes, and threw rocks and bamboo poles at me. I lost consciousness. I believed I had died.”

Unguarded

Irwan, Roni and Warsono had left for Cikeusik from Jakarta on the night of Feb. 5. Irwan told the Globe that they had traveled to Cikeusik to provide security for a demonstration that the village’s Ahmadiyah community was planning on staging the next day.

“I was at our regular Koran recital meeting in Petojo [Central Jakarta]. Roni came to me and asked if I wanted to come along with him to Cikeusik,” Irwan said. “I asked him what for. He told me to guard a demonstration.”

They arrived around 10 p.m. on Saturday night, and were met by Deden Sujana, head of security for the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI). The next day, Deden would almost lose his right arm to a machete attack, and police would later name him as a suspect for triggering the violence.

Ahmad, who lives in Kalideres, West Jakarta, had likewise gone to Cikeusik to provide security for the demonstration.

“Eki, a colleague of mine at JAI, was on holiday and asked me to replace him to guard an Ahmadi home in Cikeusik. Without thinking it over, I agreed,” he said.

“I was in the same car as [Tubagus] Chandra and Diaz [Ferdiaz Muhammad, an Ahmadi who survived the incident]. Chandra was driving, we arrived at Serang at 3 a.m. and picked up five more Ahmadis.”

Ahmad had prior experience protecting sect members. In 2008 he had guarded an Ahmadi school in Parung, Bogor, that had come under attack, and he had been on hand with the now-deceased Tubagus when one of the sect’s orphanages in Tasikmalaya, West Java, was sealed by local authorities last December.

Ahmad worked in the administrations division at JAI, while Tubagus worked for the security division with Deden. Ahmad, however, was well trained in self-defense. He had earned a black belt in Taekwondo at the age of 15, and was instructing others in Muay Thai at 18.

As Ahmad and his friends pulled into Cikeusik, he was relieved to see some dozens of police officers standing watch over both ends of the road where the house of local Ahmadiyah cleric Ismail Suparman was located. “I texted my parents so that they didn’t have to worry. The police were here,” Ahmad said.

“Suddenly, the wife of the Cikeusik village head, Inayah, ran toward us screaming. She told all of us to leave immediately, because it seemed thousands of people were marching to Cikeusik to slaughter us. Deden told her, ‘Don’t worry. We have Pak Hasan [Cikeusik Police chief of general crimes unit] here.’ ”

However, video footage posted on YouTube clearly showed the police running away when the mob attacked.

Tired from their late-night journey, Ahmad said he and his friends laid down to rest. They awoke around 10:30 a.m., he said, to loud chants of “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) and “Ahmadiyah infidels” mixed in with the sound of stones hitting the house.

To Ahmad’s ears, it sounded as if thousands of people were outside Ismail’s home. It was then, Ahmad said, that Deden rushed outside, and attempted to hit a man in a black jacket who seemed to be leading the mob.

“This man was Idris Mahdani,” Ahmad said. “He is from Banyu Mundu village [40 kilometers away from Cikeusik]. After he was hit by Deden, he retreated several steps back before taking out his machete and waved it in the air as the villagers pelted the Ahmadis with rocks.”

Vicious Beatings

Following Deden’s lead, Ahmad said he went outside and starting throwing stones back at the mob, but realizing that they were vastly outnumbered, he and some of the other sect members tried to escape out the back door of Ismail’s house. “We ended up stuck in knee-high mud at the paddy fields. We could not run. The drive to Cikeusik was taxing and we were exhausted,” he said.

The group of Ahmadis parted then, he said. Some sought cover in a patch of jungle while others headed to a nearby river.

Irwan and Ahmad fled to the river. Irwan slipped and fell in. Ahmad stumbled and was caught by the mob.

“I had with me about Rp 2 million ($235) for food and accommodation, and my BlackBerry. The mob greedily took it. But they still did not spare me.”

It was then that he saw Roni trying to go to the defense of their friend Bebi, who was on the ground being kicked by members of the mob. Someone would drop a heavy stone on Bebi’s face, but he would survive, largely because of Roni’s help.

Roni, who declined to talk to the Globe, would suffer a dislocated jaw in the attack.

In the meantime, Ahmad was fighting for his own life.

“I saw Irwan slip and fall into the river. I had 10 men on top of me trying to hit me with sticks and stones and they stabbed me with their machetes,” he said.

Ahmad said he was dragged 500 meters back to Ismail’s house, and viciously beaten the whole way. He said he saw Roni being stabbed with a bamboo spear.

“They stripped me,” Ahmad said. “They were about to cut my genitals. I shoved the man and shouted ‘You guys have to have limits!’ Another man hit me on the side but the impact also knocked away the guy who tried to mutilate my genitals.”

Ahmad said that he tried to retain his focus and stay calm during the beating, protecting his head and neck in particular to avoid being fatally wounded by the mob.

“I turned on my side and let it take the beatings. I did not want to give them my neck.” He said that he still felt a numbness in his neck from the injuries he sustained during the prolonged beating. “Part of my body went to sleep, as if struck by a stroke.”

At some point, Ahmad said, he lost consciousness.

“The police thought I was dead; they threw me into the car just like that. But I gained consciousness and started to ask for water. I was extremely dehydrated,” he said.

While Ahmad was struggling to survive the mob’s anger, Irwan was struggling to stay afloat in the river while also dodging a hail of rocks being thrown at him.

“I could barely swim,” Irwan said. “I was dragged by the current as I tried to stay afloat. In the meantime the mob was still trying to hit me with rocks,” he said.

At one point, he went under, and lost track of the time. He said he had no idea how long he was submerged, but remembered being pulled from the river.

“At one point it was all dark. But then I heard a voice calling me. It was Yadi, another Ahmadi” Irwan said. Yadi had swum against the current to rescue Irwan, dragging him to the shore.

Shirt for a Bandage

For Ahmad, the trip from Cikeusik to Malingping hospital, 10 kilometers away, took one and a half hours. He said the police gave him a shirt with which to stem the bleeding from a gash on his head.

“I met Deden in the hospital, he was holding his right hand, I saw Bebi vomiting blood, Ferdiaz put me on his lap and started giving me water, he was also injured,” he said.

Deden was taken to Pertamina hospital in Jakarta. The other men were transferred to Serang hospital, six hours away. In Serang, their fresh stitches had to be removed because they crusted with dirt.

Although Irwan did not sustain any serious injuries, he said he was now terrified of water, and had trouble recounting the details of the attack.

“I am undergoing counseling for my trauma. My therapist said that I had to think of water as my savior. If the river current didn’t carry me away, I might be one of the casualties,” he said.

Ahmad, however, said he was consumed with rage whenever he saw police officers or fundamentalist Muslims in white robes.

“Once I wanted to go to Senen, I passed the National Monument and at that time there was a demonstration on Libya and Ahmadiyah. All of a sudden I started shouting to the driver, ‘Just hit them! Hit them! Why should they make a fuss over another country when their own is still in a mess,’?” he said.

Ahmad also said he suffered from vertigo and severe headaches after the beating, and had just recently recovered the ability to speak.

“Previously, I found it almost impossible to talk,” he said.

“Once I was in Citraland [West Jakarta mall] and saw a police officer. I went to him and screamed at him, ‘What are you doing here? You’re doing nothing! Just like in Cikeusik! Officers only watch and do nothing!’ ”

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/indonesia/survivors-.../441269

Exclusive: Secret Report Reveals How BIN Misread Threat to Ahmadiyah

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Exclusive: Secret Report Reveals How BIN Misread Threat to Ahmadiyah

Nivell Rayda | April 30, 2011

Defendants on trial for the gruesome slaying of three Ahmadiyah followers await there trial at a Banten courthouse on Tuesday. A document obtained by the Jakarta Globe reveals that the State Intelligence Agency totally misread the threat facing Ahmadiyah.

When the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front attacked demonstrators rallying in support of the embattled Ahmadiyah sect on June 1, 2008, many believed that fundamentalists would go to any length until they succeeded in ridding Indonesia of the minority Islamic group.

Many more had predicted that the issuance of a joint ministerial decree (SKB) — which bans Ahmadis from practicing their faith in public and proselytizing — a week after the rally would not be enough to halt intimidation and discrimination against members of the sect.

A secret document obtained by the Jakarta Globe, however, suggests there was one institution that believed otherwise: the State Intelligence Agency (BIN).

‘Unfounded Concerns’

A month after the June 2008 attack on the rally at the National Monument (Monas), BIN prepared a 180-page assessment on the expected implications of the decree. In the document, BIN claimed it had found no indications that persecution, torture or intimidation of the sect’s members would continue.

“Concerns that there would be an escalation of violence following the enactment of the SKB, prove to be unfounded,” according to the preface of this document, written by Bambang Karsono, a BIN expert on social and cultural affairs. “In fact, members of Ahmadiyah, who have become … targets of attacks, have so far been passive in response to the enactment.

“The reaction [to the SKB] from the opponents of Ahmadiyah appears to be modest. Although they still demand the complete disbandment of Ahmadiyah, apparently they feel that the banning of its [Ahmadiyah’s] activities is enough,” the document continues.

The same document, however, acknowledges the presence of hard-line groups that, according to BIN’s assessment, “have the potential to use violence to deal with Ahmadiyah.”

It then went on to identify the groups that might cause trouble: the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), the Islamic People’s Forum (FUI), the Indonesian Committee for Solidarity with the Islamic World (Kisdi), Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, Ittihadul Muballighin, the Indonesian Islamic Propagation Council (DDII) and the Islamic Union (Persis).

But BIN had focused its attention mainly on the expected reactions within Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, the country’s largest Islamic organizations, which have always chosen peaceful methods in voicing objections against the Ahmadiyah.

Mufti Makaarim, executive director of the Institute for Defense, Security and Peace Studies, said he had no doubts whatsoever the documents obtained by the Globe were authentic.

“This is not a top-secret operations document. This is more of an academic analysis that BIN obtained. Still, it is not meant for public scrutiny,” Mufti told the Globe, adding that the structure and format is consistent with other documents produced by the intelligence agency.

“BIN’s suggestions on the implications of the SKB on Ahmadiyah are deeply flawed, because none of its predictions came true. The data is quite comprehensive so I assume the problem lies with the analysis,” Mufti added.

Hard-Liners Underestimated

As events since the Monas rally have proven, attacks and persecution against Ahmadiyah communities nationwide grew at the hands of hard-line groups like the FPI, the FUI and the HTI.

Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said that Ahmadiyah communities in Indonesia have paid the price for BIN’s flawed analysis.

“The document suggests that BIN naively underestimated the Islamist militant groups [in its analytical report]. Attacks on Ahmadiyah have steadily increased following the 2008 decree,” she told the Globe.

Last year, an entire Ahmadiyah village in Bogor was ransacked. On Feb. 26, three Ahmadis were brutally murdered in the subdistrict of Cikeusik in Banten, by a lynch mob of some 1,500 people.

Ahmadis have not even found refuge in death. Last month, the grave of a recently deceased Ahmadi was dug up by a mob, and his body removed from a Bandung cemetery.

Instead of protecting the beleaguered community, the government has put the blame on Ahmadiyah, with Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali saying the sect should be disbanded.

A crucial tenet in Islam is that Muhammad was the final prophet. But mainstream Muslim organizations accuse Ahmadiyah of considering its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908), to be a prophet as well.

Sect members have faced intense discrimination as a consequence. Ahmadis in West Nusa Tenggara live in abject poverty, shunned by mainstream Muslim communities. Ahmadiyah members say that in some areas the government refused to issue marriage certificates or renew their identification cards.

Limits to the Rule of Law

In its 2008 report, “Indonesia: Implications of the Ahmadiyah Decree,” the Brussels-based International Crisis Group predicted the SKB would increase the likelihood of religious vigilantism.

“The decree satisfied no one except a few members of the parliament,” ICG said.

“Hard-liners felt it did not go far enough and, scenting victory, pressed for more.”

BIN in its analysis assumed that mainstream Muslim groups would take any Ahmadiyah violations of the decree to the courts of law. But the intelligence agency underestimated the violent nature of hard-line groups.

FPI figures responsible for the June 2008 attack were later sent to prison for a year, a punishment many saw as too lenient in relation to the damage they had done to the nation’s image of religious tolerance and freedom.

Persecution against Ahmadiyah members occurred time and again because of police inaction, the Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy has said.

The Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) recorded more than 150 cases of attacks and intimidation after the SKB was enacted. Perpetrators were brought to trial in just two cases. Those found guilty would be sentenced to less than a year in prison, while the actual masterminds behind the attack would often not even be prosecuted.

Perceptions and Promises

A 2010 study by the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) showed that 30.2 percent of 1,000 respondents supported acts of violence against the sect.

While making no connection to the issuance of the decree, LSI researcher Adrian Sopa said that this was a sharp increase to a similar survey in 2005 that showed only 13.9 percent of respondents backed such moves. The 2005 survey was conducted after the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) reaffirmed Ahmadiyah’s blasphemous status.

The MUI had declared Ahmadiyah deviant in 1980, but acts of violence against the sect were suppressed under former President Suharto’s iron-fisted rule. However, as soon as the regime was toppled, some Muslim groups brought up the issue again.

After former President Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid — who many deemed a champion of religious tolerance — stepped down in 2001, the call intensified and a string of violence against Ahmadiyah was set in motion.

The government also made empty pledges about the protection of Ahmadiyah’s right to practice its beliefs.

On Feb. 27, 2006, then Religious Affairs Minister Maftuh Basyuni said that if Ahmadiyah would call its founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad a mere reformer and not a prophet of Islam “then all problems would be solved.”

On Jan. 14, 2008, then JAI chairman Abdul Basit issued a document titled “Twelve Commitments of Ahmadiyah” which stated that the Ahmadiyah community believes Muhammad to be the final prophet of Islam.

But despite JAI’s wish to be welcomed into the mainstream Muslim community, the ministry continued to push for the dissolution of Ahmadiyah or have it declared a separate religion, thus banning Ahmadiyah from using Islamic attributes like the Koran.

So far, the government has stopped short of disbanding Ahmadiyah altogether. The BIN document argues that Ahmadiyah met all of the formal requirements to legally exist.

‘International Embarrassment’

The BIN dossier also suggests the agency was concerned about Ahmadis members seeking asylum abroad, on the grounds of persecution. “This would be an international embarrassment. There is a need for diplomatic talks with countries presumed to be the destination of asylum seekers,” the document says.

“It’s disturbing that BIN seems more worried about the potential for embarrassment if Ahmadis seek refuge abroad than about their being beaten to death by other Indonesians,” HRW’s Pearson said.

Firdaus Mubarik, JAI spokesman, said BIN’s underestimating the anti-Ahmadiyah movement was to have dire consequences.

“They forgot about the potential for violence, which led to terror and murder.”

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/indonesia/exclusive.../438263

Explosion hits office of liberal Indonesian Islamic group

Explosion hits office of liberal Indonesian Islamic group

JAKARTA | Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:12pm IST

(Reuters) — A small explosion on Tuesday hit the Jakarta office of the Liberal Islamic Network, an Indonesian group that has defended the rights of minority Islamic sect Ahmadi, a witness said.

The explosion, which injured three people, comes a month after a mob beat to death three followers of the Ahmadi sect, considered heretical by mainstream Muslims.

Indonesia has won praise for largely defeating Islamic terror, but a recent spike in religious intolerance could heighten risk concerns for foreign investors counting on improved stability in Southeast Asia’s largest economy and the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

Ade Wahyudi, a manager at KBR68H radio that shares the office with the pluralist Liberal Islamic Network, said the office had called police to open a package that contained a book with wires sticking out of it. The police officer who opened the package was among the injured.

“I was on a different room, upstairs, and heard a bang, like thunder,” Wahyudi told Reuters by telephone.

Indonesian authorities have said they are investigating last month’s brutal mob killing, but human rights activists say authorities have not taken a strong stance against attacks on Ahmadis in the past.

Rights activists and several parliamentarians said on Tuesday that military personnel in western Java island recently summoned Ahmadi leaders to identify Ahmadi followers in their area and asked them to return to mainstream Islam.

“This goes to show a strengthening movement in government institutions trying to persecute Ahmadis. This is a worrying turn,” said Haris Azhar of local rights group Kontras.

Military leaders denied the allegations of attempts at forced conversions.

Eva Kusuma Sundari, a member of the parliamentary legal commission from opposition party PDI-P, said the government should clarify the “disturbing” reports.

“It’s deeply concerning. It reminds us of the past when the military was meddling into local politics and public order,” she told Reuters by telephone.

(Reporting by Olivia Rondonuwu; Editing by Neil Chatterjee)

URL: http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/03/15/idINIndia-55597120110315

Fauzi Bowo U-Turn: No Ahmadiyah Ban

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Fauzi Bowo U-Turn: No Ahmadiyah Ban

Dofa Fasila | March 08, 2011

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo says a city ban on Ahmadiyah is now unlikely. (JG Photo)

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo on Monday backed away from comments in which he suggested his administration was considering following the lead of West and East Java in imposing restrictions on the minority Ahmadiyah sect.

Fauzi, who drew widespread criticism from Jakarta Globe Web site and Facebook followers for suggesting the capital could implement similar regulations, said the administration would not place bans on Ahmadiyah.

He said he would follow the instructions issued by Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs.

“His instructions were clear,” Fauzi said. “There should not be a gubernatorial decree or any kind of regulation issued in this country that is in violation of the Constitution.”

Initially, Fauzi said the administration would first analyze and review the controversial regulations issued in the Indonesian provinces.

“In any case, everything that is needed in order to ensure security, order and harmony in the lives of Jakartans is already listed in the [2008] joint ministerial decree,” Fauzi said.

The 2008 joint ministerial decree prohibits Ahmadiyah from proselytizing, though critics say the legislation encourages attacks on the sect.

There are widespread concerns Indonesia is becoming less tolerant toward minority faiths.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/fauzi...ban/427263

Jakarta will not outlaw Ahmadiyah: Governor

HEADLINES Tue, 03/08/2011 11:39 AM

Jakarta will not outlaw Ahmadiyah: Governor

Andreas D. Arditya and Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As more regional governments stepped up their campaigns against the Ahmadiyah sect, Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo backtracked from his declaration about banning members of the sect from publicly practicing their faith, saying that no new action would be taken against the group.

“The Jakarta administration has decided that religious issues are regulated under the joint ministerial decree. The city government is only responsible for maintaining security and order, not handling religious issues,” Fauzi said.

A joint ministerial decree issued by the government in 2008 banned members of the Ahmadiyah Indonesia Congregation (JAI) from propagating their religious beliefs, but allowed them to maintain their faith and perform their daily religious duties.

The Governor said the administration decided to drop its plan to issue a bylaw against Ahmadiyah following a statement by Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto late on Sunday warning of the illegality of such bylaws.

“Local government can’t issue ordinances that go against these articles. The message is clear, there should be no bylaws or gubernatorial decrees that contradict the state’s Constitution,” Fauzi said.

Djoko said local ordinances on the issue should be consistent with Article 28 and 29 of the 1945 Constitution and the joint ministerial decree.

Article 29, section 2, stipulates state guarantees for the freedom of faith and worship.

Djoko also said the government could not ban a belief. “One way or another, we can’t stop or outlaw a religious belief,” he said.

An official from the Attorney General’s Office also said Ahmadiyah could not be disbanded.

The Junior Attorney General for Intelligence, Edwin Pamimpin Situmorang, meanwhile, said the Coordinating Board for the Monitoring of Mystical Beliefs in Society (Bakor Pakem), chaired by the Attorney General, was no longer authorized to outlaw a religious belief.

“Bakor Pakem only evaluates reports from the public regarding certain beliefs and submits its analysis to the Religious Affairs Ministry,” he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

However, Ahmadis could be prosecuted under the 1965 Blasphemy Law if they cause unrest in the society,” Edwin said.

On Monday Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi said there should be no problems with the local governments issuing bans and they would not contradict the joint ministerial decree.

“The joint ministerial decree mandates that local governments to issue regulations consistent with the decree, but in principle these local governments could not disband Ahmadiyah,” Gamawan said.

There were 188 mystical beliefs and religious sects in Indonesia as of 2010, according to AGO records.

Calls from hard-line Muslim groups to ban Ahmadiyah have mounted in recent weeks following a deadly attack against Ahmadis in Cikeusik, Pandeglang, Banten.

Local administrations in East and West Java and South Sulawesi have issued bans against the sect members practicing their faith. The Pontianak city administration in West Kalimantan said on Monday that it would issue a similar ban later in the week.

The Tegal chapter of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) in Central Java Khumaidi said as quoted by Antara that it supported the government and regional administrations banning Ahmadiyah followers from propagating their belief.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/08/jakarta...governor.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

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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