MUI fatwa feeds flames of clerics’ hate speech

SPECIAL REPORT Mon, 01/17/2011 10:10 AM

MUI fatwa feeds flames of clerics’ hate speech

The Jakarta Post

The animosity faced by followers of Ahmadiyah in Ketapang hamlet in West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, peaked on Oct. 19, 2005, a few months after the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued a second fatwa against the nation’s most persecuted religious minority.

Local resident Zulkhair Mujib vividly recalls the day.

He said local firebrand cleric Izzi Muslim, speaking at a mosque through a loudspeaker, called for the expulsion of the 130 Ahmadis in the hamlet.

“Ahmadiyah is a deviant and deviating faith. I tell you, if the residents of Ketapang don’t banish the Ahmadis, I will ask people in Central Lombok to do so,” Zulkhair quoted Izzi as preaching.

“If the people in Ketapang do not join us in attacking the Ahmadis, I will burn their houses,” Izzi continued.

The hate speech led to the first attack on Ahmadis in Ketapang, but failed to drive them out of the village.

Zulkhair said people became angry because of the failure, with Izzi strengthening his vow to continue efforts to expel the Ahmadis.

On Feb. 4, 2006, locals made another attempt to drive the Ahmadis out. This time, they succeeded.

Dozens of Ahmadi families now have no other option than to live in a refugee camp in Mataram, probably for the rest of their lives.

The MUI has repeatedly brushed off allegations that its irresponsible and controversial fatwa triggered the attacks on the Ahmadiyah followers.

Analysts said several clerics were actively spreading hate speech, using the MUI fatwa as a platform to vilify Ahmadiyah.

On July 28, 2005, at its seventh national congress in Jakarta, the MUI reiterated a 1980 fatwa that said Ahmadiyah strayed from Koranic teaching and ordered the government to outlaw the group.

The point of contention between the MUI and the Ahmadis, the MUI claims, centered around the refusal of Ahmadis to acknowledge Muhammad as the last prophet of Islam.

The MUI said the debacle would end if Ahmadis formed their own religion by ridding themselves of all pretensions to Islam.

“The government is obliged to ban the spread of Ahmadiyah across Indonesia, disband the organization and outlaw its activities,” the fatwa signed by then MUI chairman Umar Shihab and secretary Din Syamsuddin (now chairman of Muhammadiyah, the nation’s second-largest Muslim organization after the Nahdlatul Ulama), read.

Muhammadiyah is widely seen as the voice of moderate Islam.

The MUI fatwa was issued at a time of growing pressure from hard-line Muslim groups who wanted the MUI — which consists of representatives from major mainstream Muslim groups in the country — to take a firmer stance on the issue.

Zukhair said that only weeks after the MUI edict was issued, religious congregations in West Lombok were becoming increasingly critical of Ahmadiyah, fomenting hatred against the Ahmadis among the general public.

Izzi confirmed he had made harsh speeches about the Ahmadis, but said he was only citing the MUI fatwa in his rhetoric. He said he was convinced Ahmadis were heretical and had no place in Indonesia.

“The people cannot accept Ahmadiyah. We can accept Hindus and Christians because they do not blaspheme against Islam,” he said.

“If you ask me whether Islam condones violence toward the Ahmadis, let me ask you this: Are others allowed to commit blasphemy against Islam?”

A report issued by the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) in 2006 indicated systematic efforts to spread anti-Ahmadiyah sentiment.

The report said religious justifications, such as the fatwa, were used as a pretext to persecute Ahmadiyah.

Subki Sasaki, a Muslim cleric from Central Lombok, said hatred among locals could be prevented if clerics distanced themselves from the language of hate.

He said locals could coexist despite religious differences, citing the existence of Islam Sasak or Wetu Telu followers, whose faith also differs from mainstream Islam.

“People are susceptible to indoctrination by religious leaders. When the fatwa was issued, religious leaders conveyed the fatwa to a subservient public. So when people are incited to attack, they will.”

— Additional reporting by Panca Nugrah
— JP/Arghea Desafti Hapsari

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/01/17/mui...speech.html

Indonesian Team to Move Out Ahmadiyah of Lombok

NEWS

Indonesian Team to Move Out Ahmadiyah of Lombok

Fitri | December 01, 2010

Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara. Authorities in West Lombok district have formed a special team to supervise and relocate members of the Ahmadiyah sect, an official said on Wednesday.

M.S. Udin, an assistant to the district chief, said officials meeting on Tuesday evening agreed to set up a nine-man team to deal with the minority Islamic group, whose members were forced out of Gegerung village in Lingsar subdistrict by mainstream Muslims opposed to their beliefs.

Udin said the team would oversee the sale of Ahmadiyah property and make sure the sect members received compensation.

The team will also begin the process of moving Ahmadiyah families. It is currently looking at a proposal to move them to the coastal Sekotong subdistrict.

He said the Ahmadis would also be required to report to officials whenever they returned to the village to work their fields.

“It would be impossible to restrict them from making a living by working their own land. Many of them still own land in [Gegerung’s] Ketapang hamlet,” he said.

“But to be safe, they should report to the [security] coordination post that they are returning to Ketapang — not to live [there], but to work their fields.”

“These Ahmadis are still convinced they will be able to return to Ketapang and that there will be no problem,” Udin added. “But if residents heard they were back, there would be new problems, destruction of property and more.”

Tuesday’s meeting of officials was held in Mataram, the capital of West Nusa Tenggara, and was attended by Ahmadiyah leaders, security officials, prosecutors and district heads.

In addition to Udin, the nine-man team will include representatives of the National Land Agency (BPN), the district secretary, head of the district’s assets unit, the Lingsar subdistrict chief, the Gegerung village head and security officials.

Zaini Arony, the head of West Lombok district, will meet with the Ahmadis — who have been living in temporary shelters since being chased from their village — to discuss the relocation plan.

Zauji, the head of the Ahmadiyah’s provincial chapter who attended Tuesday’s meeting, said the group’s members wanted “legal clarity” on the issue of the destruction of their homes and assurances that they would be protected from further violence and intimidation.

“Whatever the decision, it will have nothing to do with the organization. [Officials] will have to deal with the Ahmadiyah members directly,” he said. “We will leave it to them to decide.”

Zulhair, an Ahmadi who has lived in a hajj transit building in Mataram since 2006, said he wanted to go home. “If I could, I want to return to my house in Ketapang. That is my personal wish.”

He said it was difficult for Ahmadis to trust an administration that had repeatedly failed to protect them from attacks.

Many mainstream Muslims view Ahmadiyah as a deviant sect because they believe its members recognize the sect’s founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, as the last prophet.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe

URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/indonesian-team-to...lombok/409582

Ahmadiyah children denied right to free education

HEADLINES Sat, 08/07/2010 12:10 PM

Ahmadiyah children denied right to free education

Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, Mataram

Sixth grader Muhyidin Sayid Ahmad returned home from school wearing a sad face. His school had just denied him the right to free education that has been provided by the West Nusa Tenggara provincial administration for poor students for the past two years.

Muhyidin is one of 40 children of Islamic sect Ahmadiyah who have been living in Wisma Transito in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, for the past four years, since they were driven out of their homes by an angry mob in Ketapang hamlet, Lingsar district, in West Lombok regency.

Apsotates?: Children of Jamaah Ahmadiyah members pose at a refugee shelter in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara. The children, who have been persecuted by local Muslims and the authorities, have also been denied their right to a free education. JP/Panca Nugraha

Of the 40 children, 20 are in primary school, seven in high school and the rest are of preschool age. The boy’s father, Syahidin, said his son’s poor friends were getting cash assistance from the program — called the Assistance for Poor Students [BSM] — from his school, the nearby SDN 42 elementary school.

“But my son did not get the assistance despite the fact we’re so poor,” Syahidin told The Jakarta Post. Children of other Ahmadiyah refugees suffered the same gloomy fate.

“There are 40 children here. None of them received assistance for poor students,” said 45-year-old Syahidin, who is the refugee coordinator at the shelter.

Under the program, which disburses cash every three months, each needy elementary school student is entitled to receive Rp 15,000 [US$1.68] a month. Junior high school students get Rp 50,000 and high school students get Rp 75,000.

The provincial administration has provided more than Rp 124 billion annually through the BSM program since 2009.

However, the children of Ahmadiyah members have not been included in the program.

Syahidin said that as refugees, the sect’s members had been living with a social unclear status over the past year.

On the other hand, they have to survive, including to provide their children’s school needs, such as for transportation, books and uniform.

Each year, he said, the condition of refugees worsened.

The province’s Social Affairs Office stopped providing assistance to them in mid 2008 on the grounds that the assistance was allocated for only two years.

The provision of rice and cash for dishes also stopped and the refugees now have to fend for themselves. Many of the refugees, mostly farmers, ended up doing odd jobs, such as working as construction workers.

Over the past six months, they have been living in the shelter without electricity because they can not afford to pay the bills.

“We have tried everything to be able to return home to Ketapang but to no avail. We can only resign ourselves to our fate and hope for justice from God,” Syahidin said.

None of the refugees hold valid identity cards — which are required to be eligible for government assistance for the poor.

“Our Ketapang identity cards have expired. It is impossible for us to apply for ID cards here since we have been rejected everywhere,” Syahidin said.

“Without this card, we can’t apply to get free healthcare or education programs.”

The province’s Education Youth and Sports Office secretary M. Imhal said the BSM assistance aimed to reach every poor student.

However, he said, the program’s recipients were listed by school authorities, not his office.

“We get the data from schools. If the refugees’ children did not get the aid, they were probably not listed by their schools.”

The province’s Ahmadiyah advisor, Nasiruddin, said the refugees had been aided by overseas relief groups, human rights observers and foreign embassies, not their own government.

“Why does the international community care about us, while our own government thinks we don’t exist?” Nasiruddin said.

“The government should not shut their eyes and ears,” he said. “If they don’t wish to take any notice of us, that’s fine. But please take notice of the condition of our children.”

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/08/07/ahmadi...free-education.html

Displaced Ahmadis losing hope for normal life

---The Jakarta Post, Indonesia

Headlines Thu, 01/07/2010 8:50 AM

Displaced Ahmadis losing hope for normal life

Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, Mataram

After four years of living in limbo at the Wisma Transito shelter in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), dozens of families from Jamaah Ahmadiyah say they are losing hope of a return to normal life and freedom from refugee status.

“I hope to be able to return to my place of origin, but I feel it’s becoming more difficult now. After living as a refuge for almost four years, we are even regarded as non-existent,” Ahmadiyah refugee Zuhaer Majid, 44, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

A group of housewives were in a makeshift kitchen when the Post visited the camp. Some toddlers played on the verandah, while others ate lunch. One plate of fried rice was shared between four.

“The price of rice has surged to Rp 7,500 [75 US cents] a kilogram. We have to be frugal. The important thing is to feed our children,” said a 28-year old mother of two, Nuraini.

Nuraini’s husband Zuhri, 34, helps out at a food stall and earns Rp 15,000 per day. The couple must make sure this is enough for food and pocket money for their eldest child who is in fourth grade.

The local social welfare office stopped providing the refugees with assistance (in the form of rice and side dishes) in the mid 2008, and the group has had to struggle to make ends meet ever since.

The other 33 refugee families, comprising at least 126 people staying at the Wisma Transito shelter camp.

The Ahmadiyah refugees also stopped receiving rice from the rice-for-the-poor program. Tapped water is restricted at the shelter. Power supplies were cut six months ago because of the group’s outstanding electricity bills.

The dozens of elementary students learning there have had to study only during daylight hours because of the lack of lighting at night, except for candles and kerosene lamps.

On Feb. 4, 2009, the group will have been enduring at the shelter camp for exactly four years since being forced by a Muslim mob from their homes in Ketapang hamlet, West Lombok, in early 2006.

The Ahmadiyah refugees live in three 20-by-8-meter barracks at the shelter. The rooms for each family, measuring 2.5-by-3 meters each, are only divided by cloth, used banners and sarongs tied up with plastic string.

The NTB provincial administration stopped providing relief aid to the refugees since the middle of 2008, but has also not given them permission to return to their village.

The refugees have taken up odd jobs, working, for example, as builders or vendors to meet their basic needs.

According to refugee coordinator Syahidin, four people have died at the shelter since they moved there, and 11 babies have been born.

Various efforts have been made to resolve the issue. In their latest effort, the Ahmadis appealed to the Mataram mayor for permission to live within the city, but he has not responded yet.

“We have abided by the joint-ministerial decree banning Ahmadiyah activities, expressed the syahadat confession of faith in public proving we are also Muslim, but why is our status still unclear?” Syahidin said.

In March 2009, 17 Ahmadiyah families took the initiative to return to their village, but shelved the plan because the NTB provincial administration and West Lombok regency administrations promised to compensate them for their properties in Ketapang, so that they would not return, but move elsewhere.

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/01....e-normal-life.html

Let us out of this shelter, Ahmadis plead

--- The Jakarta Post, Indonesia

Headlines Thu, 08/06/2009 1:11 PM

Let us out of this shelter, Ahmadis plead

Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, Mataram

Around 140 members of the Jamaah Ahmadiyah sect asked the Mataram municipal administration Wednesday for permission to leave their shelter at the Transito Guest House, where they have been living for the last three-and-a-half years.

Representatives of the minority Islamic sect, branded deviant by mainstream Muslim groups, met with staff from the Mataram mayor’s office to make their request.

“We asked for permission from the administration to allow us live wherever we may in the city, even along riverbanks or in slums,” Syahidin, coordinator of the refugees, said after the 30-minute meeting.

“We’re tired of living at the shelter.”

He added the Ahmadis had made the plea because local authorities had never responded to an earlier request to be allowed to return to their home hamlet of Ketapang, in Gegerung village, West Lombok.

“We’ve been waiting for an answer for four months,” Syahidin said.

“Neither the provincial nor municipal administrations deigned to respond to our request.” The Ahmadis were driven from their homes in February 2006 by a marauding mob of local Muslim residents. The attackers burned down their homes and mosque.

They were evacuated to the Transito dormitory on Feb. 4 that year, to prevent more attacks.

The government has since stopped providing financial aid and food rations for the Ahmadis, and cut off the electricity to the shelter, claiming it cannot afford the costs.

“Should the government consider us guilty of whatever it is we’re being accused of, we’re ready for the legal process,” Syahidin said.

“We’re ready to go to prison, even without due legal process.

“All we want is to not be abandoned at the refugee camp, waiting in limbo,” he went on. “We’re humans who wish to live normal lives.”

On March 14 this year, the Ahmadis wrote to West Nusa Tenggara Governor Zainul Majdi, seeking permission to return to Ketapang.

But after a meeting with West Lombok administration officials, the refugees were told to delay their return, saying local authorities would buy up their homes and land to get them settled elsewhere. However, the West Nusa Tenggara administration later dropped the plan, citing, as ever, a lack of funds.

The U-turn forced the Ahmadiyah members to stay on at the refugee camp, having been forbidden from returning home to Ketapang or to relocate elsewhere.

On numerous occasions, local authorities have dissuaded them from leaving the camp by saying they would face certain persecution that the authorities had no intention of preventing.

This year’s Islamic fasting month of Ramadhan, expected to start on Aug. 22, will be the fourth for the Ahmadis at the Transito dormitory.

Mataram administration official Husnan Ahmad said Wednesday his office had actually allowed the refugees to return to Ketapang, on the condition they would have to assimilate into the local Muslim community.

“From the very beginning, the mayor has given them permission to return home, but only if they agree to not live ‘exclusively’,” he said.

He added the Ahmadis had not agreed to the terms.

Ahmadiyah members and properties have come under frequent attacks from mainstream Muslims across the country, following two separate decrees from the unctuous Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and the Religious Affairs Ministry branding their teachings “heresy”.

A central Ahmadiyah belief is that the sect’s founder, Mirza Gulam Ahmad, was a prophet after Muhammad.

In July 2005, an estimated 10,000 members of the Indonesian Muslim Solidarity group attacked the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation complex in Bogor, West Java.

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/n...ead.html

Ahmadiyah followers seek exit from shelter

---The Jakarta Post, Indonesia

National Wed, 08/05/2009 3:24 PM

Ahmadiyah followers seek exit from shelter

Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, Mataram

Around 140 members of the Ahmadiyah sect and their families asked the Mataram municipal administration on Wednesday for permission to leave the shelter at the Transito Guest House where they have been living for the last three-and-a-half years.

Representatives of the Islamic sect, which has been deemed defiant by mainstream Muslim groups, met assistants to the Mataram mayor to make their request.

“We ask for a permit from the regional government to live in wherever part of the city, even along the river banks or slum areas. We are tired of living in the shelter,” coordinator of the displaced Ahmadiyah followers, Syahidin, said after a 30-minute meeting.

He said the Ahmadiyah members sought a permit to live in Mataram as the local government had never responded to their request to return to their home village of Gegerung, West Lombok.

“We have been waiting for the answer for four months. Both the provincial and municipal governments have not answered our request,” Syahidin said.

The Ahmadiyah followers were displaced from their village following an attack by hard-line Muslims in February 2006. The attackers burned down their homes and place of worship.

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/new...it-shelter.html

Minorities doubtful of freedom of religion

---The Jakarta Post, Indonesia

Headlines

Thu, 06/25/2009 10:15 AM

Minorities doubtful of freedom of religion

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, JAKARTA

Representatives of minority groups, including religious leaders, affirmed pledges by vice presidential hopefuls during a televised debate to place religions on top of the state, saying it is a must if the country wants to uphold the freedom of religion and avert it from politics.

But, they remained unhappy with the lack of statements from the candidates on how to transform their pledges into actions, and allow all people to conduct their faith free from state interventions.

Chairman of the Communion of Indonesian Churches (PGI) Andreas Yewangoe said the problems regarding freedom of religion were due to frequent intervention from the state.

“And symbol of religions remains dominant in political arena in the country,” he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

He said further discussions on the role of religions and state were still badly needed.

Vice presidential candidates Prabowo Subianto, Boediono and Wiranto debated the role of religions and state as one of topics in the televised debate aired by the SCTV station Tuesday night.

Andreas from PGI said many bylaws in a number of regencies still used religious symbolism, showing the intervention of state.

Executive secretary of interfaith relationships of the Bishop’s Conference of Indonesia (KWI) Benny Susetya said statements from vice presidential candidates on the role of religions and state were still normative.

“It is right the religions should be above the state as the religions teach values of life, but in practice, there are still too many interventions from the state on the religion affairs, meaning political interests remain dominant,” he told the Post.

“The state must be neutral; it should not intervene in the people’s faith. The state only aims to ensure all people are free to practice their faith.”

Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia Deputy Secretary General K.S. Arsana said in general the three candidates spoke in the same tone regarding their commitment to pluralism and interfaith tolerance.

“However, two pairs show a better commitment — Megawati Soekarnoputri-Prabowo and Jusuf Kalla-Wiranto.”

Arsana said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s agreement to pass the ponography bill into law during his governance showed the incumbent lacked commitment toward pluralism.

“The bill was very controversial, and its passing into law was triggered by a certain group for its political interests.”

A follower of the banned Ahmadiyah sect, Saeful, felt the three presidential pairs had beautifully articulated their commitment regarding interfaith tolerance.

“However, I believe they will be very bad in applying it. Personally, I think SBY is a very good man, but considering the political forces behind him now, I am very doubtful he is strong enough to put his ideals regarding tolerance into practice.

“Kalla has clearly shown his lack of support toward pluralism by his support towards the joint-decree on religious affairs.”

Rusli, a member of the Indonesian Tridharma Magistry (Matrisia), part of the Council of Buddhist Communities, shared Saeful's remarks.

“All of the candidates say beautiful things about tolerance on religions, but it is only a lip service to their campaigns.

“I have to say that I am very keen on the statements of Prabowo and Boediono, who said religions should be separated from politics.

“My sentiment is not the same towards Wiranto, who still believes that mixing religion with politics is a good thing.” (hdt)

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/new...m-religion.html

Ahmadiyah refugees kept in misery, seek Jakarta help

---The Jakarta Post, Indonesia

The Archipelago | Tue, 06/09/2009 10:48 AM

Ahmadiyah refugees kept in misery, seek Jakarta help

Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, Mataram

West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) administration has reportedly dropped plans to buy assets of local Jamaah Ahmadiyah followers, forcing them to remain in refugee camps.

The cancellation sees the groups’ plight continue, since they have been forbidden from returning home to the hamlet of Ketapang in Gegerung village, West Lombok, or allowed to move elsewhere.

At least 126 followers of the Islamic minority sect, who were violently evicted by a Muslim mob in 2006, have on numerous occasions been prevented by local authorities from returning home — the authorities citing security reasons.

As a trade-off, in March the provincial administration claimed it was planning to buy the refugees’ assets so they could leave their refugee accommodation at the Transito dormitory in the NTB capital of Mataram, for safe areas outside Ketapang.

However, on Monday NTB’s Ahmadiyah leader, Jauzi Djafar, said both the provincial and regency administrations had told the refugees that they lacked funds and were not interested in buying the land and houses in Ketapang.

Jauzi said information of the cancellation had been received late last month through Tuan Guru Haji Anwar, a special envoy to NTB Governor Zainul Majdi.

“Tuan Guru Anwar delivered the information through a verbal notification, and we recorded it. So far, all our official correspondence has been responded to verbally.”

Jauzi blasted the local government for betraying the Ahmadiyah refugees saying the move to buy their assets was “merely camouflage” to delay the refugees’ return.

The refugees had asked the government to pay Rp 500 million for their combined assets, comprising 20 houses and plots of land, Jauzi said.

Separately, NTB administration spokesman Andy Hadiyanto could not confirm or deny the decision on the purchase of refugees’ assets. “I cannot explain this in detail yet. We have to coordinate with local administrations and the Religious Affairs Office. This issue is still being discussed,” Andy said.

Jauzi further said that the refugees were now pinning their hopes on the central government to provide much-needed help.

They would write to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono concerning the decision against purchasing their assets and to tell him of their wish to return home.

“We don’t want to allow the local administration to report to the central government that this asset issue is still being discussed, but *wish to state* the fact that it seems the local administration has deliberately neglected our fate,” Jauzi said.

The local government had not provided aid to the refugees since January, Ahmadiyah refugee coordinator Syahidin said.

Last month, state electricity firm PT PLN cut power supplies to the Transito dormitory because the refugees could not afford the monthly bill. “How could we pay the electricity bill, when we even have difficulty getting enough food to survive?” Syahidin said.

The Ahmadiyah followers were several times attacked by their Muslim neighbors of different faiths in February 2006, forcing them to flee their homes in Ketapang.

In July 2005, an estimated 10,000 members of the Indonesian Muslim Solidarity group attacked the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation complex in Bogor, West Java.

The Religious Affairs Ministry had issued a circular in 2004, branding Ahmadiyah teachings as “heresy”, based on its belief that its founder, Mirza Gulam Ahmad, was a prophet (after Muhammad).

The attackers claimed Ahmadiyah members had engaged in the practice of teaching local people about their sect.

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/...ta-help.html