W. Java the ‘least tolerant province’

NATIONALTue, 12/20/2011 11:25 PM

W. Java the ‘least tolerant province’

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A survey by human rights watchdog Setara Institute has found that West Java was the least tolerant province in 2011, registering the largest number of religious violence cases.

Throughout 2011, West Java saw 57 incidents involving government-endorsed discriminatory policies, instances in which government officials condoned acts of violence against minority groups, the closure of places of worship and religiously motivated killings.

In the survey, South Sulawesi ranked second place with 45 incidents, followed by East Java and North Sumatra in the third and fourth position with 31 and 24 incidents, respectively.

Banten, which saw the Cikeusik Ahmadiyah lynching in April, and West Nusa Tenggara were both in fifth position with 12 cases each. Bali and West Kalimantan were found to be the most tolerant provinces.

“This high number of violence and discrimination indicates that the government has done little to mitigate religious acrimony. The numbers remain high compared to last year’s,” Setara Institute chairman Hendardi said Monday.

Hendardi attributed the violence to President Susilo Bambang Yu-dhoyono’s lack of leadership.

“The President is even powerless in the face of opposition from Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto, who refuses to obey the Supreme Court’s ruling to reopen GKI Yasmin Church and let its members practice their faith freely,” he said.

The survey also found correlation between religious conflicts and the level of urban spread.

“We found that the more urban an area, the more likely religious conflicts will occur,” Setara Institute deputy chairman Bonar Tigor Naipospos said.

The Setara Institute recorded 244 incidents in which religion was cited as the cause.

The survey also found that government officials owned the biggest share of the blame in allowing religious conflict to happen. A total of 105 incidents were initiated by government officials.

Members of the National Police were responsible for 40 cases, the Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel for 22 cases, regents and mayors 18 violations, governors 10 violations and the Religious Affairs Ministry nine violations.

Setara also cited the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) as non-governmental organizations that registered the highest number of discrimination cases.

Setara researcher Ismail Hasani said religious conflicts peaked between February and March, when locals in Cikeusik attacked members of the Ahmadiyah sect.

“Following the incident, two churches were burned down in the same month, which heightened tension between the majority Muslim and minorities groups for the rest of the year,” he said.

Ismail added that the increasing religious conflict could indicate hypocrisy on the part of the government.

“We recorded that the President made at least 19 public statements encouraging religious harmony. However, change could hardly happen in the coming years because those around the President include people from several political parties who oppose religious freedom,” Ismail told The Jakarta Post.

According to the Setara Institute, the Ahmadiyah suffered the worst type of discrimination in 2011.

It recorded 22 policies, including 15 ordinances, issued by local governments that promoted animosity toward the sect. The policies include the Religious Affairs Ministry’s decision to prohibit Ahmadiyah members from performing the haj pilgrimage to Mecca. (msa)

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

Bleak prospects for Ahmadis

ARCHIPELAGOMon, 12/19/2011 11:50 PM

Bleak prospects for Ahmadis

Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, Mataram

Hopeful eyes: Children pose at an Ahmadiyah shelter in Mataram, Lombok. Members of the religious community have been largely shunned by society, and their future as part of Indonesia’s workforce and as citizens is looking bleak. The 33 families of the community have lived in the shelters since they were evicted from their homes six years ago. JP/Panca Nugraha

The Ahamdiyah community comprises about 140 people and 33 families who have been forced to take shelter in Wisma Transito in Mataram after they were evicted from their homes six years ago.

The outreach program provided by the NTB provincial administration, involving the NTB Agency for Political Affairs and National Unity and a number of clerics, has not been effective, the Ahmadis say, while the West Lombok regency administration has backtracked from its promise to compensate assets they were forced to leave behind in their village.

An early estimation revealed that their assets, comprising 21 houses and land, were valued at Rp 1.4 billion (US$155,000).

“The outreach program, they said, would last for six months from June until December was in fact carried out for only two months. It began early on in the month of Ramadhan and ended just after Idul Fitri,” Nasiruddin, one of the Ahmadis, said recently when interviewed at Wisma Transito.

He is a respected member of the Ahmadiyah community, often playing the role of advisor.

Nasiruddin accused the government of not being serious about resolving their problem.

The condition of the Ahmadiyah refugees in Wisma Transito, which is located around 2 kilometers from the NTB gubernatorial office, has not improved. The community still lives in makeshift quarters made of cloth and used banners.

Two infants were in the community in November, bringing the total number of babies born in the community since they were evicted to 18.

“I gave birth at Mataram General Hospital for free, thanks to the Delivery Assurance program, but we faced difficulties in applying for the Jamkesmas and Jamkesmasda health insurance because we don’t have identity cards,” said Maemunah, 25.

She was carrying her baby, Noval Syaif Irfan, who was born on Nov. 15, while eight pre-school-aged children were cheerfully playing around her.

Ahmadiyah is considered by mainstream Muslims as heretical. Ahmadiyah communities across the country have been persecuted by their fellow Muslims, and in some severe instances have had members seriously injured or killed.

In a number of provinces, local administrations have banned the sect citing security concerns.

Ahmadiyah members in West Lombok say they continue to be persecuted.

Amaq Marsudin, 52, who suffers from kidney failure and requires regular dialysis, was rejected by the NTB General Hospital because he did not have an identity card.

“He was admitted to the hospital for two weeks but did not receive dialysis because he is not covered by Jamkesmasda as he doesn’t have an identity card. Finally, we brought him back to Wisma Transito and he has resigned his fate to God,” Nasiruddin said.

According to Nasiruddin, during the e-ID card campaign program in Mataram in October, the Ahmadiyah refugees tried to apply for ID cards at the Mataram Population Agency.

However, they were turned down on the grounds that they were only temporary residents.

“The West Lombok regency administration also refused to issue us ID cards. Actually, we only requested residence identity permits. It doesn’t matter if we don’t live in West Lombok, but owning an ID card is important for access to healthcare and education programs, especially as an ID card proves citizenship status,” he said.

The Ahmadiyah refugees endure living at the shelter despite that most of the families are in dire financial straits. In general, the men seek a living as construction workers, ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers, barbers and hawkers.

Sarim Ahmad, 45, for instance, owns a chicken noodle cart now. He had worked for a fritter seller earlier.

“I saved up my salary to make a cart to sell noodles, and the proceeds are not bad,” he said.

The NTB provincial administration had initially promised that the outreach program provide startup capital for the refugees.

However, for Sarin, it was all just talk and no action.

“They promised to provide startup capital, but have failed to do so as of now. Furthermore, we prefer to be independent because the assistance is a loan in nature and we have to pay installments,” he said.

West Lombok spokesman Ispan Junaedi said the administration would never compensate the assets of Ahmadiyah members in Ketapang because funds set aside for that purpose in 2010 and 2011 had not been realized “because the refugees raised the amount”.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/12/19/bleak-prospects-ahmadis.html

Govt monitors Ahmadiyah religious practices

THE ARCHIPELAGO Fri, 11/26/2010 10:20 AM

Govt monitors Ahmadiyah religious practices

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

MATARAM: The government continues to provide counseling to the Ahmadiyah sect and ensuring that Ahmadis are not disseminating their teachings, says an official.

Didiek Darmanto, head of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) prosecutor’s office also heading the religion and sect monitoring body, warned people against resorting to violence in dealing with the issue.

“The prosecutor’s office helps monitor Ahmadiyah in NTB based on joint decrees by three ministries,” he said at a media conference on Wednesday.

“We hope people do not resort to street justice.”

Considered heretical, minority Ahmadiyah followers have been refused from the Muslim community including those in West Lombok, NTB.

After having been forced to take shelter, around 12 families last week returned home to their village, only to be evicted again by local residents.

They are part of 35 families taking shelter at Wisma Transito in Mataram after being evicted from their village in February 2006.

They had been forced to return to their homes because they had been staying at the Wisma Transito shelter without any certainty of their fate.

“The prosecutor’s office only monitors religious activities by Ahmadiyah. The social impact and the placing of Ahmadiyah followers are the domain of both West Lombok and NTB offices,” Didiek said. — JP

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/11/26/govt...-practices.html

Longing to return home

---The Jakarta Post, Indonesia

Feature - Mon, 03/15/2010 8:58 AM

Longing to return home

Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, Mataram

A number of mothers and children were savoring homemade fruit salad one late afternoon at Wisma Transito (transit house) in Mataram, Lombok.

A group of men sat on the porch of the building, playing games with their children.

All of them actually have homes, friends and families and once worked as farmers, but four years after being evacuated from their village in Ketapang, West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), their old lives seem millions of years away.

For the members of Ahmadiyah, returning to their village remains an impossible dream.

Ahmadiyah community members were evacuated to the transit house — a government-owned building that used to serve as a refuge for migrant workers — on Feb. 4, 2006, and have been living there ever since.

“We were told it was a temporary situation until security was restored in our village. But it turns out we can’t return home even now,” said Syahidin (45), the coordinator of the Ahmadiyah refugees at Wisma Transito.

During their four-year-long evacuation, 12 babies were born, with part of the evacuated congregation choosing to move to other regions outside NTB, leaving only 33 families or 126 people in the transit home.

Some of the babies born in the refuge were even named after the place, like Transiti Mariam Sudikah (3), Transita Nuriyah (2), and Muhamad Iqbal Transito (2).

The 3-by-3 meter makeshift rooms in the refuge are partitioned with curtains made of cloth, pre-used banners and sarongs. Highlighting the limitations and plain existence of the evacuees’ lives.

There are only six bathrooms with barely enough water to satisfy the needs of all families residing there. For cooking, the sect members have built a basic kitchen from used-cement sacks and wood or bamboo to support the back of the building.

Since mid 2008, the NTB social affairs office has stop delivering rice and other food aid to the refugees because social assistance was only made available for two years. They are still struggling to make a living. In the last six months, they had no electricity after they couldn’t afford to pay the bill. Worse, as citizens, they have lost their identities as they do not possess valid identity cards (KTP).

“The cards obtained from Ketapang have expired and our applications for new KTPs has been rejected here. This makes it difficult to obtain certificates for free medical aid for disadvantaged people,” said Sarim Ahmad (40), one of the refugees.

Without KTPs, the refugees have no access to free medical services and student aid (BSM). They had to pay the normal rate for hospital fees for each baby born during that time, and have not yet received allowances for their children’s education.

The BSM scheme normally provides Rp 15,000 per primary school student, Rp 50,000 per secondary school student and Rp 75,000 per high school student a month.

To support their families, some of the members of the sect have taken jobs in the construction industry, others in retail like snack shops. Sarim and 12 other members have been working for several months in Singkong Keju Mataram (Sikemat), a fried-cassava shop with 12 branches in Mataram.

They only earn Rp 12,000 a day, working from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time.

“Sometimes we don’t have enough money to buy rice. But fortunately there’s the job at the snack shop, otherwise there would be nobody to turn to,” said Nuraeni (28), another Ahmadiyah evacuee with two children.

“I want to be a policeman,” said Ridho (3), the son of Zuhri and Nuraeni, when asked what he wished to become when he grew up. But who can guarantee Ridho’s dream will come true, when his parents cannot afford to pay for basic health and his education?

— Photos by JP/Panca Nugraha

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/03/15/longing-return-home.html

Religious edicts: Harbinger of disaster

---The Jakarta Post, Indonesia

Feature - Mon, 03/15/2010 8:58 AM

Religious edicts: Harbinger of disaster

Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post

According to Syahidin, the coordinator of a group of shunned Jamaah Ahmadiyah followers in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, attempts have been made and letters sent to various circles for the group to be allowed to return home.

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) released an edict declaring Ahmadiyah a heretic sect, while a joint ministerial decree called for the group to return to mainstream Islam and the wider community. But how, can Ahmadiyah members return to society if the spiritual guidance pledged by MUI and the government is limited to newspaper reports, Syahidin asks.

“In the local media, ulemas and religious affairs officials have offered such guidance, but in reality they have never come here. We are longing for the spiritual enlightenment they’ve talked about,” said Syahidin.

In 2008, ostracized members of the group, under the direction of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB)’s Ahmadiyah adviser Saiful Uyun, pronounced the Islamic syahadat or creed at the Transito Mosque in Mataram. They also read out a 12-point statement of the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) acknowledging that Muhammad is the last Prophet and Gulam Ahmad is only a teacher.

The congregation celebrates Prophet Muhammad’s birthday and holds regular social events where members donate blood. There are 75 active donors registered with the Indonesian Red Cross in Mataram, who donate blood every six months. All this, however, has been to no avail.

“We’re resigned to it. All we want is to return to our normal lives, go home, take care of our families and send our children to school,” added Syahidin. To show his faith in Muhammad as the last Prophet, Syahidin has even named his fourth child Muhammad Khataman Nabiyiah, who is the younger brother of Transiti Mariam Sudikah also born in the group’s Transito house.

When The Jakarta Post visited the dormitory, Muhammad Khataman Nabiyiah was in the arms of his mother, Senah, while Transiti was holding her father’s shoulders tightly. Senah said, “We’re longing to go home, the children wish to visit the house they have never seen.”

NTB provincial spokesman Lalu Muhammad Faozal said the NTB administration would subsidize the basic needs of Ahmadiyah refugees staying at Wisma Transito (transit house) besides persuading them to observe Islamic sharia law.

According to him, the subsidies include food and heath care for the evacuees still living in Wisma Transito. “As long as they are in the quarantine, they will be subsidized. Meanwhile, guidance for their proper return to Islam will also be provided through spiritual lectures,” he added. The term quarantine was used as their refugee status had ended after two years.

Faozal indicated his administration had been drafting a regulation concerning Ahmadiyah. But at present the guidance by the NTB religious affairs office will continue with its monitoring by the province’s internal affairs office.

“The effect of this guidance cannot be determined in terms of time because it is a matter of faith,” he noted.

Nonetheless, Faozal admitted he had never surveyed the evacuees’ conditions in Wisma Transito, nor had NTB Governor K.H.M. Zainul Majdi, who has already been in office for 18 months.

The governor’s office is 3 kilometers from Transito, or 15 minutes’ drive.

The congregation celebrates Prophet Muhammad’s birthday and holds regular social events where members donate blood.

URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/03/15/religious-...rbinger-disaster.html