Muslim sect braces for Indonesia Ramadan violence

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Muslim sect braces for Indonesia Ramadan violence

by Presi Mandari, Agence France-Presse
Posted at 08/02/2011 1:26 PM | Updated as of 08/02/2011 1:26 PM

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

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

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

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

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

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

Last year’s holy month saw Ahmadiyah homes and a mosque destroyed by angry mobs, he said.

Days before this year’s Ramadan began on Monday, authorities ordered the Ahmadiyah community in Samarinda city, on Borneo island, to close their mosque following complaints from members of the mainstream Sunni Muslim faith.

Hundreds of hardliners from the Islamic Defenders Front, one of the vigilante groups responsible for the violence, rallied Saturday at the presidential palace in Jakarta demanding Ahmadiyah be outlawed altogether.

Harassment, persecution and violence against minorities, especially the Ahmadiyah, have become more frequent under the leadership of twice-elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, analysts say.

The latest outrage, according to local and international human rights groups, was the slap on the wrist given to the ringleaders of February’s deadly mob frenzy against Ahmadiyah followers in Cikeusik village, western Java.

Around 1,500 enraged extremists descended on a house occupied by a handful of Ahmadiyah defenders, brushed aside the police and proceeded to stone, beat and hack their victims to death before destroying the property.

The unprovoked attack was filmed by an Ahmadiyah member who is now in hiding under police protection, providing graphic evidence of the crimes.

Yet prosecutors claimed the sect provoked the violence by refusing to abandon their property to the mob. The state did not charge any of the perpetrators with murder; instead it produced what Human Rights Watch described as an “almost laughable” list of minor infringements.

Dani bin Misra, a 17-year-old who was caught on film repeatedly smashing a victim’s skull with a stone, was sentenced to three months in jail for assault causing death, public incitement and destruction of property.

Idris bin Mahdani, who led the mob, was convicted of illegal possession of a machete and received five months and 15 days in jail.

The United States and the European Union expressed strong misgivings but Yudhoyono has said nothing about the sentences, raising questions over his oft-repeated commitment to pluralism and the rule of law.

“We’re in a state of emergency regarding freedom of religion,” Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace activist Hendardi told AFP.

“Last week’s court ruling not only failed to give a deterrent effect to the offenders but will encourage the violators to carry out more attacks against minorities in the coming days.”

Religious affairs ministry spokesman Zubaidi said the sentences were the result of a fair trial, and rejected allegations that the police had failed to properly investigate the crimes.

“As an executive body, we cannot interfere in the legal system… Whether the sentences are light or harsh, how it’s perceived is relative,” he said.

Copyright ©2011 ABS-CBN Interactive. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/world/08/02/11/muslim-sect...

Injustice in Indonesia

Tuesday, August 2, 2011 As of 12:00 AM

REVIEW & OUTLOOK ASIA

Injustice in Indonesia

Failure to protect religious minorities undermines the country’s democracy.

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority democracy, is in many ways a beacon for those who believe Islam and liberalism can peacefully co-exist. Yet with the light sentences last week for 12 people involved in a riot that killed three members of a religious minority, that beacon has dimmed a bit.

A dozen people were sentenced Thursday to a maximum of six months in jail for their roles in the February riot in Cikeusik, a village on western Java. More than 1,000 locals had targeted around 20 members of the Ahmadiyya sect; in addition to the deaths, at least five Ahmadis were seriously wounded. The tumult, which was caught on tape, started as the Ahmadis were preparing to ask the police for stronger protection in the face of Islamist efforts to chase the group out of the village. Of the three victims—Warsono Kastolib, Roni Pasaroni and Tubagus Chandra—one was bashed to death with a rock.

Indonesia’s treatment of its Ahmadi minority has become a test of the country’s commitment to democratic pluralism, and the trial resulting from the February riot is the latest sign Jakarta is failing. The sect, which describes itself as an offshoot of Islam, is viewed as heretical by many Muslims. Islamists have tried various means, legal and illegal, to intimidate the Ahmadis, including attacks on property owned by Ahmadis around the country.

February’s riot was one of the most serious instances to date, yet no one has been charged with murder or manslaughter as a result. The 12 defendants in last week’s case received extremely light sentencing recommendations from prosecutors, and the sentences actually imposed by the judges were lighter still.

Associated Press

President Yudhoyono needs to be firm with radical Islamists.

While the judiciary is independent, at root this is a failure of political leadership. Rather than making a forceful case that Indonesia’s democratic future hinges on allowing all Indonesians the freedoms of worship and speech—and then pressing police and prosecutors to fully investigate the riot and bring those responsible to justice—Jakarta has at best stood idly by.

At worst, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has exacerbated the problem. He supported a 2008 decree barring the Ahmadiyya from proselytizing. The law certainly doesn’t condone rioting. But it does send the message that some forms of religion deserve fewer freedoms than others.

Prosecutors and judges in this case seem to have heard that message loud and clear. Defenders of the rioters claim the Ahmadis “provoked” the riot; this theory was credited by prosecutors in requesting light sentences for the defendants’ roles. Judges also went along with prosecutors’ argument for leniency on the grounds that since an Ahmadi had videotaped the riot and released the tape, the Ahmadis themselves had tarnished Indonesia’s reputation. One Ahmadi, Deden Sujana, received a six-year sentence for “incitement” in an earlier trial.

Mr. Yudhoyono seems to have thought he was making a calculated gamble that he could appease Islamists on the Ahmadiyya issue with little cost. Hence his 2008 decree and his silence as this case proceeded. But the riot in Cikeusik shows how short-sighted that is. Given sufficient quarter, Islamists will threaten basic law and order and undermine Indonesia’s democracy.

This verdict comes at a time when other Islamist threats against minority religions are on the rise, including at least one riot directed at Christians and increasingly frequent attacks on Christian-owned property. The vast majority of Indonesians practice a moderate form of Islam that understands the chasm between thinking a group is heretical and throwing rocks at the group’s members. Mr. Yudhoyono does a disservice to the millions of those moderates who voted for him when he doesn’t speak out for equal protection under the law.

Copyright ©2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
URL: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903341404576481320800361998.html

Ahmadiyah Community Fears Burst of Violence Over Holy Month

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Ahmadiyah Community Fears Burst of Violence Over Holy Month

Ulma Haryanto | August 01, 2011

As Indonesia’s Muslim majority prepares for Ramadan and Idul Fitri, the minority Ahmadiyah Islamic sect is bracing itself for more persecution.

“Especially during Ramadan, there are more opportunities for [anti-Ahmadiyah] groups to mobilize masses and spread hatred [against us],” said Firdaus Mubarik, spokesman for the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI).

Fresh from a disheartening court ruling against Islamic radicals who attacked and killed Ahmadis in Cikeusik, Banten, Firdaus fears for the worst after previous Ramadan experiences.

“A mosque in Tasikmalaya was burned several years ago [during Ramadan]. And the clash in Manis Lor also happened a week before Ramadan started,” he said.

The Islamic holy month, Firdaus said, has been used as an excuse by hard-liners to “purge” unholiness, which for them included the Ahmadiyah.

“The [Cikeusik] ruling is no longer our concern. It’s the possibility that violence might occur at anytime in the future,” he said.

The ruling handed out jail sentences of three to six months to 12 men involved in the brutal Feb. 6 attack in which about 1,500 hard-liners launched an assault on a house with 20 Ahmadis. Three Ahmadis died in the videotaped attack while five others were seriously injured.

“Over the years we’ve received intimidation and threats and have been expelled. The lenient sentence is an invitation for more violence,” Firdaus said.

On Saturday, nearly 1,500 hard-liners marched toward the presidential palace in Jakarta demanding the government disband Ahmadiyah.

Islamic Defender’s Front (FPI) leader Muhammad Rizieq Shihab, who was previously convicted of instigating an attack against Ahmadis, called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to “not be a coward.”

Some marchers held placards that said “Disband Ahmadiyah or Revolution” and “War against Ahmadiyah.”

Firdaus said Ahmadiyah communities, especially those in vulnerable areas, were going to increase their guard for Ramadan.

The Cikeusik verdict has received widespread international condemnation, the latest coming from Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

“The shockingly lenient sentences imposed on the perpetrators of some of the worst anti-minority violence in recent years raises serious questions about the integrity of Indonesia’s justice system, and gives the extremists a green light to continue their campaign of hatred,” CSW’s Advocacy Director Andrew Johnston said in a statement.

“It leaves religious minorities throughout Indonesia, not only in West Java, and not only the Ahmadiyah community, vulnerable and defenseless,” he said.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/ahmadiyah-community-fears.../456451

Ahmadi gets 9 months in prison

CITYTue, 04/19/2011 10:29 PM

Ahmadi gets 9 months in prison

The Jakarta Post, Bogor, West Java

BOGOR: A devotee of the religious sect Ahmadiyah, Ahmad Nuryamin, has been sentenced to nine months in prison for attacking a fellow resident of Cisalada, Bogor, West Java.

Nuryamin was found guilty by a panel of judges at Cibinong District Court of stabbing Rendy Apriyansah, who had been part of a mob that had previously attacked the Ahmadiyah compound in Cisalada.

Nuryamin said in his defense statement that he had been protecting himself.

Nuryamin’s defense team said their client would appeal the decision.

The stabbing incident prompted a mob attack on the Ahmadiyah compound, in which a mosque and houses in the neighborhood were torched.

Supporters of Rendy said the defendant should have been given a harsher punishment.

“It should have been nine years instead of nine months,” Cisalada local Jubaedah said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com. — JP

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/04/19/ahmadi-gets...html

Indonesia Risks Taking Pakistan’s Path to Intolerance

OPINION

Indonesia Risks Taking Pakistan’s Path to Intolerance

Ali Dayan Hasan | April 18, 2011

Radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, currently on trial on terrorism charges, is a symbol of religious intolerance in Indonesia. (Reuters Photo/Beawiharta)

Were a hundred Indonesians to die in a suicide bombing, one would expect Indonesian politicians, political parties and religious groups to condemn it no matter who the victims were. But when such an attack occurred last year in Pakistan, silence ruled the day. The one political leader who spoke out was the target of vitriol from religious parties and groups. Frighteningly, the series of events that led Pakistan down this path appears to be repeating itself in Indonesia.

On May 28, 2010, Islamist militants attacked two Ahmadiyah mosques in the central Pakistani city of Lahore with guns, grenades and suicide bombs, killing 94 people and injuring well over a hundred. The Punjabi Taliban, a local affiliate of the Pakistani Taliban, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility. The Taliban have targeted not just Ahmadis but all Pakistanis — regardless of religious or sectarian affiliation. The Pakistani opposition leader Nawaz Sharif condemned this attack on “brothers and sisters who are Pakistani citizens.”

Yet his statement was greeted with anger by religious political parties and groups led by the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Pakistan branch of the Khatm-e-Nabuwat — an international Islamist umbrella organization dedicated to the “preservation of the finality of the Prophet Muhammad’s prophethood,” which considers Ahmadis heretics. It was a very ugly moment for Pakistani society.

The Ahmadiyah community has long been persecuted in Pakistan. What has happened in Pakistan is instructive in understanding the nature and potential objectives of those attacking — verbally and physically — the Ahmadiyah community in Indonesia. The situation for Ahmadis in Indonesia suggests a similar pattern of systematic persecution and a similar trend toward legalized discrimination against all Ahmadis for their religious beliefs and practices. Moreover, there are clear and specific ideological links between anti-Ahmadi organizations in Pakistan and Indonesia.

In 1974, Pakistan’s Parliament introduced constitutional amendments that defined the term “Muslim” in the Pakistani context and listed groups that were, under the law, to be considered non-Muslim. The amendment, which went into effect on Sept. 6, 1974, explicitly deprived Ahmadis of their identity as Muslims.

In 1984, five ordinances in Pakistan’s penal code were amended to explicitly target religious minorities: a law against blasphemy; a law punishing the defiling of the Koran; a prohibition against insulting the wives, family or companions of the Prophet of Islam; and two laws specifically restricting the Ahmadis’ activities. On April 26, 1984, Pakistani dictator Gen. Zia ul-Haq issued these last two laws as part of Martial Law Ordinance XX.

Ordinance XX undercut the activities of religious minorities generally, but struck at Ahmadis in particular by prohibiting them from “indirectly or directly posing as a Muslim.”

Ahmadis thus could no longer profess their faith, either orally or in writing. Pakistani police destroyed Ahmadi translations of and commentaries on the Koran and banned Ahmadi publications, the use of any Islamic terminology on Ahmadi wedding invitations, the offering of Ahmadi funeral prayers and the displaying of the Kalima — the statement that “there is no god but Allah, Muhammad is Allah’s prophet,” the principal creed of Muslims — on Ahmadi gravestones.

In addition, Ordinance XX prohibited Ahmadis from declaring their faith publicly, propagating their faith, building mosques or making the call for Muslim prayer. In short, virtually any public act of worship or devotion by an Ahmadi could be treated as a criminal offense.

With the passage of the Criminal Law Act of 1986, Parliament added Section 295-C to the Pakistan Penal Code. The “Blasphemy Law,” as it came to be known, prescribed the death penalty for blasphemy. With Section 295-C, Zia and the Pakistani government institutionalized the persecution of Ahmadis as well as other minorities in Pakistan. The Ahmadi belief in the prophethood of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is considered blasphemous insofar as it “defiled the name of Prophet Muhammad.” Therefore, theoretically, Ahmadis can be sentenced to death for simply professing their faith.

As a consequence, Ahmadi mosques have been burned, their graves desecrated and their very existence criminalized. Since the 1980s, hundreds of Ahmadis have been formally charged in criminal cases for professing their religion. Scores of Ahmadis have been specifically charged with blasphemy; several have been convicted and face life imprisonment or death sentences, pending appeal. The offenses included wearing an Islamic slogan on a shirt, planning to build an Ahmadi mosque in Lahore and distributing Ahmadi literature in a public square. As a result, thousands of Ahmadis have fled Pakistan to seek asylum abroad.

Not surprisingly, anti-Ahmadiyah prejudice remains widespread in Pakistan. The foundation of legalized discrimination laid by the Pakistani state has played into the hands of the Taliban and other militant sectarian groups. The suicide bombings and other attacks on Ahmadis by these groups in recent times are only a deadly extension of the Pakistani state’s legal regime against its Ahmadi citizens since 1974. And all Pakistanis are affected: the Taliban demand that either Pakistanis accept their version of Islam as the true faith or face discrimination, flee or live in fear for their lives.

The horrific example of Pakistan should instill fear in the heart of every Indonesian. Last week’s suicide bombing attack on the Cirebon Police mosque in West Java provides an ominous foretaste of what lies ahead unless extremism nurtured by bigotry is checked before it consumes Indonesian society. For, much like their Pakistani counterparts, those who espouse extremism in Indonesia are turning on their own state and its security forces.

In Indonesia, as in Pakistan, Ahmadis are easy targets in times of religious and political insecurity. Following the June 2008 national decree that bans the Ahmadiyah from publicly practicing their faith, punishable by up to five years in prison, provincial governments have increasingly issued anti-Ahmadiyah bans —16 provinces and regencies have done so since 2006.

These provincial bans on Ahmadiyah activities breed intolerance, discrimination and, as the increasing attacks against Ahmadis in Indonesia show, violence. In February, Islamist militants beat three Ahmadis to death in Cikeusik village, Banten. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should immediately void the 2008 national decree and all the provincial decrees. He should ensure that the police act quickly to protect the Ahmadiyah from violence and hold perpetrators accountable. Indonesia’s reputation as a tolerant society is at grave risk.

Today it’s the Ahmadis, tomorrow, as in Pakistan, it could be you.

Ali Dayan Hasan is the senior South Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/commentary/indonesia-risks.../435924

Banten Wants Tolerance, Bogor Bans Christians

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Banten Wants Tolerance, Bogor Bans Christians

April 18, 2011

The governor of Banten called on Sunday for greater tolerance in her province and across the nation after ethnic and religious violence flared up in recent months.

“Differences in ethnicity and religion should not be an obstacle to building the Banten we all love,” Ratu Atut Chosiyah said. “With all its potential, Banten is a [microcosm] of Indonesia’s diversity.”

“We should safeguard this [diversity] so peace can prevail,” she added.

The governor said 11 years of peace had prevailed in the province until recent attacks.

In February, three members of minority Muslim sect Ahmadiyah were killed by a mob after they refused to leave a cleric’s house in Cikeusik subdistrict, Pandeglang.

“[Harmony] has been sullied a little bit,” the governor said. “I hope this kind of incident will not repeat itself in the future. This has become a valuable lesson.”

Ratu was speaking at a Chinese cultural program in Tangerang, Banten, which saw violent clashes between law enforcement officers and residents last year when the local government tried to evict more than 1,000 people from a poor community in Neglasari.

Residents of Cina Benteng have been in mediated talks with the Tangerang administration over the eviction attempts, which are part of a bid to reclaim land along the Cisadane riverbank.

Ratu, who toured the settlement on Sunday, said the problems faced by ethnic Chinese residents in Neglasari should be settled through peaceful dialogue.

However, Tangerang officials have so far failed to appear in the dialogues, which were initiated by the central government and the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to resolve the issue.

Nevertheless, Edi Lim, head of the Cina Benteng Community Forum, thanked Ratu on Sunday for her support in the long-running land dispute and her efforts to bring back peace in the province.

On the same day, however, protesters in Bogor, West Java, rallied against a ban against worshipping that was enforced against the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) Yasmin congregation.

Hundreds of demonstrators claiming to belong to the Forum for Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Forbathin), a group advocating unity in diversity, held the rally in front of the Bogor State Palace on Sunday.

“This ban on worship on the Yasmin church is no longer a local problem,” one of the protesters said. “This is only an example of the intolerance that is taking place under the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.”

GKI Yasmin has been fighting with Bogor authorities, who have closed down its churches and banned followers from practicing their faith, despite a Supreme Court verdict affirming the group’s right to worship.

In moves that further fueled religious tensions, the governors of West and East Java have issued decrees banning Ahmadiyah from proselytizing.

Critics say such policies encourage attacks against minority faiths and hamper efforts to foster religious tolerance.

Antara

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/banten-wants.../436062

Ahmadiyah a test of dialogue, law

OPINION Fri, 04/15/2011 7:30 AM

Ahmadiyah a test of dialogue, law

Andy Fuller, Surabaya

In the wake of attacks against Ahmadis on Feb. 6, 2011, many have called for a dialogue between the members of Ahmadiyah and groups — such as Front Pembela Islam. In other instances, commentators have emphasized the legality of citizens to practice their religion in the manner that they choose.

The practice of dialogue and the enforcement of particular laws, however, will not necessarily bring about the easy resolution to conflicts between groups such as FPI and a religious minority such as Ahmadiyah. Dialogues and laws also offer the opportunity for some to further their will upon others.

Although a “dialogue” is a welcomed alternative to physical violence, a dialogue is not without its own pitfalls and needs to be judged on its own merits. It is worth questioning, for example, as to who participates in the dialogue and for what ends.

A dialogue is not something that can be forced to take place. Dialogues also present an opportunity to perform a kind of discursive violence: a violence, which even if only spoken, still rejects the other participants in the dialogue.

In the days after the attacks on Ahmadis in Cikeusik, Banten, some leaders referred to the belief of Ahmadis as being blasphemous of Islam. Elsewhere, in Sabili a conservative (and popular) magazine, Ahmadiyah members are blamed for inciting the violence against them.

Moreover, they are referred to as being intolerant of non-Ahmadis. There has been a rush to be considered as “tolerant”, as well as a claim to being “offended”. Discourses regarding religious orthodoxy and deviancy somehow become more important than the criminality of three killings performed in broad daylight.

Dialogue, however, might be more useful as a tool to prevent violence, rather than to solve cases or ease tensions after grave violations of one’s rights has already taken place. Since the killings and other attacks, no one has volunteered a statement in which he or she acknowledges a kind of complicity in sharpening attitudes against Ahmadis.

Calls for dialogue, thus, become an effort to avoid accountability. Groups that have participated in discursive and physical violence against others, should not participate in public “dialogues” unless they are willing to acknowledge the violence of their actions and words. Ahmadis or others, do not need to validate such calls for dialogues, until those who are guilty have faced public and criminal censure.

Some commentators have pointed to the weakness of the state in allowing the killings of Ahmadis. That is, the state has not been able to implement laws that protect Ahmadis (just as it should for any other citizen) from criminal acts of violence.

One of the curious elements of recent attacks on Ahmadis, however, is the presence of the state.

Throughout the footage that shows the killings in Cikeusik, police are present. They are shown to be passive in watching the killings as they occur.

Some publications have continued to report on how different levels of the police force knew about the impending attacks on Suparman’s house in Cikeusik. Here, the state is clearly present: but it is a state that is willing to take sides with an outraged and violent mob.

Just as public forums have served to discriminate against Ahmadis, so have the decrees of various governors sought to criminalize belief. These laws are curious as they seemingly go against the laws that are part of the Constitution that state that each citizen is able to hold his or her belief in accordance with their wishes.

It seems that these governors, however susceptible they are to different political interests, are willing to give in to the demands of different radical groups. Instead of moving to protect Ahmadis from further discrimination and violent attacks, the state through laws issued at the provincial level have provided more room for discrimination against Ahmadis.

Hate-speech is normal when talking about Ahmadiyah. So, the state is present and laws are being created. These laws, however, have followed the demands of “the mob”, rather than referring back to the authority of the Constitution and the state ideology, which states “unity in diversity” and “social justice for all”.

The clashes between a self-proclaimed mainstream Muslim majority and that of a minority Muslim sect (Ahmadiyah) are representative of a conflict between “the orthodox” and “un-orthodox”. The orthodox and those who claim to be so, are unwilling to accept those who divert from what is considered to be “the true” or “the real” Islam.

This is seen clearly in recent attempts to re-convert Ahmadis away from their chosen faith and back to “the real”, “the right” and “the true” Islam. In such an instance, the orthodox clearly consider themselves to be the paternal representatives who know what is best for the infantile “other” who has strayed from “the straight path”.

A negotiation of values was strikingly absent on that morning of Feb. 6, 2011. It was a moment when “dialogue” was no longer possible. It was a moment for violence and rejection of the other.

Decrees at the provincial level have further normalized violence against Ahmadis. A dialogue “after the fact” won’t solve anything until the injustices against this particular minority are recognized.

It is not the time for a dialogue, but the time for openness and arguments: where people are willing to accept the legitimacy of others to hold their beliefs. Until guilt and culpability is established, a monologue of violence — both physical and discursive — will persist.

The writer is based at the Asia Institute, the University of Melbourne, Australia. This is an English language version of a presentation given at Sunan Ampel State Islamic University, Surabaya.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/04/15/ahmadiyah...

Over 400 Ahmadis ‘On Right Path,’ West Java Governor Says

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Over 400 Ahmadis ‘On Right Path,’ West Java Governor Says

Yuli Krisna | April 15, 2011

More than 400 members of the beleaguered Ahmadiyah have converted to mainstream Islam since a ban on their activities was issued in West Java, officials claimed on Thursday.

West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan said encouraging conversions was the main objective of the ban, which he ordered on March 3.

The ban followed a series of attacks against the minority sect by mainstream Muslims and hard-liners.

“This is a truly historic moment,” Ahmad said.

“More than 400 Ahmadis have rushed to embrace true Islam. Our aim is to put these people on the right path.”

He added that in order to renounce their faith, there was a 12-point program that the Ahmadis had to follow, including acknowledging Muhammad as the last prophet in Islam.

The animosity toward the Ahmadis stems from the sect’s belief that its founder, Mirza Gulam Ahmad, was a prophet, albeit subordinate to Muhammad.

This difference in opinion has resulted in Ahmadiyah followers being subjected to attacks and other forms of persecution.

However, the governor defended the decree banning the sect’s activities as a means of ensuring an end to the violent attacks. “There’s more security with the decree in place,” he said.

Rafiq Ahmad Sumadi Gandakusuma, a spokesman for the Ahmadiyah congregation in the province, however, disputed that claim. He pointed out that on April 3, a mob attacked five homes belonging to sect members in Bogor.

“Besides, the decree is unconstitutional,” he told the Jakarta Globe.

He also said the mass conversion of Ahmadis to mainstream Islam was not significant given that most of them “weren’t really believers, so it was always going to be easy to sway them.”

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/over-400-ahmadis.../435520

Young Attackers of Cisalada Ahmadiyah Sent to Prison

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Young Attackers of Cisalada Ahmadiyah Sent to Prison

Vento Saudale | April 14, 2011

Dede Novi, left, and Aldi Afriansyah were handed six-month jail terms by the Cibinong District Court on Wednesday. (JG Photo/Vento Saudale)

Bogor. A court in Bogor sentenced three people charged in a mob attack on an Ahmadiyah community to prison terms of between four and six months on Wednesday.

In the first hearing at the Cibinong District Court, judges ruled that Dede Novi, 19, and Aldi Afriansyah, 21, were guilty of attacking a mosque belonging to the minority Muslim sect in Cisalada village on Oct. 1, 2010.

The attack in Cisalada, home to about 600 followers of Ahmadiyah, also targeted homes and schools of the group, which has come under increasing attack by Islamic hard-liners in Bogor and other parts of West Java.

Dede and Aldi were ordered jailed for six months and given a year’s probation. The sentence handed down was lighter than the nine months prosecutors had sought.

Judge Astriwati, presiding over the hearing, said one of the facts in favor of the two defendants was the lights at the mosque had been turned off at the time of the attack, so it was not entirely clear to what extent they were involved in the incident.

However, the judge stressed that Dede and Aldi were definitely in the group of around 30 locals who ransacked the mosque.

“A witness testified to seeing the defendants carry out the vandalism,” she said.

San Alauddin, a lawyer for the defendants, said after the sentencing that he would leave the decision of whether to appeal up to the families of the defendants.

In the second case heard on Wednesday, the court sentenced 13-year-old Akbar Ramanda to four months in prison and eight months’ probation for the same offense. Prosecutors had sought five months in jail for the minor.

For all three defendants, Astriwati said the main mitigating factor prompting the lighter sentences was that “they are all young and have their whole life ahead of them.”

Eviarti, the chief prosecutor in all the cases, said her office would have to consider appealing the light sentences. Prosecutors typically only appeal if the final sentence is less than two-thirds of their demands. The prosecution and defense have seven days to file an appeal.

There was a heavy police presence at the court in anticipation of violence by the defendants’ supporters, more than 500 of whom turned up. Six hundred officers and riot control personnel from the Bogor Police checked everyone going into the courthouse.

Mukhtar, an official from the Bogor branch of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), which has repeatedly called for the disbanding of Ahmadiyah, said before the hearing that if the three were not acquitted, “there will be problems later.”

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/young-attackers.../435301

NGOs Say US Got it Wrong on Indonesian Human Rights

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NGOs Say US Got it Wrong on Indonesian Human Rights

Dessy Sagita | April 11, 2011

In this file photo, an activist protests on Human Rights Day in Jakarta on Dec. 10, 2010. Watchdog groups say the United States is going too soft on Indonesia in its latest human rights assessment. (Antara Photo)

Indonesian activists on Sunday criticized the US government for praising Indonesia’s progress on human rights, saying that the barometer used for the report could be misleading.

“I’m a bit concerned with the diplomatic statements made by some countries regarding Indonesia’s progress on human rights, because it could give people the wrong perception about what’s really happening,” Haris Azhar, coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), told the Jakarta Globe.

As in previous editions, the US State Department’s annual survey on human rights pointed to concerns in Indonesia, this year including accounts of unlawful killings in violence-torn Papua along with violations of freedom of religion.

But US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while presenting on Friday the mammoth, 7,000-page global report, pointed to Indonesia as a success story.

“Indonesia boasts a vibrant free media and a flourishing civil society at the same time as it faces up to challenges in preventing abuses by its security forces and acting against religious intolerance,” she was quoted by foreign wire agencies as saying.

The survey covers the period before Islamic fanatics brutally killed three members of the Ahmadiyah sect in early February, raising questions over Indonesia’s commitment to safeguard minority rights.

The concern over Papua is primarily a reference to the torture of two civilians there last year by soldiers. They were subsequently court-martialed in January but given sentences of less than a year, a punishment slammed by the influential group Human Rights Watch as far too lenient to send a message that abuse was unacceptable.

Kontras’s Haris said both indicators presented by the US government — that Indonesia has been progressing in terms of media independence and better access for civil societies to voice their concern — were also incorrect.

“Freedom of journalism? I don’t think so. It’s still fresh in our minds that several journalists have been brutally attacked because of their reporting, some were even murdered,” he said.

“And in terms of flourishing civil societies, it’s true, non-government organizations are mushrooming, but what’s the point if human rights defenders and anticorruption activists are assaulted?” he added.

According to Kontras, in 2010 alone more than 100 human rights activists here were victimized and many of the perpetrators remain free.

And according to Reporters Without Borders, when it comes to press freedom, Indonesia ranks very low, much worse than it did several years ago when Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid was the president.

The US report in some ways echoes progress noted by New York-based Human Rights Watch in its own annual review of human rights practices around the globe, released in January. Then it noted that while serious human rights concerns remained, Indonesia had over the past 12 years made great strides in becoming a stable, democratic country with a strong civil society and independent media.

But Andreas Harsono, from Human Rights Watch, said it was perplexing that the US government would compliment Indonesia’s progress on rights.

“It’s a big joke,” he said. “Attacks against Ahmadiyah have been happening since 2008, after the joint ministerial decree was issued, and attacks against churches during SBY’s six-year tenure are even more prevalent than during the five decades in which Sukarno and Suharto ruled,” he said.

Additional reporting by AP, AFP

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/ngos-say.../434680

Ahmadiyah Decree Triggers Violence: Amnesty Int’l

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Ahmadiyah Decree Triggers Violence: Amnesty Int’l

Elisabeth Oktofani & Putri Fitria | April 7, 2011

An Ahmadiyah congregation performing Friday prayers At al-Hidayah Mosque in Sawangan, Depok, earlier this month. The mosque was sealed off by a mob of residents on March 19. (Antara Photo)

Amnesty International called on the government on Wednesday to revoke the decree that bans Ahmadiyah members from proselytizing, saying the regulation was one of the primary causes for an increase in religious violence in the country.

Saman Zia-Zarifi, director of the Asia-Pacific program at the Amnesty International, said the time had come for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to get serious about tackling religious violence in the country.

“I had an open and frank discussion with the National Police chief, Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah and church groups in Indonesia,” Saman said. “We urge Indonesia to fulfill its obligation to protect its citizens, regardless of their religious beliefs, in line with the Indonesian Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

“The 2008 joint ministerial decree needs to be revoked. The country should not intervene in people’s religious choices.”

The police, Saman added, needed to publicly reiterate their commitment to protecting the rights of all Indonesians, regardless of their religious beliefs.

“The Indonesian police must ensure the trials of those who commit violence in the name of religion are free from intimidation toward victims, witnesses and their lawyers,” he said.

Last month, the Religious Affairs Ministry held a national dialog on the minority Islamic sect, where the 2008 joint ministerial decree featured in discussions.

The Indonesia Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) declined to attend the event. They complained they had too little time to prepare and only received four seats at the conference.

The results of the dialog are expected to be used by the government to decide on the fate of the sect and the controversial 2008 decree.

Meanwhile, a regional leader of one of the groups accused of leading attacks on Ahmadiyah followers, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), said he did not condone violence against the group.

“Ahmadis are human beings. They have families,” Bambang Teddy, head of the FPI in Yogyakarta, said on Tuesday. “The way to diminish the influence of Ahmadiyah is not with violence.”

However, Bambang said, Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono was running out of time to issue a decree banning the activities of Ahmadiyah in the province. As a special region, Bambang said, the sultan should be able to make a decision independent of the central government.

If the sultan did not respond soon, he said, the local branches of the FPI would coordinate with FPI headquarters, led by Habib Rizieq, who has previously advocated violence against the sect.

“I’m worried that a war could break out against Ahmadiah in Yogya. I don’t want Yogya to be unsafe,” Bambang said.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/ahmadiyah.../433932

Government Still Unsure How to Resolve Ahmadiyah Issue

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Government Still Unsure How to Resolve Ahmadiyah Issue

Camelia Pasandaran | April 7, 2011

The Indonesian government has admitted that it still does not know what to do about the Ahmadiyah Islamic sect.

The government was expected to announce the results of a national dialogue on the fate of the Ahmadi on Tuesday, but Coordinating Minister of People’s Welfare Agung Laksono said he was not able to comment.

“We accepted input from many sides, but we have not taken a stance: Whether to ban the organization, disband it or guide them,” Agung at the Vice Presidential Palace on Thursday.

“We haven’t decided anything,” he reiterated, “but to listen to input from various sides.”

Bowing to international criticisms that it was not doing enough to protect the persecuted minority, the government last month held four days of discussions with various government ministries and organizations.

Representatives of the Ahmadiyah were not present, arguing that the invitation was received late and that the Ministry of Religious Affairs was not a neutral venue to hold talks.

Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali has previously called for the sect to be banned, drawing condemnation from human rights organizations and calls for him to resign.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/government.../434072

Govt Tells Bogor Villagers It Will Deal With Ahmadis

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Govt Tells Bogor Villagers It Will Deal With Ahmadis

April 07, 2011

A West Java government team dealing with the province’s beleaguered Ahmadiyah community on Thursday called on area residents to leave the matter of the sect to the administration.

Speaking at the village hall of Ciaruteun Udik in Bogor district, where attacks against the sect’s members have repeatedly taken place, West Java Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Endang Saprudin said people must remain patient when dealing with the sect members, and abstain from resorting to violence against them.

“Entrust the handling to the central government,” he said, adding that Ahmadis should be treated like a family member who had strayed and needed help to return to the true path.

“Do this with patience, as our Prophet taught us, and through family approaches. People should not get jailed just because they had become impatient in facing the Ahmadiyah community,” he said.

Endang reminded the villagers that while sect members could not be legally punished for their beliefs, people who committed acts of violence against them could face legal consequences.

He also called on local leaders to adopt a personal approach in attempting to convert Ahmadis to “true” Islam.

Dadun, a religious leader from Ciaruteun Udik, called on security personnel to be firm in acting against the Ahmadiyah. He also called on the government to not only ban the sect’s activities, but to ban the sect altogether.

“There should not be another conflict erupting in society,” Dadun said.

The government has decreed that Ahmadis are prohibited from worshiping in public and from proselytizing, but has stopped short of banning the sect. Rights activists have blamed the decree for inciting violence against Ahmadiyah communities in the country, including in West Java.

Late on Tuesday, five Ahmadi houses were attacked by a group of villagers in Ciaruteun Udik. There were no casualties as the houses’ occupants had fled earlier.

Ahmad Hidayat, a local Ahmadiyah leader, said he had instructed sect members in the village to flee and seek shelter and safety at a neighboring Ahmadiyah community in Cisalada.

In recent years, persecution and violent attacks have marked the lives of Ahmadis across Indonesia, with the government accusing them of leading more and more Muslims astray.

The Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), the country’s highest authority on Islam, declared Ahmadiyah to be a deviant religious sect in an edict issued last year.

The council believes that the substance of Ahmadiyah doctrines contravenes Islamic teachings for stating that the Prophet Muhammad is not the last prophet. Vento Saudale

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/govt-tells.../434096

RI moving in wrong direction: Amnesty

HEADLINES Thu, 04/07/2011 8:00 AM

RI moving in wrong direction: Amnesty

Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The rising number of attacks against minority groups in Indonesia is a sign that the country, which aims to play a greater role on the global stage, is moving in the wrong direction, Amnesty International says.

“The Indonesian government still has not accomplished its promise to deal with the prolonged problems related to the persecution of minorities. I just heard that the Ahmadis in Lombok continue to be dismissed from their homes. This is not the direction Amnesty is hoping for. This country is going in the wrong direction,” Saman Zia-Zarifi, the Asia-Pacific director of Amnesty said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

“We are here to call on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to fulfill his responsibility to ensure that all citizens, regardless of their religious beliefs, benefit from the human rights enshrined in the 1945 Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Indonesia ratified in 2005,” he added.

London-based Amnesty was delivering a joint statement along with a number of Indonesian human rights groups, namely the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Imparsial, Elsam, the Wahid Institute, the Setara Institute and the Bhinneka Tunggal Ika National Alliance (ANBTI).

Zia-Zarifi cited documentation collected by local NGOs showing that attacks against Ahmadiyah communities across the country had increased sharply in 2011 compared to the previous two years.

A particularly alarming development was the involvement of the Indonesian Military and police officers in intimidating and forcing the conversion of Ahmadis in villages in West Java in the last two months.

“Indonesia is one of the most diverse countries and becomes a model for international communities. However, the central government’s inability or lack of desire to address this issue is potentially catastrophic,” Zia-Zarifi said.

During his short visit to Jakarta, Zia-Zarifi met with National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Nanan Soekarna and visited Indonesia’s two largest Muslim organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, and the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) a few days earlier.

“We had very open discussions and we share similar concerns that attacks and violence cannot be justified,” he said.

Zia-Zarifi also said the 2008 Joint Ministerial Decree forbidding Ahmadis from propagating their beliefs could justify vigilantism and lead to increasing violence.

“Regulations like this, especially if they are implemented differently by administrations at regional and district levels, could instead provide green lights to extremist forces to attack religious communities targeted by the regulations,” he said.

According to the coalition, there are already 20 regional regulations and decrees banning followers of Ahmadiyah from practicing their religion publicly.

Last month, 27 US congressmen signed a letter to President Yudhoyono to revoke “prosecuting” bylaws.

Bonar Tigor Naipospos from Setara said Yudhoyono’s reluctance to address the issue was linked to his party’s political preparation ahead of the 2014 elections.

“Yudhoyono will not contest again and his charismatic figure will no longer help the Democratic Party gain an enormous amount of votes. That is why the party’s politicians really take what radicals want into account because they are wary about losing votes from hardline Muslim communities,” he said.

On Tuesday evening, five houses belonging to Ahmadiyah followers in Ciaruteun Udik village in Bogor, were severely damaged due to a series of mob attacks. Those attacks were the third in the last two month.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/04/07/ri-moving...

RI media playing up Ahmadiyah issues: expert

NATIONAL Thu, 04/07/2011 7:19 PM

RI media playing up Ahmadiyah issues: expert

The Jakarta Post

A communications expert from Surabaya’s Airlangga University has accused the Indonesian media of playing up the issues of Islamic minority sect Ahmadiyah, saying there is actually no such thing as religious conflict in Indonesia.

Rachmah Ida, a lecturer in communication science, further said that the Indonesian media were “politicizing” religious issues for the sake of business and political interests.

“They play up more or less the same issues, such as religious and ethnic conflicts, unity in diversity issues, the failed state … “Rachmah said as she addressed a workshop of the Asia Journalism Forum (AJF) in Singapore on Thursday.

“The Indonesian media have never changed their stance on Ahmadiyah, and that speaks a lot about how much they’re playing with the issue,” she added, as quoted by Antara.

Rachmah cited as an example how a major Indonesian publication group publishes two newspapers in Maluku, which was plagued with religious conflicts between Muslims and Christians in the past.

One of the newspapers sided with the Muslims and the other with the Christians.

She said the group tried to appear balanced, but actually it only did that for the sake of its business.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/04/07/ri-media-playing...

Ahmadi properties attacked in Bogor

JAKARTA Wed, 04/06/2011 2:33 PM

Ahmadi properties attacked in Bogor

The Jakarta Post

Five houses belonging to followers of the Ahmadiyah sect in West Java were attacked on Tuesday night, causing damage to their roofs and windows, one of the residents says.

The attack happened at around 11 p.m., at houses belonging to Narsih, Wahyudin, Nasir, Usman and Ari in Ciaruteun Udik village, Bogor.

Narsih said the residents whose houses were attacked left before the incident because they were already forewarned of the plan.

“During the attack the houses were empty,” Narsih said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

The location is currently being guarded by police officers.

The attack was the third of such attack affecting Ahmadis in the last two months. The previous attack occurred in early March.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved
URL: www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/04/06/ahmadi...

Slain Indonesian Ahmadi Found His Salvation in Faith

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Slain Indonesian Ahmadi Found His Salvation in Faith

Ulma Haryanto | April 05, 2011

Rahmawati seen at home with one of her daughters, Tati Apriani. Rahmawati is the widow of Ahmadiyah member Roni Pasaroni, who was killed in the Feb. 6 attack on followers of the faith in Banten. (Photos JG and JAI)

Rahmawati, a 29-year-old widow, says her husband was a stubborn man. And because he was fearless, he would be remembered mostly as one who steadfastly held on to a faith that had turned him into a better man, she says.

Roni Pasaroni, Rahmawati’s late husband, was one of three Ahmadiyah members murdered by a 1,500-strong mob in Cikeusik, Banten, on Feb. 6.

“Before my husband found Ahmadiyah, he used to be a thug. He used to do drugs. When he married me, he promised to change his ways,” Rahmawati told the Jakarta Globe on Monday in Muara Baru, North Jakarta.

Four years ago, Roni and his friend Warsono, an Ahmadi, found themselves on the way to a mosque of the minority Islamic sect.

Roni Pasaroni was one of three Ahmadiyah members murdered by a 1,500-strong mob in Cikeusik, Banten, on Feb. 6. (JAI Photo)

Warsono had asked Roni to pray with him. Roni refused, saying he was not in the mood. But in the end, Warsono managed to prevail, Rahmawati said.

“He arrived home, as I was doing my evening prayers,” she said. “I heard him performing ablution and he came to pray beside me. But then I could not continue. Because I heard him sobbing.”

She waited for Roni to finish and asked him what was going on. He told her that he was touched by how the imam at the Ahmadiyah mosque presented Islam, and that he now realized he should also think about the hereafter.

Like Roni, Warsono was killed in the February attack on a house of a member of the controversial sect. Rahmawati, who followed Roni in his conversion, has refused to watch videos of the killings that have since gone viral on the Internet.

“I don’t think the perpetrators were normal people. If you are human, when one already pleads for mercy, then you stop,” Rahmawati said.

A Firm Believer

At some point, Roni’s neighbors in Muara Baru learned he had joined Ahmadiyah. Rahmawati said several came to visit and tried to convince Roni that the sect he joined was deviant.

“But he was persistent. They spent hours outside discussing. I was afraid — with Roni’s background as a thug — he would end up hitting someone. But in the end the men shook hands and hugged each other,” she said.

Roni and his neighbors managed to “agree to disagree.”

“We would leave our door and windows open, so people could see and hear the way we pray and recite the Koran. So that they know we are the same. We are not exclusive or different,” Rahmawati added.

Roni would remind his neighbors when it was time to pray. “He would say: hold your hunger, you should pray first,” she said.

Hendro, head of the North Jakarta Ahmadiyah congregation, said Roni started to read books on Islam.

“We have a library and he finished book after book. He found time to read while waiting for customers, as he was a motorcycle taxi driver,” Hendro said.

Still Persecuted

Rahmawati remembers being visited by a stranger, back in 2008. “He told us that Ahmadiyah was deviant and that we should return to mainstream Islam. But I asked him if he could guarantee us a place in heaven if we left Ahmadiyah. He said no. So I asked him to leave,” she said.

To say that these are difficult times for Ahmadis in Indonesia is an understatement.

On Monday, some 500 police officers stood guard outside the Ahmadiyah’s Al-Mubarak Mosque in Bogor as local administrators sanctioned the official sealing of the house of worship.

Edgar Suratman, an official with the Bogor city administration, said he was “just following up on the West Java gubernatorial decree and the Bogor municipality’s decision to ban all activities of the Ahmadiyah.”

Despite the growing persecution of the sect across a string of provinces nationwide, Rahmawati said she still felt safe in her neighborhood.

“Roni grew up here. He knew a lot of people, his friends, neighbors and our families have all accepted us as Ahmadis,” she said.

“Besides, other Ahmadiyah friends regularly visit me here.”

Her youngest daughter, Tati Apriani, 5, will enter elementary school this year while her eldest, 9-year-old Mahdarisa, is now in third grade.

“When [Mahdarisa’s] friends ask her about Ahmadiyah, she tells them: it’s just another organization.”

But for her father, who according to his widow had said, “When we die, we do not take worldly things with us. Only our deeds,” it was much more than that.

Additional reporting by Vento Saudale

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/slain-indonesian...

Indonesia Ahmadiyya Clerics Respond over Bans

Headlines

Indonesia Ahmadiyya Clerics Respond over Bans

Central and provincial governments must be sensible in taking decisions.

Jum'at, 4 Maret 2011, 11:49 WIBElin Yunita Kristanti

Annual meeting of Ahmadis in Germany (alislam.org)

VIVAnews — Several provinces and cities in Indonesia have just banned the teachings of Ahmadiyya. On the other hand, Governor of Yogyakarta, Sultan Hamengkubuwono, instead convinced the Ahmadis in Yogyakarta to proceed with their religious activities.

Granted that Ahmadiyya has been narrowed down to a particular situation, Ahmadiyya Cleric of South and West Sulawesi, Jamaluddin Feeli, said either ban against or support toward the sect is part of everyday life. “Some accept us, some others don’t. Some understand about [Ahmadiyya teachings] while some others don’t. It is dialogue that is of most importance,” he told VIVAnews today, March 4.

Jamal calls on the central and provincial governments to be sensible in taking decisions.

Ahmadiyya teachings are no different from Islamic teachings in general, he said. “We have only one difference: we believe that Jesus (Prophet Isa)‘s second coming has been taken place (through Mirza Ghulam Ahmad). We believe in the same Five Pillars of Islam and Six Articles of Faith,” said the cleric.

“We’ve never imposed into people what we believe in. On the other hand, they should never force us to give up on our belief,” he said.

Moreover, Ahmadiyya Cleric of West and East Nusa Tenggara, Nasiruddin Ahmadi, said in statement that the ban over Ahmadiyya teachings in several provinces and cities has violated the Constitution. “It’s not in line with Indonesia’s principle of Unity in Diversity,” he said.

• VIVAnews

URL: http://us.en.vivanews.com/news/read/207713-indonesia..

PPP Officially Supports Ahmadiyah Ban

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PPP Officially Supports Ahmadiyah Ban

Heru Andriyanto | April 4, 2011

The United Development Party rejects Ahmadiyah teachings as blasphemous, a party official said about the minority Islamic sect on Sunday.

“Our party officially requested the government to forbid and disband Ahmadiyah in Indonesia. The reason is that Ahmadiyah, in our opinion, created a religion inside a religion, as well as insulting the teachings of Islam,” Chozin Chumaidy, the deputy chairman of the party, also known as the PPP, said at its regional congress in Mamuju, West Sulawesi.

In addition, Ahmadiyah followers often cause unrest among Muslims, he said, adding that the PPP’s stance serves to “protect the interests of Muslims in Indonesia.” Members of the PPP are ready to assist Ahmadiyah followers willing to “return to the true path of Islam,” he said.

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/ppp-officially...

Prosecutors Preparing Trials for 12 Men Allegedly Involved in Ahmadiyah Attack

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Prosecutors Preparing Trials for 12 Men Allegedly Involved in Ahmadiyah Attack

Heru Andriyanto | April 4, 2011

At least 12 suspects linked to the deadly attack on Ahmadiyah members in Banten are set to be tried after prosecutors declared their cases were nearly ready.

Noor Rachmat, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, said over the weekend that the Banten prosecutor’s office had confirmed the cases against nine suspects were already complete and police charge sheets against three others were expected to be finalized later this week.

The nine suspects whose cases are already complete are Ujang bin Sahari, Yusri bin Bisri, Munir bin Basri, Yusuf Abidin, aka Asmat Bin Kamsa, K.H. Ujang Muhammad Arif bin Abuya Surya, Muhammad bin Syarif, Endang bin Sidik, Saad Baharudin bin Sapri and Dani bin Misra.

The cases against the three other suspects — Idris bin Madhani, Adam Damini bin Armad and Deden — were still being reviewed, Noor added.

Deden, one of the Ahmadiyah members injured in the attack that left three dead, is being investigated for inciting hatred. According to police reports, he refused a police order to evacuate along with the other Ahmadis before the incident. The police said his refusal to evacuate was a key factor in the clash.

All suspects are residents of Cikeusik subdistrict, where the attack took place on Feb. 6. A recent decision by the Supreme Court moved the venue for the trials from Pandeglang district, which includes Cikeusik, to the provincial capital, Serang.

Agus Setiawan, the lawyer for the 11 suspects not including Deden, said on Friday that he welcomed the decision to keep the trials in Banten.

“We applaud the Supreme Court’s decision for the trials to be held in Serang. The decision meets our sense of justice,” he said. “We are coordinating with local residents, clerics and other prominent figures here to ensure the hearings will proceed smoothly and safely.”

Copyright 2010 The Jakarta Globe
URL: www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/prosecutors-preparing...